Unable to reassign the HP Omen key

[KGy]

Dear HP Support,

I've just bought a HP Victus 16-r0000nh laptop for it's good price/value ratio. I'm not a gamer but a developer who needed a power laptop with 32GB RAM. For the first glance I liked the keyboard for its well-separated cursor keys and the proper numpad, but then I realized that it's quite far from perfect, as it has neither right Ctrl, nor primary Home/End/PgUp/PgDown keys, as the latter ones can be accessed as key combinations or with NumLock turned off. In return, it has a couple of less useful keys such as the dedicated Omen and the Calculator buttons. Carrying an extra keyboard around is out of the question in my case.

Being as a non-gamer, I uninstalled the Omen Gaming Hub software right away, and tried to reassign the keys for something productive. I could use MS Power Toys to bring the right Ctrl back and replace the Calc button, but unfortunately it does not recognize the Omen key. As I learned, I'm not the only one with my issue:

• https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Gaming-Notebooks/How-to-remap-Omen-Gaming-Hub-key-with-Home-key-on-Win...
• https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Gaming-Notebooks/Help-request-Remap-omen-button/td-p/6653591/page/5
• https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Gaming-Notebooks/How-to-get-Home-button-on-Omen-an-055-ur/m-p/6622727

And these are just the HP forums, but folks are complaining also on Reddit, JustAnswer, SuperUser and other technical forums. HP support tends not to answer these questions, except when the problem is that the user wants to restore the Omen key's original functionality.

I have also found a GitHub project, dedicated to this issue, which managed to map the Omen key to F24 by the HP System Event Utility system service, which then could be recognized by Power Toys. Unfortunately, this solution is not working anymore. Being as a developer I tried to find some public API for HP System Event Utility with no success.

It's almost as if HP intentionally sabotaged every way to reuse the Omen key for anything useful. Dear HP, if this is really the case (e.g. due to some agreement constraint with the Omen software team), please let them understand that this is highly counterproductive (just see the complaints everywhere). As for myself, for example, I'm already quite sure that my next laptop will be a Dell again, though I own this HP only for a few weeks only.

But please prove me wrong and provide a simple solution to remap the Omen key. Or at least provide a public API for the HP System Events tool that makes this possible for a developer. Btw. I think remapping should rather be a BIOS option ideally, because a PowerToys-like remapper is still suboptimal as it always should be executed on OS startup (with Administrator privileges to work also in elevated mode), and it doesn't work in VMWare and in similar softwares.

I highly doubt that anyone would complain, including real gamers, if the hotkey for Omen Gaming Hub could be reconfigured to use some Fn+... or Win+... key combination instead.

I really hope you hear the voice of the HP owners' community this time.

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Hi @KGy,

Welcome to the HP Support Community! 

Thanks for reaching out about your query regarding remapping the keys!

Regarding the Omen key and your attempts to remap it, I want to acknowledge the challenges you’ve faced. It’s unfortunate that the solutions you found, including the GitHub project, are no longer effective. 

Here are some potential avenues you might explore:

Installing the Omen Gaming Hub back on your laptop could allow you to reassign the Omen button to the application, which might provide a more straightforward solution.

Microsoft PowerToys: 

While you mentioned it doesn’t recognize the Omen key, it’s worth ensuring you have the latest version, as updates can sometimes improve functionality.

There are various third-party applications available that might help you remap keys more effectively. Exploring these could lead to a solution that fits your needs.

I assure you that your feedback is taken seriously, and I will pass along your concerns regarding the Omen key and the overall keyboard layout. We genuinely value the input from our community, as it helps us improve our products and services.

I'm glad I could help! 😊 If this resolved your issue, please mark it as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?"—your feedback not only keeps us going but also helps others find the solution faster! 👍✨

Take care and have an amazing day ahead! 🚀

Best regards,

[KGy]

@Kuroi_Kenshi, thank you for your supportive attitude.

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Installing the Omen Gaming Hub back on your laptop could allow you to reassign the Omen button to the application, which might provide a more straightforward solution.

As I mentioned, I would rather assign it for something more useful (e.g. Home or PgUp). I also mentioned that even if I was a gamer and wanted to use OGH, some Win+O combination would perfectly do it.

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Microsoft PowerToys: 

While you mentioned it doesn’t recognize the Omen key, it’s worth ensuring you have the latest version, as updates can sometimes improve functionality.

As I've just bought my laptop (a couple of weeks ago) there is no newer release since then. But I'll file an issue for them if there is any chance they can handle it. Though I think they would also need some help with HP System Events to be able to capture the HP key, and you are the ones at HP who could help with that, aren't you? Could you please answer this part in my opening post about a possibly available API?

There are various third-party applications available that might help you remap keys more effectively. Exploring these could lead to a solution that fits your needs.

Could you please name one that is able to do that? I've found a Reddit post about the same problem, none of the recommended tools worked.

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I assure you that your feedback is taken seriously, and I will pass along your concerns regarding the Omen key and the overall keyboard layout. We genuinely value the input from our community, as it helps us improve our products and services.

---

I appreciate it.

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

@KGy,

Thank you for the response,

HP does not provide an official API for interacting with the Omen key or HP System Events. These functions are typically handled by the HP OMEN Gaming Hub and HP System Event Utility, which are proprietary software solutions.

However, you can try the following:

Check for HP System Event Utility Updates

1. Open HP Support Assistant (or download it from HP’s website).
2. Check for updates related to HP System Event Utility or OMEN Gaming Hub.
3. Restart your laptop and test if the key functions differently.

PowerToys & Key Mapping Workaround

Since Microsoft PowerToys does not recognize the Omen key, you might try third-party key mapping tools like:

• AutoHotkey (AHK) – You can create a script to detect and remap the Omen key.
• SharpKeys – Might detect and remap the key at a lower system level.

If neither tool detects the key, it is likely handled exclusively at the firmware level.

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Since standard remapping tools (like Microsoft PowerToys or SharpKeys) don't detect the OMEN key, you might need a more advanced solution that can capture low-level key events. Here are a few options you can try:

HID Keyboard Tester & Raw Input Viewer

• Tools like HID Keyboard Tester or Raw Input Viewer can detect hidden key signals that Windows doesn't map normally.
• If the OMEN key doesn't show up, it is likely locked at the firmware level.

I'm glad I could help! 😊 If this resolved your issue, please mark it as "Accepted Solution" and click "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?"—your feedback not only keeps us going but also helps others find the solution faster! 👍✨

Take care and have an amazing day ahead! 🚀

Best regards,

[KGy]

@Kuroi_Kenshi, thank you for your update. I was hindered in the last few days but I'm going to check out the recommended options soon.

[KGy]

Hi again. I dedicated some time to try everything I could; still, no success yet.

Specifically:

• AutoHotKey: After playing with it a bit without any success, I found a thread specifically regarding the Omen key. Using the posted script that captures keystrokes (needs to be converted to V2 format first) the result is the same as with PowerToys: nothing is detected. The last comment in the thread confirms one of my earlier findings; namely, that on older HP models the Omen key was actually mapped to F24, but this is no longer the case.
• SharpKeys: Same, doesn't detect anything. And similarly as above, I have found a thread (well, actually not just one) complaining specifically about the Omen key.
• HID Keyboard Tester: I couldn't find it. Found only an online tester running in web browser. Needless to say, it could not detect the Omen key.
• Raw Input Viewer: Also nothing, even if I check the "Other Humen-Interface Devices" checkbox.

In fact, I expected this. Right after the PowerToys failure it seemed quite obvious that the Omen key has no regular scan code, so none of the similar tools are able to detect it, and I still suspect that it can be captured only by some HP System Events-specific API or service, it's just I'm missing a tiny but crucial info about how to use it. 

I examined the running services, and the corresponding service might be "HP Omen HSA Service" (system32\driverstore\filerepository\hpomencustomcapcomp.inf_amd64_3c97e435117f8c16\x64\omencap\omencap.exe), though without any public API I have no idea how to communicate with it. Though I'm not even sure if that would be the service I should use.

Your answers so far appear to be non-HP specific general suggestions for capturing random keys on a keyboard. But it clearly makes no sense to try to answer this question in general. Could you please maybe forward this issue to a HP colleague who may have more specific knowledge of the Omen key of a HP Victus 16 notebook? Thank you in advance.

Again, if such a decision is intended because of some agreement between HP and the legal owner of the Omen Gaming Hub software, please let them understand that actively sabotaging the remapping (and redesigning the way it works in the new models after someone managed to map it to F24) is highly counterproductive. Just look at the dozens of threads (including the new ones I added in this comment) - such a policy just makes users frustrated and they are complaining everywhere. What harm could it do to make HP owners happy and satisfied instead?

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Hi @KGy,

I truly appreciate the time and effort you’ve put into troubleshooting this.

I understand how important this feature is for you, and I completely get how frustrating it must be to not have a straightforward solution.

Rest assured, I am well-equipped with the available information on this matter, and I have explored every possible workaround. The Omen key is managed through HP’s system utilities, and as of now, there is no built-in support for remapping it. While previous solutions may have worked on older models, HP has made changes that prevent those methods from working on newer devices.

That said, I value your feedback, and I will ensure it reaches the appropriate team. HP is always working on improving user experience, and input like yours helps shape future updates. If any changes are introduced, I recommend keeping an eye on HP’s support pages for updates.

If there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know!

Take care and have an amazing day ahead! 🚀

Best regards,

[KGy]

Thank you for forwarding it to the appropriate team. I hope we will have some HP tool soon, or at least a public API that makes possible to detect the keypress of the Omen key.

Ideally, a BIOS setting would be the best, e.g. "Omen key mapping - [None (default)/F13..F24/App1..App4]", because that could be easily detected in any OSes (optionally in VMs), not just in the (host) Windows OS.

[Kuroi_Kenshi]

Hi @KGy,

Your feedback is truly appreciated, and rest assured, HP will definitely take it into consideration as we continue improving user experience. We understand how valuable such customization options can be, and your input helps shape future updates. If you feel this addresses your concern, please mark this post as the "Accepted solution", it'll help others looking for similar information!

Take care and have an amazing day ahead! 🚀

Best regards,