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Archived This topic has been archived. Information and links in this thread may no longer be available or relevant. If you have a question create a new topic by clicking here and select the appropriate board.
HP Recommended
HP Pavilion 17 Notebook PC
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

Hello !

 

Since 2-3 days my FN key stops working and then starts working again. 

 

The Action Keys in BIOS are disabled...

I've been always using it it this way.

I have to press Fn + F2-3 (Brightness) or Fn+F6-7-8 (Volume).

 

I tried to enable the Action Keys in Bios and when I pressed F2-3 the Brightness setting was working fine. Also the volume worked fine.

Then I disabled the Action Keys again and I tried the combos Fn+F* but it didn't work again.

 

I haven't installed anything lately.

No new windows update lately.

 

The Fn button will probably start working later today but I don't know what triggers it.

 

Please help

 

18 REPLIES 18
HP Recommended

@Elisha2

 

Thanks for reaching out to us on HP Support Forums. 🙂 I came across your post and would like to help.

 

I understand that you have an HP Pavilion 17 Notebook PC and the fn (function key) stops working and then starts to work again. The Action keys are disabled in BIOS and you have been using it this way. I read that when you disabled the Action keys in BIOS, the fn+f* keys do not work. I appreciate the steps you have performed and have certainly done a good job.

 

I did some research on the Action keys and found the below information: (Source HP Document).

  • Press the power button to turn on the computer.

  • Press the f10 key to open the BIOS setup window.

  • Press the right-arrow or left-arrow keys to navigate to the System Configuration option.

 

  • Figure : BIOS setup window

    BIOS setup window with the System Configuration option and Action Keys Mode selected

 

  • Press the up-arrow or down-arrow keys to navigate to the Action Keys Mode option, and then press the enter key to display the Enable / Disable menu.

  • Select the desired mode:
    • Disabled: Requires pressing and holding the function key (fn) while pressing one of the f1 through f12 keys to use the action indicated on the action key.

      For example, on some computer models, if the Action Keys Mode is Disabled, pressing the f11 key will minimize and maximize a web browser if open. Alternatively, pressing and holding the fn + f11 keys will mute the sound.

      The action keys may vary depending on the model of notebook.

    • Enabled: Requires pressing only one of the f1 through f12 keys to use the action as indicated on the action key.

      For example, on some computer models, if the Action Keys Mode is Enabled, pressing f11 will mute the sound as indicated on the action key. Alternatively, pressing and holding fn + f11 will minimize and maximize a web browser if open.

      The action keys may vary depending on the model of notebook.

  • Press the f10 key to save the selection and restart the computer.

  • The function key (fn) option can be reset at any time.

Meanwhile, you may also run a hardware test on the keyboard just to ensure that the hardware part is good:

  • Hold the power button for at least five seconds to turn off the computer.

  • Turn on the computer and immediately press the F2 key repeatedly, about once every second.

  • The HP PC Hardware Diagnostics (UEFI) main menu is displayed.

Figure : HP PC Hardware Diagnostics (UEFI) main menu

HP PC Hardware Diagnostic UEFI screen

  • Select Component tests.

Figure : Component Tests options

List of the Component tests

  • Please initiate a keyboardtes. 

    Keyboard - Quick interactive functional test of the keys on the keyboard. Click Keyboard, then Run once.

    The Keyboard Test time is 3 minutes.

  • NOTE: Bluetooth devices are not currently supported.

I sincerely hope this fixes the issue. Keep me posted on how it goes. Cheers! 🙂

 

HP Recommended

 

The hardware test didn't test the FN button.. Only CTRL,ALT,SHIFT and WINDOWS button.

Fn was grayed out during the whole test and I didn't have the chance to test it.. I was pressing it but nothing happend

 

The Action Keys Mode is set to disable. This means I must hold Fn in order to set the brightness/volume but it doesn't work.

If I enable the Action Keys Mode the functions work fine without holding the Fn button.

 

Do you think it has something to do with a game I'm playing. The game is called Lineage 2 and the main buttons are F1-F12. I cannot change them. I played 3 months without any problem. The Fn was working fine.. I think that its malfunctioning.

 

 

HP Recommended

Hi @Elisha2,

 

Thank you for replying,

I appreciate your time and efforts,

 

I understand you have tried to run the test on the keyboard and all the keys works except for the Fn key, that's not an issue, don't worry as I have a few suggestions which should help you to fix this issue,

 

Click the Start button, then click Run.

2.In the Run window, next to Open, type MSCONFIG.

3.Press the ENTER key.

4.In the System Configuration Utility window, click the Startup tab.

5.On the Startup tab, under Startup Item, ensure that there is a check in the HKserv checkbox.

 

NOTE: If HKserv is missing, reinstall the Hot-Key Utility application by clicking here  

 

For windows 10 drivers: Click here

 

(ignore the ads, 3rd party link has been sent to ensure your issue is fixed, I'm going beyond my way to help you and if you would like to give me virtual high five, Click on the purple thumbs up 🙂 )

 

Let me know how that pans out,

I hope you have a good day ahead,

And Feel free to ask your queries as this forum has some of the best people in the world available and ready to help.

 

Regards,

Jeet_Singh
I am an HP Employee

HP Recommended

Hey Jeet,

 

the HKserv is not there. I checked for it in services.msc and it was missing there too.

 

I clicked on your Windows 10 link but it sends me to the HP Customer Support page.

I wrote my laptop's model and there is no Hot Key Support in the Software and Drivers.

HP Recommended

Hi @Elisha2,

 

Thanks for the update,

I'm glad you pointed out that as I might have overlooked at it, but not to worry let's try to use this link to reinstall the Hot-Key Utility application by Clicking here

 

I hope this helps. Let me know how it goes for further assistance.

 

Regards,

Jeet_Singh
I am an HP Employee

HP Recommended

Hey Jeet,

 

 

I opened your link and I clicked "Download" on the 8.5 version of the driver and it started downloading a DriverToolkitInstaller.exe...  It's a driver update utility...not the driver itself. I do not want to install that..

 

Could you please give me the direct link from the HP ftp or tell me which hp model has it in its drivers list.

HP Recommended

Hi @Elisha2,

 

Thank you for replying,

I appreciate your time and efforts,

 

As I understand you are still having issues installing the drivers for the Hotkey on your HP laptop. Don't worry I'll guide you through this:

 

Link to download the drivers: http://www.driverscape.com/download/hp-hotkey-device

 

The first link is an Ad: so click on the second link which was released on 2010-02-24. Now download that and install it.

 

Let me know how it goes for further assistance.

 

Regards,

Jeet_Singh
I am an HP Employee

HP Recommended

Hey Jeet,

 

I downloaded the second driver.

 

I'm running Windows 10 x64 which is not mentioned in the supported OS...

 

Nevertheless Windows 10 was released on 29th of July 2015 and the date of the driver is 2010 ???

 

Also I don't see .exe in the archive... 

 

I read tons of reviews about driverscape and all of them were negative

 

 

 

 

When I search for "Hot key hp" in Google the first result is what I need but when I click the link it redirects me to the main HP Customer Support Page.  This is really frustrating.

 

 

 

Btw I tried to find the driver via HP Support Assistant which is installed on my laptop, but everything was up to date and no new updates were found... I actually can't remember having this Hot Key Support utility. Last night I tried to restart all HP services I have in services.msc and Fn+F2(brightness) started working for a second and then it stopped again.. I don't know if both things are connected. Today I tried again to restart the services and FN didn't work at all.

 

I remembered that I have changed the startup selection setting in msconfig.  I changed it from Normal startup to Selective startup. I also ticked the "No GUI Boot" from the "Boot" tab. Now I reversed everything back to default and after restart the FN button didn't work.

HP Recommended

A few more things that I tried..

 

I went to my laptop's (HP Pavilion 17-f251nu) drivers page and I saw a driver called HP System Event Utility

 

 

The description says that it contains the utility which enables the function key...

I downloaded it, I started installing it and then my laptop auto restarted (without any notification or asking)

I thought that now my problem will be gone but I was wrong... FN still doesn't work...

I tried to start this utiliy so I can check it out but nothing happend.

 

 

Then I went to HP EliteBook 8470p drivers page and I downloaded HP Hotkey Support, I tried to install it and a message popped out saying that my system is not supported

 

Then I went to HP ProBook 455 G3 Notebook drivers page and I downloaded a newer version of HP Hotkey Support and now I will try to install it.. I will update my answer when I try that.

 

UPDATE: The Hotkey Support was installed successfully. Now I will try to run it and see what's going on.

 

 

UPDATE 1: I restarted the laptop so the HP Hotkey Support can apply its changed. Then I tried to execute HP Hotkey Support but nothing happened. The Hotkey service is running but again the FN button is not working.

 

 

 

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