Spacebar or Enter key is not working on Windows 11/10 PC

Spacebar and Enter keys are used the most times, and they go unnoticed by anybody who is using a computer. We only realize the value of these unsung heroes of our daily computing when they stop working. It is an annoying problem. In this article, we will be checking out how to fix Spacebar or Enter key is not working issue on Windows 11/10 computer.

Spacebar or Enter key is not working

The problem can occur because of two reasons—Hardware fault or Software issues. The software aspect of this error lies within the scope of Windows configuration as well as the drivers. You need to, therefore, take a look at the following areas:

Check settings for Sticky Keys and Filter Keys
Run the Keyboard Troubleshooter.
Rollback, Uninstall or Update the Keyboard driver
Physically check the keyboard.

Make sure to check for the resolution of the issue after each troubleshooting step.

1] Check settings for Sticky Keys and Filter Keys

You can check the configuration for Sticky Key and Filter Keys inside the Windows Settings App. This method has proven to be the most effective of all. Sometimes, enabling Sticky Keys or Filter Keys stop some keys on the keyboard to work as expected.

Windows 11

Sticky keys and Filter keys (if turned on with applied settings) may interrupt the working of physical keys available on your keyboard and that could also be the reason that spacebar or enter key is not working as they should. So, turn off Sticky keys, Filter keys, and settings related to them on your Windows 11/10 computer, and see if it helps.

For Windows 11 users, here are the steps:

Right-click on the Start button
Click on the Settings option
In the Settings app window, click on the Accessibility category
Scroll down the right section
Click on the Keyboard page available under the Interaction section
Turn off the button available for the Sticky keys section
Click on the Sticky keys section
Turn off button available for Keyboard shortcut for Sticky keys (Press the Shift key 5 times to turn Sticky keys on or off) option
Go back to the Keyboard page
Turn off button available for Filter keys section
Click on the Filter keys section
Turn off the button available for the Keyboard shortcut for Filter keys (Press and hold the right Shift key for 8 seconds to turn on Filter keys) option
Turn off Ignore quick keystrokes (slow keys) button
Turn off Ignore repeated keystrokes (repeat keys) button.

Windows 10

Open Settings app, and navigate to Ease of Access > Keyboard. Under the section of Sticky Keys, make sure that the toggle for Press one key at a time for keyboard shortcuts is set to be off.

Next, under Filter Keys section, toggle off for the option, Ignore brief or repeated keystrokes and change keyboard repeat rates.

2] Use the Keyboard Troubleshooter

Windows 11

The Keyboard troubleshooter is a native feature of the Windows 11/10 operating system. It can help you fix various keyboard-related errors such as keyboard settings, Text Services Framework, and more. This might work for this particular issue also.

For Windows 11 users, here are the steps to run the Keyboard troubleshooter:

Press Win+I hotkey to open the Settings app window
Access the System category
Click on the Troubleshoot Settings page
Click on Other troubleshooters
Scroll down the page to access the Other section
Press the Run button available for Keyboard.

Now Windows 11 will automatically detect problems (if any) related to the keyboard and then provide you the fixes according to the problems. Just apply those fixes and your problem should be resolved.

Windows 10 users can open the Troubleshoot page in Windows 10 Settings and run the Keyboard Troubleshooter.

You may also run the Hardware Troubleshooter or reset the keyboard to default settings too.

3] Rollback, Uninstall or Update the Keyboard driver

You need to either update or rollback the driver. If you just updated any driver, and then this issue started after that you need to rollback the driver. If you did not, then maybe updating this device driver to its latest version will help.

The drivers you need to work with are the ones under the option of Keyboards inside of the Device Manager. You can also uninstall the driver and then search the web for & download the latest version of your driver and install it.

Check if that fixes your issue.

4] Physically check the keyboard

It is a good idea to check if there is a physical blockage under the keys. If that’s the case, it’s a good idea to physically clean the keys and the keyboard.

Also, check if the connection mode that you are using for your keyboard is working fine.

Lastly, use this keyboard on another system and see if it works there or not. It will give you an idea if the issue is with the PC or the Keyboard.

If nothing works, its time to get a new keyboard.

Let us know if the solutions to fix the enter key, and space bar worked for you.

How do I fix my keyboard not working on Windows 11?

If you are using a laptop, there could be any reason because of which your laptop keyboard is not working on your Windows 11 computer. For example, it might have wrong or outdated drivers, Filter keys or Sticky keys are interrupting with keyboard, keyboard settings might not be set properly, etc. In such a case, you can apply some simple fixes to make your keyboard work again. Some of those fixes include:

Reset keyboard settings to default
Re-install keyboard drivers
Use Windows Keyboard troubleshooter
Turn off Filter keys and/or Sticky keys from the Settings app of Windows 11.

Try the fixes one by one and see which one works for you.

How do I fix an unresponsive spacebar?

Some users face this issue that the spacebar key on their laptop or desktop keyboard becomes unresponsive or stopped working. This could be very frustrating. But thankfully, there are some working solutions to help you make the spacebar key work again. If you are a Windows 11 or Windows 10 user, the following solutions can help you solve this problem:

Run the Keyboard troubleshooter of Windows 11/10
Disable Sticky keys and the applied settings
Rollback or update your keyboard drivers.

All such solutions are covered above in this post for Windows 11 and Windows 10 with step-by-step instructions.

Related reads:

AyushVij@TWC

Ayush has been a Windows enthusiast since the day he got his first PC with Windows 98SE. He is an active Windows Insider since Day 1 and has been a Windows Insider MVP.