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Recently after a clean install of Windows 10 on a laptop, I realized that the numeric keypad is not working despite the fact the the Num Lock (aka “Numeric Lock”) key is ON. More specifically, the number keys do work, but they do the same action whether the Num Lock key is ON or OFF. (Home, Up Arrow, PgUp, Left Arrow, Right Arrow, End, Down Arrow, Pg Dn, Ins, Del.
If you are facing the same problem in Windows 10/11 and the numbers on the keyboard are not working, continue reading below to fix the problem.
How to FIX: NumLock or Numeric Keypad Not Working in Windows 10/11.*
For the number keys to work you need to press the Num Lock key once to activate the “Numeric” function. However, on some laptops, the ‘Num Lock’ key only activates the numbers when you hold down first the Fn (also known as “Function”) key and then pressing the Num Lock key.
So before you continue below, make sure that the numbers on the Keypad is not working by either after pressing ‘Num Lock’ or ‘Fn + Num Lock’
Method 1. Turn Off Mouse Keys in Accessibility Center.
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On Windows 11:
1. Navigate to Start > Settings > Accessibility.
2. In Accessibility options, scroll down and click Mouse.
3. Set the Mouse keys toggle to Off and then check if the numeric keypad is working now.
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On Windows 10:
1. Navigate to Start > Settings and open the Ease of Access options.
2. Click Mouse on the left and then on the right Turn Off the option “Turn on Mouse Keys to use the numeric keypad to move the mouse pointer. Then, check if the numeric keypad is working. If not, continue to next method.
Method 2. Turn Off Mouse Keys in Control Panel.
The second method to fix the numbers keypad not working issue, is to turn off mouse keys:
1. Type “control panel” in the Search and then open the Control Panel app.
2. Change the View by: to Small icons and then open the Ease of Access Center.
3. Here click on Make the mouse easier to use.
4. Under the Control the mouse with the keyboard section, uncheck the option Turn on Mouse keys and click OK. Then check if the numeric keypad is working.
Method 3. Enable Numeric Keypad in Registry.
1. Press Windows 
+ R keys to load the Run dialog box.
2. Type regedit and press Enter, to open the Registry Editor.
3. In Registry Editor, navigate to this key:
- HKEY_USERS.DEFAULTControl PanelKeyboard
4. In the right pane, open the InitialKeyboardIndicators REG_SZ, change its value from “2147483648” to “2” and click OK.
5. Now, close the Registry Editor and restart your PC.
6. After restarting check if the numeric keypad is working now. *
* Note: If the numeric keypad is still not working, open the ristry editor again, change the InitialKeyboardIndicators value back to “2147483648″ click OK and continue to next method.
Method 4. Uninstall or Update Keyboard drivers.
If any of the above methods doesn’t work, see if you can fix the problem by uninstalling or updating the keyboard drivers. To do that:
1. Type “device manager” in Search and then click to open the Device Manager in Control Panel.
2. In Device Manager, expand Keyboards, right-click the installed keyboard device, and click Update Driver to force Windows to search for and install a newer driver for your keyboard device.
If no newer driver is found, then right-click again but this time select Uninstall device to uninstall the keyboard driver. Then restart your computer to reinstall the keyboard driver.
That’s it! Which method worked for you?
Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.
