Blog Summary:

If the ‘Ctrl’ key of your Windows 10 computer is not working, don’t panic! Just take a deep breath and follow this guide to the end. You need not be alarmed; there are simple solutions available to address this problem. We go over easy-to-follow, yet powerful methods in this blog to get the Ctrl key working again.

1. Restart your computer.
2. Check the keyboard for any physical damage.
3. Run keyboard troubleshooter.
4. Update your keyboard drivers.
5. Replace the keyboard.

Furthermore, you can streamline the driver update process with products like Smart Driver Care, which can help users who are not comfortable updating drivers manually.

From all of the Windows 10 shortcuts, the Ctrl key is most essential. You can do several tasks such as copying (Ctrl + C) and pasting (Ctrl + V), as well as opening new tabs. This makes the Ctrl key important for any user. For this reason, it can be annoying when the keyboard’s “Ctrl” button stops working. But don’t worry! We are here to help. In this guide, we’ll walk you through a few quick and easy solutions that will help you solve this issue.

We will help you with the most fixes to get the ‘Ctrl’ key back in action. So, let’s discuss a few quick ways to fix the ‘Ctrl’ button not working in Windows 10.

Methods to Fix the Ctrl Button Not Working in Windows 10

The Ctrl key not working in Windows 10 could be easily fixed by following a few simple steps mentioned here. These steps not only provide you with a secure solution, but they also deliver instant results.

Solution 1: Restart your PC

Sometimes various temporary performance issues could be easily fixed by a simple restart process. Once you reboot your PC, it kills all programs and services and also helps you fix temporary issues. So restart your PC first and check if it helps you.

Also Read: How to Fix Esc Key Not Working in Windows 10

Solution 2: Check your keyboard

Before you move to advanced steps, we suggest you should check your physical keyboard first. You can check for broken parts and any other issues with it that is causing the trouble. To check the physical state of your keyboard, you can try to connect an external keyboard on your system or try an on-screen keyboard and check if the Ctrl key is working on it or not. You can also try to connect your keyboard to another system to check if Ctrl key is working or not. If you find there is nothing wrong with the keyboard, then move to next steps to fix the problem.

To open on-screen keyboard, follow these steps:

• Press Win + X keys and select Settings. Alternatively, you can press Win + I keys to open it.
• On the Settings window, select Ease of Access option.
• On the next window, select Keyboard from the left pane.
• Now in the right pane toggle on Use the On-Screen keyboard option.
• You are done.

Solution 3: Run Hardware Troubleshooter

Troubleshooting is a useful addition on your Windows PC that helps you fix various issues effortlessly. It not only helps you deal with hardware issues, but you can also try it to fix Internet issues, update related issues, and more. Here, you need to run a keyboard troubleshooter to fix the Ctrl key not working in Windows 10. To do this, follow these steps:

• Press the Win + I keys to open system Settings.
• On the Settings window, select Update & Security.
• On the next window, select Troubleshoot from the left pane.
• In the right pane, find and expand the Keyboard
• Click Run the troubleshooter.

Let the troubleshooting process complete. Reboot your PC and check if the issue is fixed.

Solution 4: Update keyboard driver

If hardware troubleshooting didn’t help, then it is time to update drivers. Drivers on your system are small pieces of software that help hardware communicate with the operating system for seamless system performance. When drivers are outdated, corrupt, missing, or incompatible, then it starts causing various performance issues including issues with the keyboard. To fix Ctrl key not working in Windows 10, you can consider updating keyboard drivers manually. To do this, follow these steps:

• Press Win + X keys and select Device Manager.
• On the Device Manager window, you need to sift through all the options to find and expand Keyboards category.
• Once done, right click on device type and select Update driver.

Once you click on this option, it will display you two options including:

• Search automatically for updated driver software
• Browse my computer for driver software

While the first option helps you update drivers automatically where Windows will search for latest drivers on your PC and on the Internet to install it on your PC. The second option will help you update drivers manually. Before you select the second option, you need to download the latest driver file from the keyboard device manufacturer website. Later you can browse the location of the file and install it on your PC.

:Try best driver updater software:

If you find manually updating drivers a complicated task, then you can try the best driver updater for updating outdated drivers automatically. One such tool is Smart Driver Care that saves a lot of time by updating drivers in a single click. It allows you to backup existing drivers before you update them. It is a useful feature to undo action if something goes wrong with the driver update process.

Download Smart Driver Care

Review on Smart Driver Care

Solution 5: Use a Different Keyboard

Try connecting another keyboard to your laptop/computer to see if that solves the issue. This can help in identifying whether there is a keyboard issue or a more serious system issue.

Solution 6: Scan your PC for Malware & Viruses

Malware presence might also cause your keyboard to behave strangely. Therefore, it is advised that you use the antimalware program to scan your computer. You can attempt the built-in Windows Defender app or any other third-party program to accomplish this.

Conclusion

So, these were some of the best solutions to fix the Ctrl key not working on Windows. Ctrl key is one small yet powerful key that may mess up your entire workflow if it breaks down. These methods, which include updating drivers, running the keyboard troubleshooter, and looking for a different keyboard, should help you fix the issue quickly. Do try these solutions and share your experience in the comments below. Do try these steps and share your experience in the comments below.