How To Disable A Laptop Keyboard [Complete Guide]

When you have a computer desktop set up at your table, what you know for sure is how and where everything is connected. These wires help you when you need to detach or uninstall any hardware for whatever purpose. All you have to do is trace the individual wire and pull out the plug from the CPU, Monitor, or wherever it is attached. However, the feature is not the same for a laptop. You cannot detach the plugs here, as everything is interlinked. So, how to disable a laptop keyboard when the need arises?

There are three ways through which you can disable the keyboard: through the Device Manager, by installation prevention, or by using the wrong driver. You can disable the keyboard of your laptop through the in-device settings and some external programs. You can also use the Keyboard users manuals present on the internet to get individual instructions for particular models. Besides, you will also learn how to enable your keyboard back and what to do while your keyboard is disabled.

To learn more about how to disable a laptop keyboard, continue reading.

Contents

1 3 Ways On How To Disable A Laptop Keyboard
2 How To Get Your Laptop Keyboard Enabled After This?
3 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
4 Conclusion:

3 Ways On How To Disable A Laptop Keyboard

If you want to learn about all these solutions in detail, continue reading below.

Method I:

The first way to disable a laptop keyboard is using the Device Manager option on your system. This method is the easiest and the most secure way to do so. Follow these steps below to learn how it is done:

Open the ‘Device Manager.’ Access Device Manager by:

Type ‘Device Manager’ in the Search Bar, and click to open it from the Control Panel.
Press Win+R and open the ‘RUN dialog box.’ Now, enter ‘devmgmt.msc’ in the command enter area.
Go to the ‘Start’ icon on the taskbar and right-click on it. Choose ‘Device Manager’ from the menu list that appears.
In the ‘Device Manager’ dialog box, scroll about to search the ‘Keyboard’ from the list.
Open the option ‘Keyboard.’ Right-click on the keyboard name that appears.
From the options that appear, choose ‘Disable Device’ and then press ‘Yes’ in confirmation.
Restart your laptop in case the keyboard does not disable immediately.

Method II:

Group Policy Editors is an administrative tool exclusive to Microsoft Windows Operating System that regulates the environment in which the user and computer accounts work. It, thus, allows you to make changes to several configuration settings on your device. This feature, therefore, is a great tool to solve how to disable a laptop keyboard:

Open ‘Device Manager’ like the steps described in Method I.

From the window, scroll to the ‘Keyboard’ option and expand it.
You will see the Keyboard title there. Right-click on it and select ‘Properties.’
From the Properties window, navigate to the ‘Details’ tab. Open the Property drop-down menu, and search and select ‘Hardware Ids.’ Minimize this screen for now.
Press Win+R to open the RUN dialog box. In the Open enter area, type ‘gpedit.msc’ and press Okay.
On the new screen, click on ‘Computer Configuration from the left-hand side options.
Within it, click on ‘Administrative Templates’ -> ‘System’ -> ‘Device Installation’ -> and finally, click on ‘Device Installation Restrictions.’
From the list of options that appear, right-click on ‘Prevent installation of devices that match any of these device instance IDs’ and then select ‘Edit.’
On the new window that opens, go towards the left-hand side and choose ‘Enabled.’ Look just below the ‘Enabled,’ and you will see a ‘Show’ button.
aximize the ‘Device Manager’ page (Step IV) and copy the first entry in the ‘Value’ box with a right-click.
Return to the ‘Show Contents’ dialog box and paste the copied ID in the Value section.
Choose ‘OK’ twice to close the windows.
Now, go to ‘Keyboard’ again in ‘Device Manager,’ right-click on it and choose the ‘Uninstall’ option.
Restart your laptop to disable your system fully.
If the keyboard still works, try the other Device Manager – Step X entries.

Method III:

Before going into the details of the fourth method on how to disable a laptop keyboard, please know that you must follow it only when disabling your laptop keyboard is necessary. It is always advised to avoid the use of incompatible drivers, as it can cause a system crash or other serious issues:

Open ‘Device Manager’ as shown in the steps in Method I.

Go to ‘Keyboard’ and expand it.
Choose the title of your laptop keyboard and right-click on it. Click on ‘Update Driver’ from the list.
Choose ‘Browse my computer for driver software from the screen that appears.’
Now, choose the ‘Let me pick from a list of available drivers…’ option.
Uncheck the ‘Show Compatible Hardware’ checkbox.
Navigate and choose a model and manufacturer that is different from the original.
Click on ‘Next’ and then ‘Yes.’
Now, click on the ‘Close’ button. You now need to restart the system. Agree with it.
Your in-built keyboard is no longer enabled with your laptop.

How To Get Your Laptop Keyboard Enabled After This?

You saw above the three ways how to disable a laptop keyboard. If you are using a Chrome Book and your keys are not working, read this article that fixes the issue in 8 simple steps. But how to proceed when you want to get your keyboard back? To re-enable your keyboard, follow these solutions for the different methods mentioned above:

For Method I:

Go to ‘Device Manager.’
Search and expand the keyboard option.
Identify the title of your keyboard, right-click on it, and choose ‘Enable’ or ‘Install.’

For Method II:

Turn your laptop keyboard On.
Re-visit the Group Policy Editor page.
Set the policy to ‘Not Configured.’
Let the system restart and your keyboard will start working.

For Method III:

Open ‘Device Manager’ as shown in the steps in Method I.
Go to ‘Keyboard’ and expand it.
Choose the title of your laptop keyboard and right-click on it. Click on ‘Update Driver’ from this list.
Now choose ‘Browse my computer for driver software.’
Select ‘Search Automatically for Drivers.’

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Can I reset my laptop’s keyboard?

Yes, you can. Go to Device Manager in Control Panel, choose the Keyboard option, and identify your default keyboard name. Right-click on it to Uninstall or Disable the keyboard. Now, restart your system. Windows will automatically re-install your keyboard with all updates and the latest drives.

How to disable a laptop keyboard?

The laptop keyboard can be disabled using three different methods. The safest and easiest method is by uninstalling or disabling your default keyboard using the ‘Drive Manager’ option in Control Panel. The next method is using the Group Policy Editors, wherein you restrict installing the keyboard at the time of boot. The last method is by using an incompatible driver.

Is using an incompatible driver to disable the keyboard a good option?

Using an incompatible driver is a viable way to disable your default keyboard. However, using this method only when disabling the keyboard is necessary, and the other two safer methods are not working. This precaution is because using an incompatible or wrong driver may cause serious issues like Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) or a complete system crash.

Click here to know about best driver update softwares.

Conclusion:

In this article, you learned about the three tried and tested ways to solve how to disable a laptop keyboard. The first method is disabling or uninstalling the keyboard from the ‘Device Manager’ option in Control Panel. The second is by using the Group Policy Editors and configuring it so that installing the keyboard at the time of booting does not happen. The third and final method uses the wrong driver with the default keyboard and automatically disables the latter. The first method should always be your preference as it is secure, easy, and effective. Try the final method only in dire situations. You also saw the steps to get back or re-enable your keyboard for every method. Now, you can easily disable your laptop keyboard whenever need be.

David Carnoy

Executive Editor David Carnoy has been a leading member of CNET’s Reviews team since 2000. He covers the gamut of gadgets and is a notable e-reader and e-publishing expert. He’s also the author of the novels Knife Music, The Big Exit and Lucidity. All the titles are available as Kindle, iBooks and Nook e-books, as well as audiobooks.