MacBook Keyboard Not Working? What to Do in 2026 (macOS 27)

If your MacBook keyboard is not working, plug the Mac into power first, then plug in any USB keyboard. If the external keyboard types fine, the built-in keyboard is the likely problem; if both misbehave, look at settings and software. Then check Slow Keys and Mouse Keys in System Settings → Accessibility, restart, and try safe mode.

A keyboard that stops halfway through a sentence feels worse than it is. Usually nothing is broken. A setting got switched on, the battery is lower than the screen admits, or an app that listens to your keys has gone wrong after an update. The steps below use the menus in macOS 27, the current version. What follows: the checks in the order that finds the cause fastest, how to keep working with no keyboard at all, and when it really is time for a repair.

First, find out which kind of problem you have

A dead MacBook keyboard is one of three problems: a setting, software, or hardware. The fastest way to tell them apart is to connect a second keyboard, wired or Bluetooth. Apple's own troubleshooting page for key presses uses the same test: if a different keyboard works on this Mac, the original keyboard is the likely culprit.

When my laptop keys go quiet, I don't start with resets. I grab whatever USB keyboard is nearby and plug it in, because one minute of testing rules out half the fixes in this article.

Why is my MacBook keyboard not working at all?

A MacBook keyboard that stops responding completely is often a battery warning in disguise. Apple notes that a laptop may be showing a low-battery alert you can't see, and that connecting the Mac to power, or connecting an external keyboard, lets you see and clear it (Apple's key press guide).

1. Connect your MacBook to its charger and wait a minute.
2. Click anywhere with the trackpad to see whether an alert is waiting on screen.
3. Choose Apple menu → Restart. It's the cheapest fix on this page, so try it before anything else.
4. If the keys still do nothing, plug in a USB keyboard and keep reading.

One small trap: the Caps Lock and Media Eject keys have a deliberate delay. Apple says to hold Caps Lock until its light comes on, and hold Eject until its icon appears (same page). A quick tap does nothing, so they can look broken when they aren't.

How to turn off Slow Keys and Mouse Keys on a Mac

Slow Keys and Mouse Keys are accessibility features that change how keys behave, and either one can make a working keyboard seem broken. With Slow Keys on, a key only registers after you hold it longer than usual. With Mouse Keys on, some keys move the pointer instead of typing.

Turn off Slow Keys

1. Choose Apple menu → System Settings.
2. Click Accessibility in the sidebar, then Keyboard. You may need to scroll down.
3. Turn off Slow Keys.

While you're in that pane, check Sticky Keys too. Apple's keyboard accessibility settings include an option to toggle Sticky Keys by pressing Shift five times, which is easy to trigger by accident when you're hammering Shift in a game or a long document. With Sticky Keys on, modifier keys like Command latch on after one press, so shortcuts behave strangely.

Turn off Mouse Keys

1. Choose Apple menu → System Settings → Accessibility.
2. Click Pointer Control. You may need to scroll down.
3. Turn off Mouse Keys.

There's a shortcut for all of this. Press Option-Command-F5 to open the Accessibility Shortcuts panel, where you can switch these features on or off in one place. On a Mac or Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, pressing Touch ID three times quickly does the same (Apple's accessibility shortcuts guide).

Keys typing the wrong characters? Check the keyboard layout

When a Mac types the wrong letters, symbols or accents, the input source is usually set to a different keyboard layout. The keys work; macOS is reading them as another language's layout. Apple's fix (key press guide):

1. Choose Apple menu → System Settings → Keyboard.
2. Under Text Input, click Edit.
3. Turn on Show Input menu in menu bar.
4. Open the Input menu in the menu bar and choose the layout that matches your keyboard.

Remove input sources you never use while you're in that list. Every extra layout is one more thing a stray shortcut can switch you into.

A different symptom is keys that repeat too fast or too slow. That's set by the Delay until repeat and Key repeat rate sliders in System Settings → Keyboard. Apple warns that if Key repeat rate is set to Off, holding a key no longer shows the accent menu (Apple's keyboard settings page).

How to clean a MacBook keyboard that has sticky or dead keys

One or two dead keys on a MacBook often means debris under the keycap, and Apple's answer is compressed air. Apple's cleaning guide covers MacBook (2015 and later) and MacBook Pro (2016 and later) keyboards:

1. Fit the straw to the can of compressed air, keep it about half an inch from the keys, and never turn the can upside down.
2. Hold the MacBook at a 75-degree angle, not quite vertical.
3. Spray the whole keyboard, or just the problem keys, moving left to right.
4. Turn the Mac onto its right side and spray left to right again.
5. Turn it onto its left side and repeat.

I stopped eating lunch over my laptop because of this. Crumbs are small enough to slip under a keycap and big enough to stop it registering.

When software is the problem: updates, keystroke apps and safe mode

If no keyboard works properly on your Mac, built-in or external, look at software before hardware. Two things to check: macOS itself, and apps that sit between your keys and everything else.

Update macOS

Choose Apple menu → System Settings → General → Software Update and install anything waiting (Apple's update guide).

Check apps that monitor your keyboard

Key remappers, text expanders, clipboard managers and some security tools ask for permission to watch your keyboard. If one of them breaks after a macOS update, it can swallow keystrokes. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Input Monitoring to see which apps have that access, and switch them off one at a time to find the culprit (Apple's input monitoring guide).

After every big macOS update, I check that list before blaming the keyboard. Most of what's in there I installed years ago and forgot about.

Start up in safe mode

Safe mode helps you find out whether software that loads as your Mac starts up is causing a problem (Apple's safe mode guide). If your keyboard works in safe mode, something you installed is the cause. Both methods need a working Shift key, so connect an external keyboard first if the built-in one is dead.

On a Mac with Apple silicon:

1. Choose Apple menu → Shut Down and wait until the screen is black.
2. Press and hold the power button until Loading startup options appears.
3. Select your startup volume.
4. Hold Shift and click Continue in Safe Mode.
5. At the login window, check that Safe Boot appears in the menu bar.

On an Intel-based Mac, turn it on and immediately hold Shift until the login window appears, then log in and look for Safe Boot in the menu bar.

Should I reset the SMC or NVRAM on my MacBook?

Only on an Intel-based MacBook. For a Mac with Apple silicon, Apple's System Management Controller (SMC) guide says to connect the charger and restart, with no other steps needed. To check your chip, choose Apple menu → About This Mac: an Apple silicon Mac lists a Chip, an Intel Mac lists a Processor.

On an Intel MacBook with a T2 chip, Apple's SMC reset is: shut down, then hold Control (left), Option (left) and Shift (right) for 7 seconds, add the power button and hold all four for another 7 seconds, release, wait a few seconds and turn the Mac on. On an Intel MacBook without a T2 chip, shut down, hold Shift, Control and Option on the left side plus the power button for 10 seconds, release, then press the power button (same guide).

The NVRAM reset (Option-Command-P-R held together as the Mac starts) is also listed for Intel-based Macs in Apple's startup key combinations. Both resets need working keys, which is one more reason to keep a USB keyboard in a drawer.

How to type on a Mac when the keyboard doesn't work

macOS has an onscreen keyboard you can type with using the trackpad, so a dead keyboard doesn't have to stop your day. There are two onscreen options, plus dictation.

• Accessibility Keyboard: a full onscreen keyboard. Turn it on in System Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard → Accessibility Keyboard (Apple's guide), or from the Option-Command-F5 panel.
• Keyboard Viewer: open the Input menu in the menu bar and choose Show Keyboard Viewer, then click keys to type (Apple's Keyboard Viewer guide).
• Dictation: for anything longer than a password, speaking is much faster than clicking letters. Our guide to dictating on a Mac covers the setup.

When I'm stuck without keys, I don't try to write long emails on the onscreen keyboard. It's fine for logging in and short replies; anything longer goes to dictation or waits for the spare keyboard.

Magic Keyboard or Bluetooth keyboard not working with a Mac

A Magic Keyboard that won't type is usually off, flat or unpaired, and Apple's fix is a cable. Apple's guide to connecting Magic accessories suggests:

1. Slide the power switch on the back edge off until no green shows, then back on.
2. Open Apple menu → System Settings → Bluetooth with the trackpad and make sure Bluetooth is on.
3. Connect the keyboard to the Mac with its USB-C or Lightning cable, wait one minute, then unplug it. This pairs it and charges the battery.
4. If it keeps dropping, look for wireless interference from other devices nearby.

For a wired keyboard, unplug it, reseat the connector firmly and try a different port. If it works on another port or another Mac, Apple says the original port may need repair (key press guide).

When a MacBook keyboard needs repair

If an external keyboard works but your MacBook's built-in keyboard still doesn't after the steps above, it's likely a hardware fault. Run Apple Diagnostics before you book anything (Apple's diagnostics guide):

• Apple silicon: hold the power button until you see Options, release, then press and hold Command-D.
• Intel: turn on the Mac and immediately hold D (or Option-D).

Diagnostics needs a keyboard for those shortcuts, so connect an external one if the built-in keys are dead. Then book a repair through Apple Support or find an Apple Authorized Service Provider at locate.apple.com.

If you own a MacBook with the thin "butterfly" keyboard (models sold from 2015 to 2020), know that Apple's free Keyboard Service Program for those models has ended, as MacRumors reported in November 2024. Expect to pay for a keyboard repair on those models unless other coverage applies.

Before you book: a quick checklist

• Mac plugged into power and restarted.
• A second keyboard tested on this Mac.
• Slow Keys, Sticky Keys and Mouse Keys off.
• The right layout chosen in the Input menu.
• macOS up to date and Input Monitoring apps checked.
• Safe mode tried.
• Apple Diagnostics run, with a note of what it reported.

Have that list ready and the repair conversation gets much shorter. If you rely on shortcuts once your keys are back, our Mac keyboard shortcuts list is worth a look.