Restore Settings for Keyboard on Windows and Mac

The keyboard, without a doubt, is one of the basic input devices of a computer. From having to stare at it for five seconds just to find the necessary key to being fluent, we have all somehow mastered the keyboard in our ways. Therefore, we often create new keyboard shortcuts or add new hotkey combinations to personalize the keyboard according to our requirements. Sometimes, too many personalizations might cause problems that would require you to restore your keyboard to its default settings. In this article, we will show you several easy ways to restore your keyboard to its original settings and fix the existing issues.

Let’s dig in.

Table of Contents

Restore Keyboard Settings on a Windows Computer

Is your Windows keyboard starting to act crazy? In this case, you probably need to refresh your keyboard drivers or reset your computer’s keyboard language. And in this section, we will show you exactly how to do that.

Changing Windows Keyboard Back to Default Settings

Unless you’re new to Windows computers, you should already be aware of the different drivers your computer needs to run its hardware smoothly. In simple terms, the drivers are software that the Windows 10/11 operating system needs to communicate and work with its corresponding hardware.

Consequently, if you have installed some problematic keyboard drivers, your keyboard will go haywire. Therefore, you need to update your drivers to restore your keyboard settings. Here’s how you can do it:

First, right-click on the “Start” icon of your Windows device, and a menu with multiple options will show up.
Next, click on the “Device Manager” option of the menu to open the Device Manager window.
After that, find the “Keyboards” option in the Device Manager window to expand it. It will show you the current keyboard(s) attached to your computer.
Now, right-click on it and click on the “Uninstall device” option.
Next, a new pop-up window will show up. Click on the “Uninstall” option on the pop-up window. This is to confirm the uninstallation process of your selected keyword.
After that, click on the “Yes” option and your computer will restart.
Once your computer reboots, navigate to Device Manager → Keyboards → Scan for hardware changes. Once you perform this action, your uninstalled keyboard will appear again in the “Device Manager” window.
Now, click on the keyboard that reappeared and then click on the “Update Driver” option.
Next, click on the “Search automatically for updated driver software” option. It will start the installation process of the latest keyboard drivers.
Once the installation process is done, restart your computer again.

That’s it! You have successfully recovered your keyboard to its original settings.

Switching the Windows Keyboard Language

Reinstalling your keyboard drivers didn’t work, did it? No worries! You can always restore your keyboard to its default settings by changing its keyboard language. Here’s how the process works:

First, press the “Windows + I” keys on your keyboard to open the “Settings” window.
Next, click on the “Time & language” option.
After that, click on the “Typing” option on the right panel.
Now, click on the “Advanced keyboard settings” option, and a new window will appear.
Next, underneath the “Override the default input method” section, click on the drop-down menu with multiple language options and select your preferred language.

Once you complete all five steps, you will successfully change your keyboard language and wrap up the recovery process.

Mac Users Can Restore Settings for Keyboard Like This

Are you using a Mac instead of a Windows computer? Great. Mac comes with similar built-in keyboards from Apple. Thus, restoring your Mac keyboard to its default settings or changing its language is way easier than doing the same thing on a keyboard from the Windows PCs. In this section, we will show you how to restore settings for a Mac computer keyboard.

Going Back to Default Settings on Mac Keyboard

Want to change the Mac keyboard back to its original configuration? No problem. Follow the steps below to reset your Mac keyboard to its original settings:

First, in the upper-left corner of your computer screen, click on the “Apple Logo” icon. After that, click on the “System Preferences” option to open it.
From the System Preferences window, click on the “Keyboard” option.
Next, click on “Modifier Keys…”
If you only have one keyboard, please skip this step. However, in case you have more than one keyboard attached to your Mac, click on the “Select keyboard” drop-down menu and select the keyboard you want to restore.
After that, click on the “Restore Defaults” option and then click on “OK.”

Once you finish following the instructions above, your keyboard settings on a Mac machine should change back to the state they left the factory in.

Changing the Language for Keyboard on Mac

Do you want to change your Mac’s keyboard language to make sure it has been restored to its original settings? Here’s what to do:

Click on the “Apple” icon that is located in the upper-left corner of your Mac’s screen.
After that, click on the “System Preferences” option.
Next, go to the “Language & Region” and choose the language of your choice, preferably the original language of your keyboard.
Now, wait for your Mac to restart and your keyboard’s language will be successfully switched.

Performing a Hard Reset to Restore Keyboard Configuration

Do you use a separate keyboard for your laptop that has a problematic key? Maybe the function key of your desktop’s keyboard isn’t working properly even after the driver update. In this case, you need to perform a hard reset on your keyboard.

Now, keyboards of different brands may have different hard reset methods. It would be best if you go to the keyboard manufacturer’s official website and follow the hard reset method mentioned over there.

But still, here is a general hard reset method that works for the keyboards of most popular brands:

First, unplug the keyboard from your computer and wait for at least 30 seconds.
Now, press the “Esc” key of the keyboard and hold it. Plugin the keyboard to your computer while you’re holding the “Esc” key.
Release the “Esc” key after making sure that the keyboard is connected to your computer again. With this, the hard reset process should be done for most keyboards.

We hope you have successfully restored your keyboard to its default settings following this guide. The methods we have mentioned above should solve most problems and restore your original keyboard settings. If you’re still facing problems after performing driver updates, language change, and even after trying the hard reset, it’s time to take your keyboard to a professional to get it fixed.