Keyboard not working correctly in Visual Studio 2022

Question

Keyboard not working correctly in Visual Studio 2022

Chris Davies 150

Running VS2022 17.7.4. Frequently only alpha numeric keys work. All function keys, backspace etc not working. Keyboard works fine in all other programs. Reset Key mapping has no effect.

Kenneth Vasilik 30 Reputation points

2023-10-19T18:01:18.0266667+00:00

I also get this problem. Spontaneously, keystrokes in the editor stop working. It's not that the keystrokes are thrown away entirely, but it seems like a modifier is stuck on that I can't unstick, like ctrl or shift, perhaps. I can fix this by shutting down that instance of VS and bringing it back up again. But, the problem usually comes back in an hour or so. I just had it happen three times in 5 minutes. Very frustrating. I have the latest VS update. All other apps seem just fine. It's just VS.
Hervé 5 Reputation points

2023-11-30T12:14:48.76+00:00

Hello,

I have the same problem, did you solved your problem ?

I also read that the problem can be caused by an extension.

I have the impression that this happens more often after stopping a debug session.
Sven DEVRIESE 5 Reputation points

2023-12-22T08:18:12.3533333+00:00

Same problem here with Visual Studio 2022 (17.8.3)
When it happens it often does after hibernating and waking up again. But not always, it's already happened to me while I'm working during the day. The only thing to do is close VS and start it up again. Happens a couple of times per week.
Ruth Amui 0 Reputation points

2024-01-04T07:03:18.4666667+00:00

I've also been struggling for months with this issue. I have tried all the solutions I can find online including the ones listed here without success. I have even uninstalled and reinstalled Visual Studio. Only my F5 key works.
Gustavo Cantero 0 Reputation points

2024-01-05T15:18:24.83+00:00

I've the same problem with Visual Studio 2022 (17.8.3).
Is there any workaround for this?
Kevin Drapel 10 Reputation points

2024-01-12T08:43:55.5+00:00

I am running into the same issue and it has been for a long time in VS2022. Right now, I have the arrow keys that are not working at all. Sometimes the tab is not working too. Only way is to restart VS....
Cade Perkins 15 Reputation points

2024-02-15T15:41:11.2966667+00:00

I also have this issue in Visual Studio 2022, v 17.9.0.
Cade Perkins 15 Reputation points

2024-02-15T15:45:23.2233333+00:00

I just submitted a very simple comment saying it also happens in v 17.9.0, but it was flagged as a violation of Code of Conduct! It was a single basic sentence without expletives.
Ruth Amui 0 Reputation points

2024-02-16T07:51:49.4266667+00:00

Absolutely ridiculous. I received a new laptop and installed VS 17.8.4 and I'm having the same issue and a repair has done nothing to resolve the problem. I can only use my function keys by holding down the Fn Key.
Stephan O'Farrill 5 Reputation points

2024-02-28T17:12:04.63+00:00

me too! Are you willing to fix this, or is it just OK people keep complaining, like all the other bugs in VS and Windows?
Richard Hay 1,351 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2024-03-01T16:31:49.91+00:00

Cade and Stephan - these were likely just false positives for spam. I have undeleted them.
Knothe, Ralf 1 Reputation point

2024-03-26T13:06:29.2066667+00:00

I think I have the same problem, or at least a similar one. Sometimes all key presses seem to get lost, but actually these happen in a different, non active editor tab. So when I type I sometimes see the asterisk, which indicates unsaved changes, in another tab.

This situations is solved as soon as I switch the tab again.
So my guess would be that when this happens, the view is updated to a new tab, but the old one still has the keyboard focus.
Markus Enberg 26 Reputation points

2024-04-19T06:56:25.7466667+00:00

Same issue here: VS Version 17.9.4.
Ctrl+Tab unlocks the buttons. Note that the alpha characters are working, but not some "special" buttons such as backspace, delete, arrows. My colleague have the same problem. I have further comments: I suspect the issue arise when presing ctrl+tab. It seems like the special characters are sent to the view that the ctrl+tab changed from, and continues changes that view!
Donny Alumbaugh 5 Reputation points

2024-04-24T13:01:50.01+00:00

This problem started for me after updating to 17.9.6. I've seen the issue with the ctrl and backspace keys.
kleinstein 0 Reputation points

2024-06-07T06:36:16.6333333+00:00

I have the same Problem.

I am using Visual Studio 2022 Pro Version 17.10.1. And Visual Studio will not get my keystroke '.'

All other keys are working fine. Digits, Alphabets, but not '.'

If this happen, I have to restart my Visual Studio.
Johan Heyvaert 0 Reputation points

2024-07-19T09:07:41.2966667+00:00

Same problem with 17.9.6. It seems to occur every time (?) after authenticating to Azure DevOps.
Johan Heyvaert 0 Reputation points

2024-07-19T09:08:56.3933333+00:00

When the problem occurs and I try to close VS it shows this dialog:
MatiasDonsDollerup-4085 5 Reputation points

2024-08-16T12:03:46.95+00:00

Same for me in VS 2022, v. 17.11.0. Usually a restart of VS works. When doing that I get the following message:

Microsoft Visual Studio

Microsoft Visual Studio has detected that an operation is blocking user input. This can be caused by an active modal dialog or a task that needs to block user interaction. Would you like to shut down anyway?

Yes No
Jan Betshammar 0 Reputation points

2024-09-16T12:55:42.43+00:00

VS Enterprise 17.11.3 has the same problem. There is no dialog blocking user input. Just after some time Ctrl key, arrows, backspace etcs stops to work. You can write abc but no ctrl key etc. Restart VS solves the problem.
Steffen Halberg 0 Reputation points

2024-10-08T06:59:55.2533333+00:00

Running Professional v 17.11.4 still the same, as it has been for a long time now!
Reid Miller 0 Reputation points

2024-11-21T00:45:49.03+00:00

I have same problem. CTRL-Tab and CTRL-Shift-Tab are the only things other than alpha numeric keys that work for me. I have restarted Visual Studio multiple times. Only occurred after the most recent update (17.12.1). I'm currently unable to work at all due to this.
Unais Ek 0 Reputation points

2024-12-02T10:58:10.35+00:00

I have the same problem with 17.11.6
Nikolaos Dermitzakis 0 Reputation points

2025-01-01T12:34:17.4866667+00:00

I have the same problem with 17.12.3:

Some shortcuts do work, e.g. CTRL+C, CTRL+V, CTRL+U; but any shortcut that requires a second modifier is not working, e.g. CTRL+SHIFT+S, CTRL+SHIFT+U.

3 answers

Your answer

Kenneth Vasilik 30 Reputation points

2023-10-19T18:01:18.0266667+00:00

I also get this problem. Spontaneously, keystrokes in the editor stop working. It's not that the keystrokes are thrown away entirely, but it seems like a modifier is stuck on that I can't unstick, like ctrl or shift, perhaps. I can fix this by shutting down that instance of VS and bringing it back up again. But, the problem usually comes back in an hour or so. I just had it happen three times in 5 minutes. Very frustrating. I have the latest VS update. All other apps seem just fine. It's just VS.
Hervé 5 Reputation points

2023-11-30T12:14:48.76+00:00

Hello,

I have the same problem, did you solved your problem ?

I also read that the problem can be caused by an extension.

I have the impression that this happens more often after stopping a debug session.
Sven DEVRIESE 5 Reputation points

2023-12-22T08:18:12.3533333+00:00

Same problem here with Visual Studio 2022 (17.8.3)
When it happens it often does after hibernating and waking up again. But not always, it's already happened to me while I'm working during the day. The only thing to do is close VS and start it up again. Happens a couple of times per week.
Ruth Amui 0 Reputation points

2024-01-04T07:03:18.4666667+00:00

I've also been struggling for months with this issue. I have tried all the solutions I can find online including the ones listed here without success. I have even uninstalled and reinstalled Visual Studio. Only my F5 key works.
Gustavo Cantero 0 Reputation points

2024-01-05T15:18:24.83+00:00

I've the same problem with Visual Studio 2022 (17.8.3).
Is there any workaround for this?
Kevin Drapel 10 Reputation points

2024-01-12T08:43:55.5+00:00

I am running into the same issue and it has been for a long time in VS2022. Right now, I have the arrow keys that are not working at all. Sometimes the tab is not working too. Only way is to restart VS....
Cade Perkins 15 Reputation points

2024-02-15T15:41:11.2966667+00:00

I also have this issue in Visual Studio 2022, v 17.9.0.
Cade Perkins 15 Reputation points

2024-02-15T15:45:23.2233333+00:00

I just submitted a very simple comment saying it also happens in v 17.9.0, but it was flagged as a violation of Code of Conduct! It was a single basic sentence without expletives.
Ruth Amui 0 Reputation points

2024-02-16T07:51:49.4266667+00:00

Absolutely ridiculous. I received a new laptop and installed VS 17.8.4 and I'm having the same issue and a repair has done nothing to resolve the problem. I can only use my function keys by holding down the Fn Key.
Stephan O'Farrill 5 Reputation points

2024-02-28T17:12:04.63+00:00

me too! Are you willing to fix this, or is it just OK people keep complaining, like all the other bugs in VS and Windows?
Richard Hay 1,351 Reputation points Microsoft Employee

2024-03-01T16:31:49.91+00:00

Cade and Stephan - these were likely just false positives for spam. I have undeleted them.
Knothe, Ralf 1 Reputation point

2024-03-26T13:06:29.2066667+00:00

I think I have the same problem, or at least a similar one. Sometimes all key presses seem to get lost, but actually these happen in a different, non active editor tab. So when I type I sometimes see the asterisk, which indicates unsaved changes, in another tab.

This situations is solved as soon as I switch the tab again.
So my guess would be that when this happens, the view is updated to a new tab, but the old one still has the keyboard focus.
Markus Enberg 26 Reputation points

2024-04-19T06:56:25.7466667+00:00

Same issue here: VS Version 17.9.4.
Ctrl+Tab unlocks the buttons. Note that the alpha characters are working, but not some "special" buttons such as backspace, delete, arrows. My colleague have the same problem. I have further comments: I suspect the issue arise when presing ctrl+tab. It seems like the special characters are sent to the view that the ctrl+tab changed from, and continues changes that view!
Donny Alumbaugh 5 Reputation points

2024-04-24T13:01:50.01+00:00

This problem started for me after updating to 17.9.6. I've seen the issue with the ctrl and backspace keys.
kleinstein 0 Reputation points

2024-06-07T06:36:16.6333333+00:00

I have the same Problem.

I am using Visual Studio 2022 Pro Version 17.10.1. And Visual Studio will not get my keystroke '.'

All other keys are working fine. Digits, Alphabets, but not '.'

If this happen, I have to restart my Visual Studio.
Johan Heyvaert 0 Reputation points

2024-07-19T09:07:41.2966667+00:00

Same problem with 17.9.6. It seems to occur every time (?) after authenticating to Azure DevOps.
Johan Heyvaert 0 Reputation points

2024-07-19T09:08:56.3933333+00:00

When the problem occurs and I try to close VS it shows this dialog:
MatiasDonsDollerup-4085 5 Reputation points

2024-08-16T12:03:46.95+00:00

Same for me in VS 2022, v. 17.11.0. Usually a restart of VS works. When doing that I get the following message:

Microsoft Visual Studio

Microsoft Visual Studio has detected that an operation is blocking user input. This can be caused by an active modal dialog or a task that needs to block user interaction. Would you like to shut down anyway?

Yes No
Jan Betshammar 0 Reputation points

2024-09-16T12:55:42.43+00:00

VS Enterprise 17.11.3 has the same problem. There is no dialog blocking user input. Just after some time Ctrl key, arrows, backspace etcs stops to work. You can write abc but no ctrl key etc. Restart VS solves the problem.
Steffen Halberg 0 Reputation points

2024-10-08T06:59:55.2533333+00:00

Running Professional v 17.11.4 still the same, as it has been for a long time now!
Reid Miller 0 Reputation points

2024-11-21T00:45:49.03+00:00

I have same problem. CTRL-Tab and CTRL-Shift-Tab are the only things other than alpha numeric keys that work for me. I have restarted Visual Studio multiple times. Only occurred after the most recent update (17.12.1). I'm currently unable to work at all due to this.
Unais Ek 0 Reputation points

2024-12-02T10:58:10.35+00:00

I have the same problem with 17.11.6
Nikolaos Dermitzakis 0 Reputation points

2025-01-01T12:34:17.4866667+00:00

I have the same problem with 17.12.3:

Some shortcuts do work, e.g. CTRL+C, CTRL+V, CTRL+U; but any shortcut that requires a second modifier is not working, e.g. CTRL+SHIFT+S, CTRL+SHIFT+U.

Answer 1

Kevin Tharp 35

I kept encountering a version of this issue and finally found that doing a Ctrl-Tab to change editor windows resolved it for my situation. Haven't had a time that this hasn't worked. This was with VS 17.8.4.

Nick Osinski 0 Reputation points

2024-03-01T16:17:35.8866667+00:00

Thank you this easy solution worked perfecty!
Charles Cal 0 Reputation points

2024-04-11T18:50:05.28+00:00

This seems to be my issue too. Bad look for MSFT
Alex Ravenna 0 Reputation points

2024-10-17T09:48:33.4366667+00:00

This seems to work for me too!
Mike Randall 0 Reputation points

2024-11-23T01:09:08.04+00:00

I tried all the things. Rebooting, resetting the keyboard in VS, etc. Nothing worked until I pressed ctrl-tab and changed the active file. LOLOL! Thanks!

Answer 2

Jens 10

I have the same problem. If it happens, the edit input field has lost the focus for keystrokes. Letters and numbers are inserted into the text, but the control keys do not work. With the arrow keys, I changed the selected control or icon in the small bar with the horizontal scrollbar under the edit field. My only solution is to start a modal dialog in VS, i.e. the options dialog and click cancel. Then the focus is back to the input field.

OSAMA FARAG 0 Reputation points

2025-01-27T14:31:02.57+00:00

That simple solution works great with me, it fixes the issue

Answer 3

Anna Xiu-MSFT 31,056 Microsoft External Staff

Hi @Chris Davies ,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!

Please try the following workarounds:

Reset the VS settings by going to Tools > Import and Export settings > Reset all settings.
Repair VS using Visual Studio Installer > More > Repair.
Re-launch the VS2022 and check that it works properly.

Sincerely,

Anna

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Chris Davies 150 Reputation points

2023-10-12T09:13:15.85+00:00

I did repair. It started working again. Next day stopped working again.
Anna Xiu-MSFT 31,056 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2023-10-13T03:28:40.0233333+00:00

Hello, please close all running VS instances and update your VS 2022 to the latest version 17.7.5.

Besides, please try to launch your Visual Studio 2022 in Safe Mode (run devenv /SafeMode in Developer Command Prompt for VS 2022). Then, check that the keyboard works properly.
Max Borrmann 5 Reputation points

2023-10-20T16:37:44.0666667+00:00

having the same issue with 17.7.5. resetting and repairing did not help
Daniel Casado 0 Reputation points

2023-12-05T13:20:59.7766667+00:00

for me it happen often after waking up my PC from sleep
Dylan Nicholson 1 Reputation point

2024-01-17T23:53:38.4433333+00:00

Relaunching works, but having to do that several times a day is extremely frustrating.
Avi Michael 0 Reputation points

2024-03-08T01:57:25.9233333+00:00

It is still happening as of 8 March 2024, Microsoft Visual Studio Professional 2022 (64-bit) - Current Version 17.8.4
Hervé 5 Reputation points

2024-03-08T07:14:06.4666667+00:00

Did not had the problem since several weeks.

I have changed my keyboard mapping to vs code in the settings.
Lindsay Mathieson 5 Reputation points

2024-06-26T13:34:25.72+00:00

Took Herves suggestion and did a reset for my keyboard mappings to default. That fixed it on the spot, will have to see if it stays fixed.
Cade Perkins 15 Reputation points

2024-06-26T15:14:56.7366667+00:00

With all due respect for attempting to find a useful "fix", this is apparently an obscure bug within VS itself. How many other apps do I use that suddenly loose the ability to receive and process keystrokes? None! Even if a reset or repair of VS worked, it is apparent from the comments that re-installation or repairs is not going to resolve the underlying issue.

I've never experienced this before in VS (over years of different versions), but have now experienced it on two different workstations, running different versions of VS 2022 (Community and Pro). It's apparently a recent change that caused this problem.

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Keyboard not working correctly in Visual Studio 2022

3 answers

Your answer