change function keys dell xps

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How to invert fn keys on Dell Laptop?

My Dell laptop (XPS 15z) has special keys on the F1 to F12 keys. If I want to disable keyboard backlight, for example, I must type Fn + F6 .

Is it possible to invert it?

In fact, I don't often use the F* keys.

How can I only hit F6 to disable the backlight and Fn + F6 to type F6 ?

Is it possible?

shortcut-keys

People here I recommend going to the top voted answer not the accepted answer. It is much easier to do ctrl-esc than to mess around in bios. FYI. – neuronet Jun 22, 2017 at 0:49
1 I updated the accepted answer. – Gp2mv3 Jan 5, 2018 at 11:13
You can switch behaviour of function keys (to function with or without Fn key).. use Fn + Esc (fn padlock icon icon) – Chanuka Asanka Jul 15, 2019 at 3:55

3 Answers 3

I am not sure if it works for all models, but on mine if you press Fn + Esc it changes the Fn lock so that F1 + F12 work as normal and when you hold Fn +(lets say F11 ) it will change the brightness or whatever that keys secondary function is. Pressing Fn + Esc again reverts it back to default. Hope this helps.

19 Gah, thank you for posting this! I accidentally pressed this without even realizing such a feature exists. Would go hunting around BIOS if you hadn't helped! – kaqqao Nov 11, 2015 at 0:31
1 Wow that is an awful default toggle to have on a row that is so similar to the intended row. Why this isn't the accepted answer is a rare glitch in the SO matrix. – neuronet Jun 22, 2017 at 0:48
2 This is a better answer as it is an easier option. Wondering why this is not marked as answer! – Raul Jul 29, 2017 at 1:41
3 I always did it changing BIOS but didn't found this option in my new notebook. Fn+Esc worked, to be honest Esc even has a padlock icon but I was unable to figure out alone. – iurisilvio Jun 8, 2018 at 15:46
1 Pressing Function Key + Shift make it inverted in HP EliteBook Laptop – Rahal Kanishka Jun 27, 2019 at 15:13

It should be possible to do it in the BIOS. Quoting the XPS 15z manual:

Press F2 during POST (Power On Self Test) to enter the System Setup (BIOS) utility.

In the Function Key Behavior, select Multimedia Key First or Function Key First.

Function Key First — This is the default option. Press any function key to perform the associated function. For multimedia action, press Fn + the required multimedia key.
Multimedia Key First — Press any multimedia key to perform the associated multimedia action. For function, press Fn + the required function key.

This works for a different model Dell laptop I have as well, and I would suspect for anything else with Dell's BIOS (don't have experience with any other vendors). – zpletan Mar 13, 2012 at 14:11
This also works for my Lenovo (Flex 2) Laptop. No 2 options as mentioned above, just an enable and disable option. – blo0p3r Sep 18, 2014 at 3:36
6 On a new Dell XPS 13, the option is under "POST Behavior", "Fn Lock Options" – JavadocMD Jun 18, 2015 at 20:59
2 If enabled in the BIOS (which I assume it is by default), you can toggle the behavior of the Fn key with the Fn+Esc hotkey. – airstrike Jan 31, 2016 at 22:11

On mine, the problem was that the NumLk key had been pressed. Pressing it again holding the Fn key reverted the Fn key back.

This works for my laptop only 1 time (1 F-key click) after pressing and loding NumLk+Fn. Then it does not work again. – rightaway717 Dec 7, 2018 at 13:54

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How to Disable the Function Key on a Dell Laptop

Lock or unlock the Function key on a Dell laptop

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What to Know

On Dell laptops, there is no dedicated key to turn off the Function key.
Press the Escape and Function keys together as a Function Lock key.
The Function Lock option can be configured by booting into UEFI.

This article provides instructions for how to disable the function key on a Dell laptop.

How Do I Lock and Unlock the Fn Key?

Dell laptop keyboards with a Function key give you two sets of commands. You can use the top row as multimedia keys to toggle different PC settings or use them as standard function keys (F1–F12). But they cannot do both at the same time. If you want to use the F1-F12 keys for their secondary functions of controlling multimedia or your screen settings, use the steps here to disable them on the laptop.

The behavior of the Functions keys can be controlled by the Function Lock (Fn Lock) found under BIOS or UEFI settings.

Newer Dell computers come with UEFI. This Unified Extensible Firmware Interface has a more user-friendly interface compared to the legacy BIOS. The instructions and screenshots below refer to the UEFI mode of booting into Windows.

The setting to disable the Fn Lock is within the UEFI of your Dell laptop. Power on your laptop or reboot if already switched on. The F2 Function key is the access key to enter UEFI or BIOS on a Dell laptop.

To enter UEFI, press F2 when the Dell logo appears. Press every few seconds until the message Preparing to enter Setup appears.

On the UEFI Settings screen, drill down to POST Behavior .

Select the “+” to expand the options under POST Behavior .

Select Fn Lock Options .

The Fn Lock is enabled by default. On the right, select the check box for Fn Lock if it’s unchecked.

The Fn Lock has two options which are self-explanatory:

Lock Mode Disable/Standard: The F1-12 Keys behave as function keys. You must hold down the Function key and any of the F1-F12 keys to trigger a command.
Lock Mode Enable/Secondary: The F1-12 Keys control the secondary functions.

How Do I Disable the Fn Key?

There is no dedicated Fn Lock key on most Dell laptops to disable the F1 to F12 Function keys.

The Function Lock is enabled/disabled by pressing the Escape key (on the top row next to the F1 to F12 keys) and Function key (on the bottom row next to the Windows button) together like a toggle switch.

As you can see, on the Dell XPS 13, the Esc key has a tiny lock icon to indicate the Fn Lock.

When Function Lock is on, you don’t have to hold down the Function key to trigger the action.

The Function keys ( F1 to F12 ) have standard functions associated with them. For instance, press the F5 key in Chrome, and a webpage will refresh and reload. Increasing the playback volume could be the secondary function of the F5 key, as indicated by a small icon below the F5 label.

Enabling Fn Lock allows you to execute any standard functions tied to the F1 through F12 keys without pressing the Function key always. Toggle off the Function Lock, and the F1-F12 keys will be disabled. For instance, press F5 now to increase the volume of the media playback.

When Fn Lock is disabled, you must press the Function key to use the F1 to F12 keys for their standard function. For instance, press the Fn key + F5 to refresh the Chrome page.

Disable Function Lock and the F1-F12 keys if you want to use the top row of the keyboard for one-tap media control. To play games which use the F1-F12 keys, enable the Function Lock again. The toggle feature ( Escape + Function key) makes it easy to swap the roles.

You can remap the keys on a keyboard in Windows 10. Download Microsoft Power Toys , open it, and go to Keyboard Manager > Remap a Key or Remap a Shortcut .

First, enter the BIOS setup utility . Then, select Configuration > HOTKEYS Mode and disable the hotkeys option. Save your changes before exiting.

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Cannot change FN lock behavior on XPS 9560

I got my new XPS 15 9560 about a week ago and I am currently dual booting Ubuntu 16.04 LTS and Windows 10, with the latest BIOS update (1.3.4). The laptop has secondary functions for the f1-f12 keys like changing screen brightness and speaker volume. By default, when you press the f-keys, these secondary functions are activated and you must hold the Fn key to have the keys work like regular function keys. It is possible to switch them to have regular f-key input as their normal operation (so that you have to hold Fn for the secondary functions) by pressing Fn + Esc, however I have little use for the secondary functions and would much rather have the regular function key behavior as the default without having to press Fn + Esc on every boot.

There is of course a setting for this in the UEFI BIOS (called Fn Lock) and I attempted to change this setting to have the function keys work normally by default rather than as media keys. However, when I boot the laptop into both Windows and Ubuntu, the behavior does not change - I must still press Fn + Esc to have normal function key behavior. When I shut the machine down and go back into the BIOS, the setting for Fn Lock has magically reverted to its original state (Fn keys act as media keys). All the research I have done on this issue simply says to change this setting in the BIOS, but I have no idea how both operating systems seem to be overriding this value. I would appreciate some insight on how to stop this from changing.

function-keys

I have come to the realization that the BIOS options are very confusingly labeled. It turns out that setting the Fn Lock behavior to "Disabled/Standard" does not lock the f-keys to their normal, f1-f12 input but rather to their media key functions. If you want to access the normal input, you must set the BIOS to "Enabled/Secondary". It appears that Dell defines secondary functions the normal behavior of f-keys and standard functions as media keys. I also realized that pressing Fn + Esc persists aross reboots, and it is what actually changes the BIOS setting.

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How to Fix the Fn Function on a Dell Computer

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The "Fn" key on a Dell toggles the multimedia keys on and off. On some models, you must press "Fn" to activate these multimedia keys, but the keyboard operation can be changed on the Dell PC so that the multimedia keys are always on. This setting, however, can interfere with your work; some enterprise applications assign special functions to certain keys on the keyboard and Dell may override these functions if the key in question is also a multimedia key. You can change the settings on the Dell so that the multimedia keys activate only when "Fn" is pressed.

Turn on or reboot the computer. Press "F2" on the Dell logo screen to enter the BIOS settings.

Use the arrow keys to select the "Advanced" tab. Scroll down to "Function Key Behavior."

Press "+" or "-" to change the setting to "Function Key First." Go to the "Exit" tab.

Select "Exit Saving Changes" and then press "Enter" to fix the function key on the Dell and restart the computer.

Dell Support: Inspiron duo Setup Guide
If you're experiencing the opposite problem and you'd like the multimedia keys to activate by default, change the setting to "Multimedia Key First."

Ruri Ranbe has been working as a writer since 2008. She received an A.A. in English literature from Valencia College and is completing a B.S. in computer science at the University of Central Florida. Ranbe also has more than six years of professional information-technology experience, specializing in computer architecture, operating systems, networking, server administration, virtualization and Web design.

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How To Change Function Key Settings In Dell

Aug 28th, 2023
Divya Sachdeva

On a Dell, pressing the "Fn" key will turn the multimedia keys on and off. The multimedia keys on some models must be activated by pressing "Fn," but on the Dell PC , the keyboard action can be modified so that the multimedia keys are always active. This setting, however, can get in the way of your job since Dell might overrule certain keyboard functionalities that some enterprise software assign to specific keys if those same keys are also multimedia keys. The multimedia keys on the Dell can only be activated by pressing "Fn," according to settings that can be changed.

1. Restart or turn on the computer. To access the BIOS options, press "F2" when you see the Dell logo.

2. To select the "Advanced" tab, use the arrow keys. To find "Function Key Behavior," scroll down.

3. Press "+" or "-" to change the setting to "Function Key First." Select the "Exit" tab.

4. To fix the Dell function key and restart the computer, choose "Exit Saving Changes" and then press "Enter."

The Fn key, which stands for "function," is a modifier key that is commonly found on keyboards, particularly those found on laptops. It is used in a small layout to combine keys that are typically kept apart. Due to their limited keyboard size, laptops are usually where you can find them. It serves as the F-Lock key on many full-sized "multimedia" keyboards. It is mostly used to swiftly modify display or audio settings, such as brightness, contrast, or volume, and is held down while pressing the relevant key to make the adjustment.

The location of the Fn key is not yet standardized, however, the majority of manufacturers have chosen to place it next to a left Control key that has been shrunk and/or moved. Changes to the Control key's size and location are frequently seen as inconvenient by users accustomed to the larger left Control key on IBM PC-style keyboards, which are frequently used for desktop computers. This is because the Control key is most frequently associated with OS and application shortcuts (such as Control+S to save a document or Control+Shift+Escape to launch the Task Manager in modern versions of Microsoft Windows )

The Fn key is currently positioned between the left Control key and the left Windows key on the bottom row of the keyboard by the majority of portable computer makers today (including HP, Dell, and Samsung). This typically results in the Control key becoming smaller while still allowing it to occupy the bottom-left position on the keyboard.

The Fn key is now located in the lowest left position on Lenovo's ThinkPad keyboards, which places Control in the second-from-left position on the bottom row. The present ThinkPad product line was created by IBM in 1992, but this arrangement has been in place since then and is currently exclusive to ThinkPads among all laptops that ship with Windows. This layout was chosen, at least in part, by IBM's designers so that the laptop's ThinkLight could be turned on in the dark by merely feeling for the keys in two of the corners of the keyboard.

Notably, ThinkPads didn't start shipping keyboards with Windows keys until 2006, so even though the Fn key replaced the left Control key, neither it nor the left Alt key needed to be shrunk. ThinkPad keyboards now typically have larger left Control keys than those of many other manufacturers, and are unique in that they maintain the Control, Windows, and Alt keys on laptops starting in mid-2006. This was done primarily by reducing the left Alt key.

Also Read: Dell Service Center Thane West & East Maharashtra

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I won't say much as the blog has informed you all about how to open a DVD drive on a laptop. It is an easy process and you can use it for various purposes.

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