How to Fix Keyboard Typing Number Instead of Letters

Working and typing on PC or laptop seems very easy in comparison to other devices such as smartphones or tablet, but have you wondered what to do if your keyboard fails to type letters as you wish? Sometimes, the keyboard starts typing symbols and numbers instead of letters. If that’s the case, you need not panic as we are providing some of the potential fixes for your keyboard.

There are various reasons behind this issue, and the most prominent reason is your keyboard keys start registering the characters as numbers instead of letters. You should try to toggle the “Num Lock” button placed just over the number keys. Num lock is the manager and the primary key for turning the number keys to On or Off.
About Num Lock
Num lock is the abbreviation of Number Lock, and this key is kept on keyboards from the date of the first release of IBM Personal computer that was launched in the year 1981. It can serve the duty of cursor key apart from the number key switch. To make toggling between these two features, IBM launched the key and equipped it at the top section of Number keys.
Once you activated the Num lock key, then the numeric keypad provides proper calculating functions just as the calculator. If you have deactivated the option, then the particular numeric pad will serve as the cursor keys like up and down arrow buttons, and some works as editing tabs like Insert and Home functions.
Num Lock on laptops

• If you own a laptop, then you might see that there is no dedicated numeric keypad that is available on the keyboards of PC. In this case, the Num Lock functions slightly different from that of the traditional PC keyboard. As there is no calculation section, then the laptop companies provide the Num Lock for dual-task on most of the machines. Once you tap on it, a separate section of QWERTY characters will automatically convert into the numeric keyboard, and thus this serves the task of calculation on various machines.
• The display and functions of these numeric keypads on various laptops differ from device to device as per their manufacturing company.
• So, due to the dual action of Num Lock on laptops, users might face difficulty in typing their desired content if the Num Lock is accidentally pressed.
• If you don’t know about the complete setup features of your laptop keys and you encounter issues of accidentally tapping the Num Lock key on your device, then you may disable the feature.

Steps to Deactivate Num Lock Feature on Laptop

• In the beginning, you have to search for Num Lock by disabling the Num Lock feature on the laptop. The location of this key may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer. In most of the devices, it is available at the right edge of the uppermost section of the keypad.
• You have to search for the small tab that might be there with various names such as Num Lock, NumLk, and mini lock icon with number 1. E.g., you can find the Num lock tab at the uppermost section of your laptop, if you are a member of the Acer family. Here, this key serves as the double function one is Num Lock, and the second is F12.
• In some laptops, you will be asked to press and hold the function key (Fn) while activating the Num Lock feature on press the Num Lock tab.

Note: On some of the popular brands such as Sony or Samsung, you will find an indicator light that will show you that the Num Lock is enabled or not.
Turning Off the Num Lock through the on-screen keyboard
In case you are facing some issues with your Num Lock key on the PC keyboard, then you can deactivate it in few steps:

• First and foremost, hit the Windows logo and R button. After a while, you will see the Run Dialog box on your screen.
• After that, type the keywords “osk” into the search panel and hit the Enter tan there.
• Next, check the state of Num Lock. If it is enabled, it will appear white. In this case, toggle it to turn it disabled.
• In case you are not viewing on-screen num lock, then hit the Options tab and, after that, mark the numeric keyboard-related option.
• Then, hit the Ok button there. Then, the Num Lock appears on your screen, and you have to deactivate it.

Blair Lennon is a Internet Security expert and has been working in the technology industry since 2002. As a technical expert, she has written technical blogs, manuals, white papers, and reviews for many websites such as norton.com/setup.

Source:  https://helpnorton.uk.net/how-to-fix-keyboard-typing-number-instead-of-letters/