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March 21st, 2023 03:00
KM5221W Keyboard deviations
I recently got a new Inspiron 24 with the KM5221W mouse and keyboard set. I have 2 questions about the keyboard.
1.) On my old Dell keyboard, there were markings (in blue) on some keys indicating what the fn key would activate when pressed simultaneously. This new keyboard does not have any. Are there alternate functions for any of the keys when pressing fn? The one in particular which I used regularly on the old Dell keyboard was pressing fn and F1 to put the computer into Sleep mode. I am aware that I can change any of the F keys to a Sleep key, but I consider that a last resort. In the meantime, I'm using the power button to do it.
2.) Another thing that literally every keyboard I have ever used had was a Caps Lock light which remains on as long as that was active. On this keyboard, when I press the key, it lights up for about 3 seconds and then goes off. Several times I have had to double back in some text I have written because the Caps Lock function was active, but there was no light to indicate such and I didn't realize that it was still on. I turned off the keyboard and removed the batteries, and reinstalled them, but it changed nothing. Also, I ran Dell Peripheral Manager and Troubleshooting, but both indicated that the keyboard was functioning normally.
Are there fixes for these situations?
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DELL-Jesse L
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March 22nd, 2023 05:00
Ranman3554,
To receive assistance from Dell support, they need to verify the warranty status and ownership. Click the "Get help now" icon on the right to start a live chat session. Provide to them the private Service Tag and all of your troubleshooting.
RoHe
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March 22nd, 2023 17:00
@Ranman3554 - Programming one of the keys for your sleep preference may be the only way to do this with that keyboard.
If you don't already have it installed, download/install the Dell Peripheral Manager. Then look at page 10, here, in the Peripheral Manager's guide to see how you can assign a function to keys on your KM5221W keyboard.
Most new keyboards turn off the indicator LEDs after a few seconds to save battery power. Don't know if that time limit can be changed.
There are some free and paid apps that put a CAP and/or NUM lock indicator on the taskbar, so Google for them.
You can also enable Toggle Keys on the Windows Ease of Access screen. That makes PC play a sound whenever you turn CAP or NUM lock on/off. It typically makes a higher pitch beep when either of those is turned on and a lower pitch beep when either of those is turned off.