Every keyboard, regardless of its brand and/or model, comes equipped with a unique set of keys that give you quick access to specific functions or features. Thereby, making you effectively adjust the screen brightness, increase/decrease the system volume. These and such other specialized tasks can be performed using the Fn keys. Thus, in this post, we will see How do I lock and unlock the Fn key.
Specialized Functions
As discussed above, to adjust the brightness of our screens, increase/decrease the system volume, we only need to press a key and it’s done. Isn’t this quite easy? Yes, indeed it is. This is thus, exactly what you can do with the function keys. These Fn keys double as multimedia keys, making it easy for you to control various functions that you could otherwise only control through the system settings or by using your mouse. But, here to access these functions, you only need to use the keys (F1~F12) in combination with the Fn key.
Would not it be much more convenient if you could just use the function keys without having to press the Fn key in conjunction with them? Hence, below, we will show you two easy ways to lock and unlock the Fn key at will. But, before we tell you how to do that, let us first learn more about the Fn key.
The Fn key
“Fn” is an abbreviation for function. It is usually found at the bottom left of your keyboard between the Ctrl, Alt, and Windows keys. Similar to other modifier keys, such as the Shift key, the Fn key gives you access to the second assignment of a key.
When you use the Fn key in combination with function keys like F1, F2 & more on your keyboard, you can perform additional functions associated with those keys. The tasks associated with the F1~F12 keys depend on the manufacturer and model of your computer. Sometimes they even depend on the type of keyboard.
Some common tasks that we can do using these keys are:
- Adjusting display brightness
- Switch between windows
- Increase/decrease the system volume
- Play, pause, fast-forward, and rewind media
- Activate laptop standby mode or put your computer to sleep
- Turn your screen on or off
- To lock and unlock the Fn key
How do I Lock and Unlock the Fn key
There are numerous we can lock and unlock the function keys. Let’s look at some of the methods one by one below.
Using BIOS to lock and unlock the Fn key
The Fn button can be enabled or disabled via BIOS. Disabling (locking) the Fn key changes the dual use of the keys that require you to press the Fn key only once. However, to disable the Fn key in this way, your system must have advanced BIOS options. To change the Fn settings using the BIOS Setup Utility, follow the steps below:
- To access the Bios Setup Utility in Dell or Acer laptops, use F2 key. For HP laptops, use F10. For ASUS laptops, use the Del key, and for Lenovo, use F1 or F2.
- Turn on your computer and immediately press the key that opens your computer’s BIOS settings during system startup.
- If you miss the boot window and the laptop continues to load, turn off your computer and turn it back on.
- Next, use the right or left arrow key to bring up the System Configuration menu.
- Below that, use the down arrow key to find the Action Key Mode option.
- This will help you enable/disable the function key.
- If you enable this then you do not need to press the Fn key to access functions printed on the keys (F1~F12) again.
- If it is disabled, you need to press the Fn button to access the functions printed on the buttons (F1~F12).
Note: In addition, the UEFI settings can be used to lock/unlock the Fn key.
How to change CPU fan speed with BIOS !!
Using UEFI Settings
For this follow the steps mentioned below:
- Open the Start menu and type Settings in the search bar.
- Click Settings > Update and Security > Restore
- Under Recovery, select Restart Now. Your laptop will reboot and the UEFI settings will open.
- In the Troubleshooting Options pop-up window, select > Advanced Options > UEFI Settings.
- To change the UEFI settings, click the Restart button.
- Now your laptop will reboot and take you to BIOS, where you can lock/unlock the Fn key as required.
- However, depending on the model of your laptop, you will find the Fn button under either Main, Advanced or System Configuration options.
- Next, press Enter to lock/unlock the function key settings.
Using keyboard settings
The quickest way to lock or unlock the Fn key is to use your keyboard settings. Also, you can press the Fn key in conjunction with other keys to lock the Fn keys and vice-versa to unlock them.
Generally, the Fn lock key is represented by a lock icon and is located under the Esc (Escape) key. If you can not find it under the ESC key, look for it elsewhere. To unlock the Function key we can also certain key combinations like:
- Ctrl + Shift + Num
- Number
- Fn + Numbers
- Num + F11
- Fn + F11
If your keyboard does not have a Num key, you can try these key combinations in combination with the Ins key.
SUMMING UP <–> How do I Lock and Unlock the Fn key
Following the methods given above will make you use specialized function keys (F1~ F12) without pressing the Fn key. You have also seen ways to lock and even unlock the Fn button based on your requirement and necessity. Locking the function key thus will keep worries afar as far as triggering the wrong function is concerned. With this, on a parting note, until next time, see-ya! Goodbye !! :)~