My daughter recently got an Acer Nitro V15 15.6" gaming laptop, and it was working fine for hours until the function keys switched their default functions. For example, the volume control, which is on F3, now requires her to press the 'fn' key first to change the volume. We've tried the common fix of pressing 'fn' and 'esc,' but it didn't work. We're not very tech-savvy, so we're looking for help to get the function keys back to normal.
3 Answers
It sounds like you might have accidentally activated the 'fn lock' feature. If that 'fn' + 'esc' combo didn't work, check if there's any other key that might have similar functions on your keyboard. Sometimes keyboards have specific legends for this functionality.
Yeah, we looked everywhere and couldn't find an fn lock key, and we went through the settings without finding anything to change back.
Honestly, for gaming, it might be easier for her to just adapt to using the 'fn' key when she needs volume controls. In my setup, I keep the F1-F12 keys as default for that reason. But still, there should be a BIOS option to switch it back if needed.
That's a good point; it's not the end of the world. We just want to understand how it switched and fix it easily.
Another method to try is entering the BIOS and changing the Function Key Behavior setting. Look for an option that sets the media keys as the default.
Thanks! I’ll definitely give that a shot.
There's likely a keyboard setting in the system preferences that could help you too.