Windows 10 Keyboard Typing Wrong Characters: Fixing Swapped Symbols and Mixed-Up Keys
You press the key marked with an at sign and a quotation mark appears. The hash key produces a pound sign. Windows 10 keyboard typing wrong characters makes entering passwords and email addresses judolbet88 especially difficult.
The keyboard is almost never faulty in this situation. Windows is using a layout that does not match the letters printed on the keys.
Layouts for different countries place symbols in different positions, and Windows can switch between installed layouts with a shortcut that is easy to press by accident.
Likely Reasons Behind the Problem
Mismatched characters usually come from these:
- The active keyboard layout is for a different country, such as US instead of UK.
- A second layout is installed and was activated with Windows + Space or Alt + Shift.
- Num Lock is on, so some letter keys type numbers on a compact laptop.
- A program or game has changed the input language.
The layout can also differ on the sign-in screen, which explains passwords being rejected.
First Steps to Try
Check the active layout.
- Look at the taskbar near the clock for a language code such as ENG US or ENG UK. Click it to see the installed layouts.
- Choose the layout that matches your physical keyboard.
- Press Windows + Space to cycle through layouts and watch how the indicator changes.
- Press Num Lock, or Fn + Num Lock, if letters are producing numbers.
- Test by typing symbols into Notepad.
If the correct layout fixes the symbols, remove the unwanted one so the problem cannot recur.
If the Problem Continues
Tidy up the installed layouts.
- Open Settings > Time & Language > Language.
- Select your preferred language and choose Options.
- Under Keyboards, select “Add a keyboard” and add the correct layout if it is missing.
- Select any layout you do not need and choose Remove.
- On the Language page, select the keyboard settings link, open “Input language hot keys,” and set the switching shortcuts to “Not Assigned.”
To correct the sign-in screen, open “Administrative language settings,” choose “Copy settings,” and tick the option for the welcome screen and system accounts.
A Word of Caution
Before changing layouts, make sure you know how your password is typed, particularly if it contains symbols. Use the eye icon on the sign-in box to reveal what you are typing. If only one or two keys misbehave whatever the layout, the keyboard may have a hardware fault.
Wrapping Up
Wrong characters point to a layout mismatch rather than a broken keyboard. Select the layout that matches your keys, remove extras, and disable the switching shortcut. The symbols will then match what is printed.