WINDOWS
How to turn off Sticky Keys on Windows 11
Real screenshot · Microsoft Cloud PC, Windows 11In short
Open Settings, Accessibility, Keyboard and switch Sticky keys off. To stop it coming back, open the Sticky keys entry and switch off Keyboard shortcut for Sticky keys. Otherwise pressing Shift five times turns it on again.
Sticky Keys lets people press shortcuts such as Ctrl + S one key after the other instead of together, and it is a real help for anyone who types with one hand. For everyone else it usually turns up by accident: Shift gets pressed five times, often in the middle of a game, and in jumps a beep and a pop-up that is rather too keen to help.
6 of 6 steps show a real screenshot from our Microsoft Cloud PC.
Steps
- 1
Open the keyboard settings
Open Start, Settings and select Accessibility in the list on the left.
Scroll down to Interaction and select Keyboard. On our Cloud PC its description reads Sticky, Filter, and Toggle keys, on-screen keyboard.
- 2
Switch Sticky keys off
At the top, under Sticky, Filter, and Toggle keys, turn the Sticky keys switch off.
On our Cloud PC Sticky keys, Filter keys and Toggle keys were all Off.
- 3
Switch off the shortcut
Click the arrow at the end of the Sticky keys row, not the switch. Turn off Keyboard shortcut for Sticky keys.
It says Press the Shift key 5 times to turn Sticky keys on or off; once it is Off, pressing Shift five times does nothing.
On our Cloud PC the other four switches on this page were On.
- 4
Switch Filter keys off
Go back to Keyboard. Filter keys can make the keyboard ignore brief or repeated keystrokes, which feels like a keyboard that has stopped working.
Turn the Filter keys switch off on this page.
- 5
Switch off the Filter keys shortcut
Click the arrow at the end of the Filter keys row and turn off Keyboard shortcut for Filter keys.
Its description reads Press and hold the right Shift key for 8 seconds to turn on Filter keys. On our Cloud PC it was On.
- 6
And for Toggle keys
Toggle keys plays a sound when you press caps, num, or scroll lock.
Switch it off on the same Keyboard page if the beeps bother you.
If you do not see this option
- Your PC runs Windows 10. Microsoft says to open Start, Settings, Ease of Access, Keyboard and turn off the toggle under Sticky Keys. Sources: Make your mouse, keyboard, and other input devices easier to use, Windows keyboard shortcuts for accessibility
- A Sticky keys icon stays on the taskbar That is Show the Sticky keys icon on the taskbar, on the Sticky keys page behind the arrow. It was On on our Cloud PC.
- A Filter keys icon stays on the taskbar That is Show the Filter keys icon on the taskbar, on the Filter keys page behind the arrow. It was On on our Cloud PC.
If this does not work
- Key presses are ignored unless you hold them down. Don't worry, that is Filter keys, which Microsoft describes as setting the keyboard to ignore brief or repeated keystrokes. Switch it off on the same Keyboard page.
- A sound plays when you press Caps Lock. That is Toggle keys, which plays a sound when you press caps, num, or scroll lock. Switch it off on the same Keyboard page.
- Shift or Ctrl stays held down On our Sticky keys page, Lock shortcut keys when pressed twice in a row was On. Switching Sticky keys off ends this, and Shift lets go again.
- The pointer moves when you press number keys That is Mouse keys, another helper that can switch on by surprise. Microsoft says Left Alt + left Shift + Num Lock turns it on or off.
Good to know
If the pop-up Do you want to turn on Sticky Keys? appears, choose No. The link in that pop-up leads straight to the setting for the shortcut, so at least the pop-up shows you how to stop it.
If keys still behave oddly afterwards, the keyboard itself may be the cause: Windows 11 keyboard or mouse not working: 7 fixes to try.
An alternative when a key is broken: how to use the on-screen keyboard on Windows 11.
About this guide
- Device
- Windows
- Shown on
- Windows 11 Enterprise 25H2 (build 26200.9457), Microsoft Cloud PC
- App
- Settings
- Path
- Settings › Accessibility › Keyboard
- Real screenshots
- 6 of 6 steps
- Checked
- October 2026
- Sources
- 2 official, linked below
The screenshots are our own, taken on Windows 11 Enterprise 25H2 running as a Microsoft Cloud PC, a Windows PC that runs in the cloud. Where the Cloud PC shows something specific, the step says so.
Sources
Links checked October 2026. Menus and features can change with updates.Did this guide work for you?
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