The volume keys do nothing
Why are my volume keys not working on my laptop?
Written by The CommonFixes team · fact checked by CommonFixes review desk
Last updated
Short answer
The volume keys are not ordinary keys. They only work when the small maker software that reads them is running, when the function key layer is set the way you expect, and when the sound device the key is aimed at is still the one Windows or macOS is using. Any one of those three going missing makes the keys feel dead even though the keyboard itself is perfectly fine. The quickest thing to try first: try the key on its own and with the fn key held down — Press volume down by itself, then press Fn and volume down together. If only one of the two works, the function key layer is simply reversed. On most laptops you can flip it by holding Fn and pressing Esc, which toggles the Fn lock. If that does nothing, the same setting lives in the firmware screen as Action Keys Mode or Hotkey Mode. Most people are done in about 12 minutes.
Full walkthrough below: 6 steps for Windows and Mac, rated easy.
Sounds like this
- •Pressing volume up or down changes nothing
- •No volume bar appears on the screen
- •The keys work for brightness but not for sound
Why it happens
The volume keys are not ordinary keys. They only work when the small maker software that reads them is running, when the function key layer is set the way you expect, and when the sound device the key is aimed at is still the one Windows or macOS is using. Any one of those three going missing makes the keys feel dead even though the keyboard itself is perfectly fine.
Work through these in order
0% done- 1
Try the key on its own and with the Fn key held down
Press volume down by itself, then press Fn and volume down together. If only one of the two works, the function key layer is simply reversed. On most laptops you can flip it by holding Fn and pressing Esc, which toggles the Fn lock. If that does nothing, the same setting lives in the firmware screen as Action Keys Mode or Hotkey Mode.
- 2
Check that the volume is going to the right speaker or headset
On Windows, click the speaker icon in the corner, click the arrow beside the slider and pick the device you are actually listening through. If the keys are aimed at an old headset that is no longer connected, the slider on screen will not move. On a Mac, hold Option and click the sound icon in the menu bar, then choose the correct output device.
- 3
Windows: reinstall the maker hotkey software
This is the fix that works most often. Go to the support page for your exact model and install the keyboard or hotkey package for your brand. It is called HP Hotkey Support on HP, Dell Quickset or Dell Function Keys on Dell, Lenovo Hotkeys or Lenovo Vantage on Lenovo, and ATK Package or MyASUS on Asus. Restart afterwards and the on screen volume bar comes back with it.
- 4
Windows: restart the audio service so the keys have something to talk to
Press the Windows key and R, type services.msc and press Enter. Find Windows Audio and Windows Audio Endpoint Builder, right click each one and choose Restart. Set both to Automatic if they are not already. Dead volume keys plus a red cross on the speaker icon almost always means one of these two stopped.
- 5
Mac: check the function key setting and reset the sound daemon
Open the Apple menu, System Settings, Keyboard, then Keyboard Shortcuts and Function Keys, and turn off Use F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys so the printed volume symbols work without holding Fn. If the keys still do nothing, open Terminal and run sudo killall coreaudiod. Sound restarts within a second or two and the keys respond again.
- 6
Rule out a stuck key or a dirty keyboard
Open the on screen keyboard, on Windows by pressing the Windows key, Control and O, and click the volume buttons there. If the sound changes when you click but not when you press, the trouble is the physical key. Turn the laptop off, blow the key out with a short burst of compressed air held upright, and press it twenty times to free anything under it.
If none of that worked
If nothing above helps, plug in a cheap USB keyboard and press its volume keys. When those work, your laptop keyboard or its ribbon connector is the fault and a service centre can replace the keyboard for far less than a new machine. When those also fail, create a new user account and sign in there, because a broken sound profile in your own account is the last common cause.
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Who wrote this and how we checked it
The CommonFixes team
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We are a small group of people who spend our days repairing laptops and desktops for family, friends and small offices. Every guide here starts with a problem someone actually brought to us, and we only write down the steps that put the machine right.
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This guide was last updated on 13 August 2026. If a step no longer matches what you see on screen, tell us on the contact page and we will test it again.
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