The Fn button on a laptop in combination with other keys allows you to quickly perform some actions: change the screen brightness, turn on / off wireless modules, etc. Therefore, if Fn does not work on your laptop keyboard, then it must be turned on. This can be done in several ways, including changing BIOS settings, as well as installing drivers and special utilities.
Enabling Fn
Most often, you don't need to enable the Fn key on a laptop, as it works by default. However, on some laptop models, to activate the Function button, you must press the Fn + NumLock combination, after which other hotkey combinations will become available.
Instead of Fn + Num Lock, you can use the Fn + Esc combination (if a small lock is drawn on the Esc key) or the special FnLock button.
BIOS setup
If Fn + Num Lock or other keyboard shortcuts do not enable the Function button, try making it work through the BIOS.
To enable an option, step on it using the arrows on your keyboard and press Enter. Select "Enabled".
Installing the software
If the laptop has an unlicensed system, you allowed Windows to install the drivers on its own, or you used the Driver Pack, then try downloading and installing the hotkey software from the official website of the laptop manufacturer. Let's see what needs to be done using the ASUS laptop as an example.
For ASUS, these are ATKACPI driver and hotkey-related utilities. Vaio Control Center and Sony Shared Library applications have been developed for Sony laptops, Easy Display Manager will work on Samsung, and Hotkey Utility on Toshiba.
If the laptop has Windows 10 and there are no drivers for the Fn button on it, then select Windows 8 with the appropriate bit and download the software for the previous version of the system. After installing the drivers, the function key should work. 
If there is nothing on the official website, try using the universal utility Magic Keyboard. It fits almost all laptop computers. But the priority should be "native" software.
Keyboard test
If you spill liquid on the keyboard, or if it was subjected to mechanical shock from being dropped or bumped, the Fn button may not function due to physical damage. In principle, you can diagnose and try to fix the problem at home. Each button on the laptop keyboard sits in a separate slot. Using a small screwdriver, you can gently remove the button, clean the socket and put the button back in place. 
However, one must be careful with mechanical intervention. If you are worried about damaging the keyboard, contact the service center. But before taking your laptop to specialists, be sure to check all the software ways to enable the Function button, because it would be foolish to go to the service just because you forgot to unlock the Fn key with some simple combination, which is written about in the laptop operating instructions.
It would seem that the keyboard of a laptop is no different from the keyboard of a regular PC. However, there is a certain difference: only this compact device has an Fn button. It exists to improve user experience. Fn helps to quickly turn on bluetooth, Wi-Fi, send mail, change the screen brightness, volume level, etc. If the Fn key does not work on a laptop, this significantly "curbs" the user's capabilities.
Enabling the Fn key opens up a ton of options for the user
Location
The Fn button on almost all devices is located in the lower left corner of the keyboard. This key has long taken its permanent place on devices of various world famous brands of technology. It is located before or after the Ctrl button. As practice shows, this placement of the key is very convenient for users.
How it works and what does "Fn" stand for
"Function" - it is from this word that the name of the key we are interested in comes from. It can be used to perform many operations, but in combination with other buttons. They are called quick access buttons. The key combination is different for each specific model, but the principle of their operation is the same. For example, on a Lenovo laptop, the Fn button can give the following results:
- Fn + Right Arrow / Left Arrow - change volume;
- Fn + Insert - option to disable or enable Scroll Lock;
- Fn + F6 - connect a laptop mouse (touchpad);
- Fn + F5 - turn on bluetooth;
- Fn + F4 - change the monitor extension;
- Fn + F3 - used when working with a projector; this combination makes it possible to switch the monitor display to the projector;
- Fn + F2 - monitor off / on option;
- Fn + F1 - sleep mode;
- Fn + down / up arrow - decrease or increase the brightness of the monitor;
- Fn + F12 - track back;
- Fn + F11 - track forward;
- Fn + F10 - stop in the media player;
- Fn + F9 - pause / resume;
- Fn + Home - (works in media files) - pause.
By learning these combinations, you can get the most out of your laptop keyboard without ever using a mouse.
Disable / Enable Fn
Usually the button is activated by pressing NumLock + Fn, but this does not always work. Often, to enable the Fn button on a laptop, you have to dig into the BIOS.
Using BIOS
There is nothing complicated here, the procedure looks like this:
- Go to BIOS (you must press Esc, F2 or Del when the device starts up).
- Go to Setup Utility.
- Find the System Configuration menu.
- Enable the Fn option (Action Keys Mode tab).
Installing drivers
The most effective way to enable the Fn key is to check the keyboard drivers. When installing a "broken" OS for individual components of a laptop, the wrong "firewood" is often installed. Experienced experts recommend downloading drivers only from the official pages of manufacturing companies. On official resources, you can easily find Fn key drivers for HP, Sony, LG, Lenovo, Acer, DNS, Toshiba, Dell and many others.
Using utilities
Sometimes, no change occurs even after following the recommendations described here. In this case, special utilities can help. There are tons of programs on the net to enable the Fn key, many of which are free.
So, for Sony devices, the Vaio Control Center and Sony Shared Library utilities have been developed, for Samsung devices, Easy Display Manager is ideal (usually this program is delivered on disk in one set with the purchased equipment). On your Toshiba laptop, it is better to install the Flash Cards Support Utility or Hotkey Utility.
There is also universal software, thanks to which the Fn button will turn on on any device - this is the Magic Keyboard utility.
Nothing helped? Clean your keyboard!
Perhaps the problem is mechanical damage to the keyboard. Liquid could have spilled on it (most often it is coffee or tea) or dust is to blame. The question will have to be solved not by a program method, but by "treatment" from the outside. It is not necessary to carry the device to the service center, you can try to fix everything on your own. Each key on the laptop is fixed in its socket, and if you apply a little effort, you can neatly remove it (just pry it off with a screwdriver). All buttons consist of an elevator, a platform and a spring, these three components are connected with a snap. After removing the problem key, clean the site, then put everything back.
The functions of the Fn button can be easily assigned to other keys you are not accustomed to using. It's a little weird, but effective.
If the keyboard was filled with tea, the tracks may be damaged - in this case, the technician will have to be sent to the service department.
Bit OS
Sometimes it is also impossible to eliminate the system violation by installing drivers. This happens if the device you purchased is developed for a 64-bit OS, and you have installed 32. Such difficulties arise quite often, the issue can be resolved only by reinstalling Windows to the required version.
Outcome
As you can see, the Fn button allows you to speed up the enabling / disabling of various functions, which means that it makes life much easier, but on some laptops it may not initially function. There are several ways to enable the key: dig, install a special utility, clean the keyboard, execute the Fn + NumLock combination, or install OS 64x. We are sure that one of the methods presented here will help turn on the cherished key. Write down which method was most effective in solving your problem.
Laptops have earned their popularity thanks to their portability. Active people who prefer a dynamic lifestyle appreciated the opportunity to use any free minute with benefit. The Fn key is one of the ways to simplify the work with the system, optimize it for the user's personal needs, a way to quickly configure parameters without unnecessary manipulations.
Fn key assignment
Let's start with the location of the key. By default, Fn is located in the lower corner next to the left Ctrl, which makes it possible to adjust settings with one hand. Rarely, on gaming laptops, the location in the lower right corner is found, which allows you to activate macros without interrupting the gameplay.
The name of the button is an abbreviation of the word Function, which means a function key that gives access to quick adjustment of functions and settings. Often Fn is different in color from the main keyboard font.
In color, on the keys, most often a row of keys F1 – F12, the keys are marked:
- screen brightness adjustment;
- access to media player settings;
- management of connections to the WiFi network;
- adjusting the sound volume or turning it off;
- putting the system into sleep mode;
- battery saving settings;
- key lock mode.
- thoroughly wipe the surface with a moisture-absorbent cloth;
- disconnect the laptop from the network;
- completely disable the operating system;
- if possible, remove the battery from the device;
- leave the laptop in a dry place until it dries completely;
- contact the service center if it gets wet.
- clean the key grooves with a cotton swab or soft brush;
- if you have the appropriate skills, open and blow the laptop or contact the service center;
- get a laptop cooling pad to prevent overheating during intense work and keep out dust.
These functions are activated after holding Fn. The list is optional and may vary depending on the brand of laptop.
Video: FN key on laptop keyboard does not work
Fn button not working on laptop
Consider below what to do if the Fn button does not work and how to fix the problem yourself. First you need to establish the cause of the malfunction, and there are essentially two of them.
Mechanical failure
Moisture - the keyboard has been flooded or has been in a damp environment for a long time:
Contamination - if the work surface is rarely cleaned, then the grooves of the buttons can become clogged with dust or larger particles of debris. With heavier pollution, the entire system can overheat, which leads to a variety of malfunctions.
A software malfunction is the absence of a driver or its damage, and we will talk about this below.
Driver Installation
For the function key to work properly, the appropriate drivers must be installed. Before installing new drivers, you need to get rid of old software and its parts. To do this, you can use the control panel or special programs to clean up the system catalogs. 
Drivers can be installed from a boot disk or downloaded from the manufacturer's official website. In the search bar of the site, enter the exact name of the model and download all the proposed options for archives, this is the driver and its updates.
We look at the BIOS settings
Fn work is activated in the BIOS and it's quite simple to enable it:
Mechanical damage.
To ensure the presence or absence of mechanical damage, the inoperative key must be opened. If the keyboard is collapsible, pry it off with a thin screwdriver and carefully remove the key.
The internal mechanism consists of three parts connected by latches. The platform is the base, it must be cleaned of dust and inspected for condensation. The lift and spring mechanism are the working part that needs to be inspected for cracks or deformations.
If no damage is found, and after cleaning the functionality has not been restored, most likely the tracks are out of order. Service center staff will be able to confirm damage of this nature.
Correct operation of the Fn button is a matter of comfort. Problems are most often software and can be fixed on their own.
Most laptops have a separate Fn key, which, in combination with the keys in the top row of the keyboard (F1 - F12), usually performs laptop-specific actions (turning Wi-Fi on and off, changing screen brightness, etc.), or, conversely, without it presses work these actions, and pressing - the functions of the F1-F12 keys. A common problem for laptop owners, especially after updating the system or manually installing Windows 10, 8 and Windows 7, is that the Fn key does not work.
For the operation of the Fn key on Asus laptops, a set of software and drivers ATKPackage is responsible - ATKACPI driver and hotkey-related utilities, available for download on the official Asus website. In this case, in addition to the installed components, the hcontrol.exe utility should be in the startup (it is added to startup automatically when installing ATKPackage).
How to download Fn key and function key drivers for Asus laptop
After that, you may need to restart the laptop and, if everything went well, you will see that the Fn key on your laptop is working. If something went wrong, below is a section on typical problems when fixing broken function keys.
HP Laptops
For the full operation of the Fn key and the associated function keys in the top row on HP Pavilion and other HP notebooks, the following components are required from the official website
- HP Software Framework, HP On-Screen Display, and HP Quick Launch from Software Solutions.
- HP Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) Support Tools from Utility - Tools.
However, for a specific model, some of the above items may be missing.
To download the required software for your HP laptop, search the Internet for "Your_Laptop_model support" - usually the first result is the official page at support.hp.com for your laptop model, where in the "Software and drivers" section, just click "Go" , and then select the version of the operating system (if yours is not in the list, select the closest one in chronology, the bit depth must be the same) and download the necessary drivers.
Additionally: in BIOS on HP laptops, there may be an item to change the behavior of the Fn key. Located in the "System Configuration" section, the Action Keys Mode item - if Disabled, then the function keys work only with Fn pressed, if Enabled, then without pressing (but to use F1-F12, you need to press Fn).
Acer
If the Fn key does not work on an Acer laptop, then usually it is enough to select your laptop model on the official support site https://www.acer.com/ac/ru/RU/content/support (in the "Select device" section, you can specify the model manually , without a serial number) and indicate the operating system (if your version is not in the list, download drivers from the nearest one in the same bit as installed on the laptop).
In the list of downloads, in the "Application" section, download the Launch Manager program and install it on your laptop (in some cases, you will also need the chipset driver from the same page).
If the program has already been installed, but the Fn key still does not work, make sure that Launch Manager is not disabled in Windows startup, and also try installing Acer Power Manager from the official website.
Lenovo
Different sets of Fn key software are available for different Lenovo notebook models and generations. In my opinion, the easiest way, if the Fn key does not work on Lenovo, is to do this: enter "Your_Laptop_model + support" in the search engine, go to the official support page (usually the first one in the search results), in the "Top Downloads" section, click "View all ”(view all) and check which list below is available for download and installation on your laptop for the correct version of Windows.
- Hotkey Features Integration for Windows 10 (32-bit, 64-bit), 8.1 (64-bit), 8 (64-bit), 7 (32-bit, 64-bit) - http://support.lenovo.com / ru / en / downloads / ds031814 (only for supported laptops, list at the bottom of the specified page).
- Lenovo Energy Management (Power Management) - For most modern laptops
- Lenovo OnScreen Display Utility
- Advanced Configuration and Power Management Interface (ACPI) Driver
- If only the Fn + F5, Fn + F7 combinations do not work, try additionally installing the official Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers from Lenovo's website.
Additional information: on some Lenovo laptops, the Fn + Esc combination switches the operation mode of the Fn key, this option is also present in the BIOS - the HotKey Mode item in the Configuration section. ThinkPad notebooks may also have a BIOS option "Fn and Ctrl Key Swap", which swaps the Fn and Ctrl keys.
Dell
Function keys on Dell Inspiron, Latitude, XPS, and more laptops typically require the following driver and application sets:
- Dell QuickSet Application
- Dell Power Manager Lite Application
- Dell Foundation Services - Application
- Dell Function Keys - For some older Dell laptops that came with Windows XP and Vista.
You can find the drivers that are required for your laptop as follows:
Please note that the Wi-Fi and Bluetooth keys may require original wireless drivers from Dell for proper operation.
Additional Information: In BIOS (UEFI) on Dell laptops, the Advanced section may contain a Function Keys Behavior item that changes how the Fn key works - enables multimedia functions or the actions of the Fn-F12 keys. Also, the Dell Fn key settings can be in the standard Windows Mobility Center.
The Fn key on Sony Vaio laptops
Despite the fact that the Sony Vaio laptop is no longer available, there are a lot of questions about installing drivers on them, including to enable the Fn key, this is due to the fact that very often drivers from the official website refuse to install even on the same OS, with which the laptop came with after reinstalling it, and even more so on Windows 10 or 8.1.
For the Fn key to work on Sony, usually (some may not be available for a particular model), the following three components are required from the official website:
- Sony Firmware Extension Parser Driver
- Sony Shared Library
- Sony Notebook Utilities
- Sometimes Vaio Event Service.
You can download them from the official page https://www.sony.ru/support/ru/series/prd-comp-vaio-nb (or you can find it by request “your_ laptop model + support” in any search engine, if your model's Russian-language website was not found). On the official Russian website:
Possible problems and solutions when installing software and drivers for the Fn key
In conclusion, some typical problems that may arise when installing the components necessary for the operation of the laptop function keys:
- The driver is not installed, because it writes that the OS version is not supported (for example, if it is only for Windows 7, but you need Fn keys in Windows 10) - try unpacking the exe-installer using the Universal Extractor program, and inside the unpacked folder find it yourself drivers to install them manually, or a separate installer that does not check the system version.
- Despite the installation of all the components, the Fn key still does not work - check if there are any options in the BIOS related to the operation of the Fn key, HotKey. Try to install the official chipset and power management drivers from the manufacturer's website.
Hope the instruction helps. If not, and additional information is required, you can ask a question in the comments, only please indicate the exact model of the laptop and the version of the installed operating system.
The keyboard of any laptop must have a key block F1-F12... Often they work without any additional settings, but sometimes users are faced with a situation where, instead of their direct purpose, they perform secondary - multimedia.
Enabling F1-F12 keys on a laptop
As a rule, on all laptops the row F-key is configured for two modes: functional and multimedia. Previously, a simple single press performed the action assigned to this key by default within a program, game, or operating system (for example, F1 opened the application help). Pressing F-keys together with Fn has already performed another action assigned to it by the manufacturer. It could be turning off the volume or something else.
However, more and more often in modern devices you can find the opposite principle of operation: the usual pressing on F-key launches the action assigned by the manufacturer, and the combination (let's take the same example with F1) Fn + F1 opens a help window.
For users using F1-F12 by functional purpose more often than by secondary multimedia, such a change of order is often not to our liking. It is especially inconvenient for fans of computer games who require a quick response to actions. Fortunately, changing the priority of work can be very simple - by editing one of the BIOS parameters.
See also: How to enter BIOS on a laptop Acer, Samsung, Sony Vaio, Lenovo, ASUS
After changing the mode, you will be able to use the F1-F12... To use additional functions such as adjusting the volume, brightness, enabling / disabling Wi-Fi, you will need to simultaneously press the corresponding function key together with Fn.
From this short article, you learned why the function keys in games, programs and Windows might not work on your laptop, as well as how to enable them. If you have any questions, use the comment form below.
