Sticky Keys sound a little icky—or at least mildly inconvenient. And while Microsoft’s Windows Sticky Keys system is a potentially useful feature plenty of PC owners depend on, it can also be just that: an annoying Windows shortcut that slows you down—just like if you were using a sticky computer keyboard.
If you don’t use Sticky Keys, you’ll want to turn off the Sticky Keys shortcut on each PC you work with. Otherwise, you might get an inconvenient surprise one day.
What are Windows Sticky Keys?
On Windows, Sticky Keys is an accessibility feature. It’s designed to make it easier to use complex keyboard shortcuts for people who have more difficulty pressing multiple keys at the same time.
When you activate the Sticky Keys feature, the Shift, Ctrl, Windows, and Alt keys will “stick” and remain active.
For example, let’s say you wanted to use the useful Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V text-editing shortcuts to copy and paste. Rather than pressing both keys at the same time, you could turn on Sticky Keys. Then, you’d be able to press and release the Ctrl key, then press and release the C key separately to copy text. You don’t have to press the keys at the same time—instead, you press them one after the other.
This isn’t a new feature. While Sticky Keys is still present on Windows 11 and Windows 10 today, the option actually dates back to the ’90s. And in the right sort of situation, it can be indispensable.
There’s just one problem.
Why you should disable Sticky Keys
To make it easy for people to turn on Sticky Keys and ensure they can discover the feature when they need it, Windows has a Sticky-Keys-connected keyboard shortcut that’s activated by default.
Out of the box, Windows will fire up Sticky Keys if you press the Shift key five times in a row. That’s an easy shortcut to accidentally trigger—and it’s totally unnecessary if you don’t plan on using the Sticky Keys feature.
So, if you won’t be using Sticky Keys on your PC, you’ll want to turn that shortcut off to keep it from getting in your way.
How to turn off Sticky Keys
Sticky Keys and its associated keyboard shortcut are easy to disable—once you know where to look.
How to turn off Sticky Keys on Windows 11
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Open the Settings app from your Windows Start menu—or press
Windows+ito open it quickly. -
Click Accessibility in the left pane, and select Keyboard.
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Make sure that Sticky Keys is set to Off.
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Click the Sticky Keys category, and turn off the Keyboard shortcut for Sticky keys option.
How to turn off Sticky Keys on Windows 10
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Go to the Settings app, click the Ease of Access icon, and choose Keyboard.
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Look under Use Sticky Keys, and ensure Press one key at a time for keyboard shortcuts is turned off.
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Uncheck Allow the shortcut key to start Sticky Keys to deactivate the
Shiftkey shortcut.
That’s it! Sticky Keys will no longer get in your way. You can now tap the Shift key on your keyboard all you like without accidentally activating anything.
Just remember: you’ll need to change this setting on every computer you use, as Windows doesn’t sync it even when you sign into the operating system with a Microsoft account. Interesting: Windows can sync the text on your clipboard but not your Sticky Keys preference. Go figure.
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