Ubuntu 14 Ctrl key seems to be logically stuck

Question

I just installed Ubuntu 14.04 LTS and the Ctrl key seems to be logically stuck, basically preventing me from using Ubuntu.

It seems to be intermittent at times and then at other times the problem only starts after a while of using the distro and sometimes the problem appears straight away.

Hardware Specs:

CPU - Intel Core i7
RAM - 8GB Single-Channel DDR3
MOBO - Gigabyte H77M-D3H
GPU - NVIDIA GeForce GT 630
Keyboard - Corsair Vengeancve K-90
Mouse - Microsoft Wireless Mouse 5000

Is there any sort of workaround for this problem?

I've been checking from other forums and this problem seems to have been around for a while, cropping up with various versions of Ubuntu.

Great title, it hooked me into realizing it was a keymap error issue. — prosody-Gabe Vereable Context, May 22 '15 at 07:06

scottysseus · Answer 1 · 2021-03-12T21:37:18.050

9

I frequently enter into this state when fat-fingering an attempt to multi-select in IntelliJ using Alt+J. When I am in this state, it is as if the Ctrl key is permanently held down: all clicks become right-clicks and most keyboard shortcuts are affected, rendering the OS practically unusable.

I am not sure exactly what key combination is causing this, but I have tried a few things in the past to resolve it with varying success:

Pressing BOTH CTRL keys on my keyboard at the same time seemed to fix it.
Holding the Windows key seems to cancel out whatever sticky key situation is enabled, thus allowing me to click things properly again. Then I just spam combinations of Win, Ctrl, Alt, and the keys around J :).

edited Mar 12 '21 at 21:37

answered Mar 17 '20 at 15:08

scottysseus

341

#1 worked for me, #2 did not (pop os 20.01) – Ashton Honnecke Jun 18 '21 at 17:44
#2 worked for me, #1 did not (ubuntu 20.04) – MatrixManAtYrService Jul 26 '21 at 17:37
It happened while using vscode but then was broken everywhere (e.g. in a browser). Holding Super fixed it, but when I went back to vscode, it came back. Restarted vscode and the problem went away. It would appear that certain apps can alter something about keyboard focus which doesn't get reset when you focus elsewhere. – MatrixManAtYrService Jul 26 '21 at 17:47

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:23

2

Changed System Settings>Text Entry to an alternative keymap. I have a US keyboard, but I picked "English (Canada)" and it works fine again.

It helps to set a hotkey to change map "Source" automatically when it keeps happening still. :∫

(Keyboard sticks randomly has another easy setting change to try if that fails. I feel your pain.)

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:23

Community

1

answered May 22 '15 at 07:03

prosody-Gabe Vereable Context

181

Taper Wickel · Answer 3 · 2023-03-25T23:21:44.670

0

I recently ran into this under Ubuntu 20.04. The culprit in my case was that I had used gnome-tweaks to change the Caps Lock key to an extra Ctrl key (which I prefer because I hate finding I've typed a sentence with Caps Lock on; the setting is under "Keyboard & Mouse" → "Additional Layout Options" → "Caps Lock Behavior"), and when I'd accidentally hit Caps Lock, the Control key locked instead. After some fumbling, tapping Caps Lock again turned it off.

edited Mar 25 '23 at 23:21

answered Mar 23 '23 at 08:27

Taper Wickel

1

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. – Community Mar 23 '23 at 09:49

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Dec 14 '16 at 14:37

Hi got this problem several times, I usually try

xev

(event checker) and play with it for a while and check whether my ctrl keys working or not. Sometimes that works, again I got the problem today, I simply updated by

sudo apt-get update

that solved the issue.

Hope that helps.

Ubuntu 14 Ctrl key seems to be logically stuck

Hardware Specs:

4 Answers4