Stuck Shift Key

I've been having a problem with my MacPro, OS 10.5.8, for at least a week.
The Shift key appears to be stuck across the board, in all apps. Besides the obvious upper-casing, selections are all extensions, transforms are all constrained to uniform, the dock minimize effect is in super slo-mo.
I have checked the shift keys and they appear to be fine. Is this a software issue.

Been out of the Leopard for a year now so details are fuzzy, but check the settings in System Preferences / Universal Access. Maybe one of the Sticky Keys overstayed its stickyness.

Similar Messages

Stuck Shift Key (Help!!)

I needsome help!
I've been having a LOT of problems with my MacBook Unibody late 2008 with Lion installed. The shift key is stuck. At first I thought it was a bug and restored everything from a timemachine backup. Nothing changed. The computer refuses to stay in sleep mode and everything is just weird and wonky. I tried to find similar cases but I have found nothing yet that could help me with this.
Has this happened to anyone else with lion?
And I haven’t dropped any liquids on the keyboard. I’ve also checked under both shift keys to see if there was something (dirt or whatnot) under them, I couldnot see anything. It was clean.

I did test with a spare keyboard, and it performed the same way: does not work for my user account, is fine for the test account I set up as an additional log-in.
I also did this to try and solve my issue, but still nothin':
- ran OnyX AND Cache Cleaner
- ran & configured PrefEdit
- ran AppleJack twice, once on AUTO for deep cleaning (in single-user mode, of course...)
- ran MacJanitor
- tried again to re-set my system prefs
- reset PRAM again
Sigh.
All I want is to be able to type capital letters in Mail & Safari. Seems like I'm asking for too much!
Sigh again.
Thanks for any other advice or things you think I should try.

Macbook typing in all caps, shift key issue.

Alright, so I've been battling with this for a bit now, as I discovered to my chagrin: My macbook is now only typing in caps. Upon pressing Command + Q to try and close an application, I noticed it brought me to the "log out" prompt, suggesting the problem was a stuck shift key. I've removed both keys and checked for any particulates and they're all clean. Any ideas?

No. Sounds like you powered it backup while it was still wet. If so the damage is done. Problems will only get worst as corrosion sets in.
Suggest you take it to Apple and ask them for the cost of repair it.
Allan

TS2570 My Mac stays stuck on the grey screen. Doesn't boot up. I've tried everything the shift key to safe boot still doesn't boot. I've tried the option key n only has one option to go into. please help. problem Is I bought off a friend so I have no disk

My Mac stays stuck on grey screen. I've tried the option key. The shift keys. Nothing helps. The problem is I bought the computer off a friend and I don't have any disks. Any suggests would be great..

Can you see a serial number anywhere? Don't post it here, just let me know if if you have it.

Spill has caused right shift key to be stuck on

A few months ago I spilled juice on my MBP keyboard (out of warranty - purchased June 2012). I removed all the keys effected and cleaned them. The result of this was that the right shift key was stuck on and it would only start in safe mode + I couldn't log in because I could only type in caps. This is what I did:
I plugged in a usb keyboard - was able to log in
I downloaded keyremapper4mac and disabled the right shift key so I could type in NOT CAPS
Switched to automatic login so I wouldn't be prompted to enter my password anymore
Removed the usb keyboard
Again, MBP would only start in safe mode. Then I found out that the key remapper would only work when the computer wasn't in safe mode. I did some googling and found a key combination that would stop the MBP from starting in safe mode. I have left my computer on for awhile now (not shutting it down) and yesterday I shut it down. I started it up holding down the cmd/shift and my login screen came up.
My problem is that I think I may have forgotten the key combination to bypass the safe mode boot up and I don't know why my login screen came up - maybe because of the key combo I used temporarily turned off the automatic login.
Does anyone know the combination of keys to press to get past the safe boot so my computer will start up normally? I am running 10.7.5.
Thanks!!

Someone else said to try and reboot by holding down the menu and play button on the remote for several seconds and then try again. It worked for several people and seems to be working for me now.

Shift key somehow stuck on my 2-week old MBP

Did anyone have this problem before?
I turned on my 2-week old uMBP 13" and it wouldn't accept my password! After minutes of frustration, I booted into Single user mode and that was when I realized the Shift key is somehow stuck! Typing will show everything in capital letters, typing "1" will show "!", etc.
No physical damage has been done to this computer, I have not spilled any liquids on it and the keys are definitely not physically stuck (I did pry them off and check to see if there was anything under there).
Any ideas?
Thank you so much!

Welcome to Apple Discussions.
This sounds like a defect and should be handled by warranty. If you have an Apple Store nearby make and appointment and bring it in. If you did not then contact Apple on Monday using the phone number in your manual and call them. They will help you get it taken care of. You are covered by 90 days of phone support so take advantage of it!
Regards,
Roger

Apple Mac mini g4 with Apple Pro Keyboard shift key stuck on

Hey guys,
My mac mini g4 with Apple Pro keyboard has it's shift key stuck on and will not disable, this happened after I cleaned the keys with a "magic eraser" and is probably water damage, but when it is plugged into a PC the shift key is off and can be toggled as should be. Any help will be appericiated and if I can fix this it will save the faithful keyboard. Thanks in advance!

Thank you chorleyman! I just need a cheap platform for Logic to run, I'm not an advanced user, just to play for my soul. I'm usually using Windows based platforms, that's why I was confused about this particular model.
So if it looks good I think I will order this hardware next week.
If anyone have any more thoughts about the topic, please feel free to comment here! Thank you!

How to boot up in Normal Mode when Shift Key is stuck

Due to a water spill my Shift Key is stuck. I was able to enter my password that included lower case letters by using an external (bluetooth) keyboard. This allowed me to start the computer and access the contents but only in Safe Mode because the shift key was stuck. Does anyone know a workaround this until I'm able to have the shift key fixed?
Thank you,
Jeff

Liquid damage is very hard to recover from.
Best option is to take the computer to Apple store and see what can they do for you.
Suggestions in this article may or may not work, but at least interesting.
http://www.ifixit.com/Answers/View/4485/My+shift+key+is+always+on.
Best.

MacBook stuck with shift key enabled and numbers not working - even the keyboard app in languages wont type lowercase nor numbers?! Anyone know whats up? no spillage...cant understand why the keyboard app wont do anything.

Anyone have a clue? I can understand the keyboard being broke / shift key being stuck but why in the world would I not be able to type the numbers on the language keyboard app on the operating system? Numbers show up on the app but when I press them I still get the special characters like #^&#* and it wont type lower case. Nothing has ever been spilt, just stopped working one day. Rebooted from Time Capsule restore dated a month ago and its still doing it. (problem started two weeks ago). Only way to get lower case or numbers to actually show up is the copy and paste.
Any help would be amazing!
Details on computer: 13 inch MacBook6, 1 (Late 2009) / Intel Core 2 DUO / 2.26GHZ / 2GB / Memory running Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5

If you can afford it, I would recommend replacing the topcase and keyboard as Apple suggests. If like me, you can't afford it or are open to a hack fix, then read on.
The problem
Yesterday, a little water spilt on my 13" MBP keyboard. I turned it around immediately, drained out the water and used tissue to suck it all up but the keyboard was still acting funny. I turned it off and left it out in the sun for a couple of hours and turned it on again but problems remained. Like Rickdubya, my warranty had run out just a month ago and I knew Apple would not cover this under warranty. I tried to clean the shift keys and left it overnight with some rice on them with hopes that the moisture might get sucked out. Nothing worked. (The rice bit is an urban legend that seems to work with some electronics). Went to the Apple Store this morning and was told that they wouldn't even take out the key and clean it, and that the entire top case would have to be replaced. A total bill of 156 Euros which I cannot afford. I had a USB keyboard that would let me use the Mac for the moment so I decided to try to work out a fix.
Symptoms
- Boots in safe mode everytime (which I later found out was because the shift key is pressed)
- Cannot login because password is in lower case or has numbers
- Cannot boot in super user mode and try to disable keys or override password as some commands won't work in uppercase (I wouldn't recommend this anyway because its super user mode)
- All text is in caps and numbers are symbols as though shift key is always pressed
- Audio doesn't work
- Keyboard viewer would not always show the shift key pressed. The key seemed to get pressed at random
Fix
1. Hold the Option button down on boot to bypass the Safe Mode ensure a normal boot
2. At the login screen, plug in a USB keyboard and enter your password to login
3. Change your password to one that uses all caps and no numbers
4. Download and install KeyRemap4MacBook .
5. Use a combination of the functionalities of the Keyboard Viewer and KeyRemap4MacBook to figure out which shift key is the problem. In my case, I found out that it was only my left shift key.
6. Disable the left/right shift key on KeyRemap4MacBook and click on the 'Reload XML' button to make that take effect.
If only one shift key was the problem, then you are done. If both shift keys were shorted, then its likely other keys are too. In which case you should probably just replace the entire thing. If you think other keys are not affected, then you can use KeyRemap4MacBook itself to remap the shift functionality to a lesser used key like the Left Option key.
7. Under System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items , add KeyRemap4MacBook as an application that should start on login. This will ensure that your disable/remap of the shift key is active everytime you login.
Usage change/Things to remember
1. Remember to hold down the Option key everytime the computer boots or reboots to bypass safe mode. The fix above is at the software level. The key is physically still shorted at the hardware level and will affect boot.
2. Remember that at the login screen, the disable/remap is not active. So your password now has to be all caps and only letters.
As soon as I can save some money, I will get my topcase and keyboard replaced but until then this solution works great with minimal change. Hope this helps!

Screen stuck on gray, used shift key and my screen appears with MacBook Pro and not the recovery option. Please help

Screen stuck on gray, used shift key and my screen appears with MacBook Pro and not the recovery option. Please help!

Hi ..
Shift key boots into Safe Mode, not Recovery.
This only works on a Mac running v10.7 Lion or later.
Startup your Mac while holding down the Command + R keys. From there you should be able to access the built in utilities to repair the startup disk and restore OS X using OS X Recovery
If you can't boot into Recovery Mode, help here > Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

It appears that my shift key is stuck, everything including numbers is capped. Can this be fixed?

It appears that my shift key is stuck, everything including numbers is capped, can this be fixed?

Yes since it is on a iMac simply replace the keyboard.

HELP! Keyboard -lowercase 'stuck'-no caps, no Shift key-Can't 'select all'

HELP!
I have tried all sorts of things, like:
- removed syst prefs to desktop then restarted
- un-done, re-done, re-booted
- tried various options in International and Keyboard & Mouse
- run disk utility, both from startup CD AND in target disk mode
- ran Smasher
- swapped out different keyboards and/or mice
...but these are my keyboard problem symptoms that persist:
- numeric keypad not working
- the shift key (for caps & shift characters) not working&
- commands (i.e., "Select All") not working
...the keyboard does not work in ANY native Mac appl (e.g., Mail, Safari, TextEdit).
The only time my keyboard will work correctly is when I am using Firefox or Word, etc., or when I create a new account as a test new user and I log-in. Keyboard works fine. So it must just be me as user.
Also, oddly enough, keyboard prefs do not show up anywhere.
Anyplace where I should see something, such as
Library>preferences - there should be a file com.apple.keyboardtype.plist --- there is no file in any of the folders anywhere.
All of a sudden the keyboard stopped working, no warning. But my mouse attached to it still works fine. I have no clue what to do to fix and my AppleCare has ran out.
Other things I have noticed and tried:
- running tech tool
- repairing permissions
- switching usb ports for the keyboard from the back of the display
- removing the mouse from the back of the keyboard
- unplugging everything but the keyboard and mouse
...any ideas???

I did test with a spare keyboard, and it performed the same way: does not work for my user account, is fine for the test account I set up as an additional log-in.
I also did this to try and solve my issue, but still nothin':
- ran OnyX AND Cache Cleaner
- ran & configured PrefEdit
- ran AppleJack twice, once on AUTO for deep cleaning (in single-user mode, of course...)
- ran MacJanitor
- tried again to re-set my system prefs
- reset PRAM again
Sigh.
All I want is to be able to type capital letters in Mail & Safari. Seems like I'm asking for too much!
Sigh again.
Thanks for any other advice or things you think I should try.

Shift key appears to be stuck...

I just recently installed Snow Leopard on my MacBook Air, and I can no longer type numbers. It seems as if the Shift key is being pressed. Any advice?

Hi YogaKid & welcome to the forums.
That's a weird one, sorry
Five things you might try:
1.)
Try resetting some of the hardware involved. See this Apple KB for details, etc.:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
Can't hurt to try, and apparently this has helped others recently.
2.)
The general approach at this time is to ask if you've checked for any problematic fonts with Apple's Font Book (look in the Applications folder). Find and remove duplicates also.
Start there to be sure all fonts that are in play come out with a clean bill of health.
Also, don't hesisate to perform wholesale deletion of old and/or little used fonts - be skeptical of anything that has come from Office 2008, including those related to an Equation Editor installation.
3.)
Check system Preferences/Keyboard/Keyboard Shortcuts to see if anything has stomped on 'normal' numbers...
4.) Check System Preferences/Languages to confirm the one you expect is set accordingly.
5.) Try another keyboard via USB.

Left shift key is stuck down

My daughters MacBook left shift key is stuckndown. The computer is constantly on "safe boot".
What's a mom to do?

Did you double check to make sure you replaced the shift key correctly?

Left shift key is stuck after cleaning?

I recently had to clean my left shift key because it was sticking so badly, no other keys had the problem so I carefully took off the key cap and plastic doohickies as per a video. I cleaned the back of the key and a little around where it sets. After I put everything back the shift key is now locked. I can only type in capitals etc. Have checked caps lock and stick button in systems but to no avail. I restarted the computer and now it has booted in safe mode.
Please help!
cjk

Did you double check to make sure you replaced the shift key correctly?

Stuck Shift Key

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