Keyboard ghosting often occurs when you’re pressing multiple keys at the same time. Some of the keys you press will register, but some of them may ghost. At the bottom of the screen, you will see the number of keys that are registering, and which keys they are. most popular keys for moving around in games), and then, while holding those down, press every other key in turn. If you find a key that does If you want a keyboard that can handle any combination of keystrokes no matter the number of keys pressed, then look for an N-key rollover keyboard. This type of keyboard can register every key, no matter how many you’re holding down at once. Some anti-ghosting keyboards use extra wires to ensure that every key creates unique signals so that you don’t experience ghosting no matter which keys you press. The extra circuitry in these keyboards makes them more expensive. Other anti-ghosting keyboards use a separate diode for every key to ensure that no matter which combination of keys is pressed, every key will always register. Once again, the design of these keyboards makes them more expensive.

If you’re gaming, however, then keyboard ghosting could be a real issue. The best way to get around these problems is to invest in a keyboard that has anti-ghosting properties. Make sure to do your research—not all anti-ghosting keyboards are created equal. Type on your physical keyboard and see the on-screen keyboard show which keypresses are recognized. You may find that you get a response from a key you didn’t press, or no response from a key that you did press. How to Test for Keyboard Ghosting If you don’t want to spend money on a new keyboard, or your problem is with the built-in keyboard of your laptop, then your options are very limited. Ghosts can be somewhat elusive. Just because you find some combination of 6 keys that reports correctly does not necessarily mean that every

combination of 6 works. In fact, the most straightforward keyboard design has thousands of 3-key combinations that do not work! That is a

If the cause of your problem is a wired or Bluetooth keyboard, then the simplest solution is to replace this keyboard with one that is specifically designed to be anti-ghosting. The only real workaround is to remap your keyboard so that the key combination you want to use is one that your keyboard is able to register. Remapping your keyboard means changing the response that each key gives. For example, you can remap your keys so that when you press the A key, your computer types a B. Keyboard ghosting is a consequence of the way that keyboards work. In some keyboards, there are wires for each row of keys and for each column of keys. When you press a key, your computer will receive a signal from the column wire of the key you have pressed, and a signal from the row wire. From these two signals, you can determine exactly which key has been pressed. If you’re concerned that you may be suffering from keyboard ghosting, you can test for it. You could try using a word processing app and pressing combinations of keys to see which appear in your document, but this isn’t particularly accurate. When you press three keys in two different rows and two different columns, however, then things can get mixed up. Your computer sees that two different row wires have been activated, and two different column wires, but it can’t say for certain which individual keys caused those signals since there are multiple possible combinations that would produce the same output.

Limitations

Thankfully, if you’re suffering from keyboard ghosting, your computer isn’t haunted. It just means that there are hardware limitations to your keyboard that are causing problems when you press multiple keys at once. These keyboards get around the problems that cause ghosting in different ways. The simplest anti-ghosting keyboards will have a different arrangement of wires so that ghosting doesn’t occur for the most common combinations of keystrokes. However, the problem may still arise if you use less common keystroke combinations. If all the keys work, keep these four keys held down ( W, S, A, and D) and try holding down other keys to see if you can find a combination that doesn’t work. Keyboard ghosting probably isn’t an issue for you if you’re unable to do so. How to Prevent Keyboard Ghosting If you’re experiencing keyboard ghosting, then there are a limited number of things you can do about it. Since the cause is often a limitation of your physical hardware, you really only have two main options. Use an Anti-Ghosting Keyboard When you’re typing, this isn’t such a big issue—you’ll rarely want to use several keys at once. When you’re gaming, however, you’ll often press multiple keys at the same time. If one or more of these keystrokes don’t register, it can ruin your gaming experience. Why Does Keyboard Ghosting Happen?