Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The keyboard tester and typing test are free to use, with no account required. The site is supported by advertising and by affiliate links in the "Keys not working?" panel.

Open the keyboard tester, choose the layout that matches your keyboard, and press every key. Each key flashes when it registers and then stays marked as tested, and the "Keys tested" counter shows your progress. For a thorough check, follow our complete testing checklist.

Pick the one that looks most like your keyboard: 40%, HHKB, 60%, 65%, 75%, TKL (no numpad), 96% or 100% (full size). Layouts are under Layout in the Customize panel (the palette icon in the header), and hovering a layout previews it on the board. You can also switch between ANSI and ISO there; pressing the extra ISO key beside the left Shift switches to ISO for you. If you are not sure which size you have, our guide to keyboard sizes shows what each one includes.

On most keyboards, Fn is handled inside the keyboard and never sends anything to the computer, so no website or app can detect it. Test it by holding Fn and pressing the keys it changes, such as media or brightness keys.

Your operating system often handles these keys itself before the browser sees them. For example, the Windows key opens the Start menu. That doesn't mean the keys are broken, and BoardCheck's diagnosis doesn't count them as faults.

Browsers report modifier keys by name, so pressing either Shift is reported simply as "Shift". To check each side, press the left and right keys one at a time and make sure each press registers.

Not necessarily. Try reconnecting the keyboard, using a different USB port, and testing on another computer. Settings such as Filter Keys or a gaming keyboard's Windows-key lock can also stop keys from working. Our guide to fixing unresponsive keys walks through the common causes and fixes.

Yes. Hold keys down one at a time and check that each new key flashes as you press it. A key that doesn't register while others are held shows your keyboard's rollover limit. See key ghosting and rollover explained.

The test lasts 30 seconds. BoardCheck counts the words you type correctly and doubles the number to get words per minute. Mistyped words don't count toward your speed, but they do lower your accuracy.

Click "Test Your Typing Speed" or press Shift + Enter. The timer starts with your first keystroke. Pressing Shift + Enter again before you start typing closes the test, and pressing it during or after a test starts a new one.

Check Caps Lock. The test words are lowercase, so uppercase letters count as mistakes. BoardCheck shows a "Caps Lock is on" notice above the words when it detects this.

Besides your speed and accuracy, a chart shows how your speed changed across the 30 seconds, with a dot at each mistyped word (hover one to see what you typed). Next to it, BoardCheck compares the test with your previous one and with your best, flags a new personal best, and draws a trend line of your last 10 tests. This history is kept in your browser, so it works without an account.

Your rank is based on your typing speed, from Noob up to Omniscient. Your level grows with experience points earned from each completed test. Ranks and levels are saved when you're signed in.

Three color presets and three sound packs are open to everyone. The rest unlock as you level up, with something new at every level from 2 to 6, so everything is open after roughly 50 tests. Locked presets still preview when you hover them. Levels are only earned while signed in, so you need an account to unlock them.

No. Everything works without signing in. Signing in, with Google or an email and password, saves your scores, level and settings across devices and puts you on the leaderboard.

Signed-in players are ranked by their best typing speed. You can also sort the leaderboard by level, accuracy, or number of tests completed. If you would rather not appear on it, email us and we'll hide your entry.

Key presses in the keyboard tester are processed in your browser and are not sent anywhere. When you are signed in and finish a typing test, your result is saved along with the timing of that test's keystrokes, which is used to check that the score is genuine. See our privacy policy for details.

Yes. Open the Customize panel (the palette icon in the header) and pick one of the color presets, which are inspired by popular keycap sets; hover one to preview it first. To make your own, press "Customize" and click any part of the keyboard: the case, a group of keys (letters, modifiers or accents such as Esc and Enter), or a single key, which you can move to another group or give its own colors. Your changes can be kept as one of your own presets: editing a preset saves it when you press "Save", and "Save current colors" under Your presets keeps any other mix. Picking a preset resets single-key changes, so save first if you want to keep them. The page background follows your colors, and the switch beside Colors toggles light and dark.

Yes. In the Sound section of the Customize panel, rest your pointer on a sound pack to hear a short sample. The "No sound" switch beside the heading turns key sounds off.

Yes. BoardCheck is also available as a Chrome extension, so you can test your keyboard from your browser toolbar. It has the same layouts and color presets, and when you sign in it picks up the color theme saved to your account. Search for BoardCheck in the Chrome Web Store.

BoardCheck is built for physical keyboards on desktop and laptop computers. It may work with a keyboard connected to a tablet, but on-screen keyboards aren't supported.