You are not logged in.

#1 2021-04-19 21:06:20

Tompouce
Member
Registered: 2020-12-07
Posts: 3

[Answered] HP laptop function keys change behaviour after suspending

I wish to run arch linux on an HP laptop, but my issue is that the function keys are acting really strange.
Just after a fresh boot or reboot, they seem to work as expected, however it seems that, by default, the F5 (alone, not in combination with the fn key) key is set up to suspend the system, similarly to when closing the lid. Upon emerging from suspend, some function keys have changed behaviour. I tried runing arcolinux (an arch based distro that automaticaly handles the much of instalation) to see if the problem would go away, indicating that I didn't configure something correctly, but the problem persists. The exact way in which the function keys change behaviour seem to depend on the distro runing (it's not even the same between arcolinux's live environement and a regular arcolinux session).
Bellow is a summary of how these keys behave before and after the system suspending on arcolinux (the keysyms as reported by xev, and the action performed if any), as well as all relevant system information that I could think of:

Before suspending:
F1: Help
F4: XF86Favorites
F5: no keysym reported, suspends the system

After suspending:
F1: Super_L, launches the web browser (whose default keyboard shortcut is Super+F1)
F4: p, then Super_L (half a second later or so)
F5: no keysym reported, doesn't suspend the system anymore

System info:
Machine: HP Laptop 14s-fq0000nf
Kernel: 5.11.6-arch1-1 x86_64

If more precise info is required, do ask.

I am convinced this oddity arises from the laptop I am using as I do not encounter any such strangeness when running arch linux or arcolinux in a vm on a Windows 10 host. I bought this model in particular because my university offered a discount on it (and only this one), but by looking it up I can't find a lot of detailed informations on it (like a detailed sheet describing the system) as it seems tailored for a French market (I am a French user).

Last edited by Tompouce (2021-05-15 19:53:23)

Offline

#2 2021-05-05 10:08:06

TheStroyer
Member
Registered: 2018-08-28
Posts: 54

Re: [Answered] HP laptop function keys change behaviour after suspending

HP laptop hotkeys in general don't work very well in linux. They are dependent on the bios and are not documented well by HP. Different kernel version may give different results on how well the hotkeys work, so that may be the reason why you experience different results depending on the distro.
I know that on my laptop, an HP zbook studio G5, the behavior also changes after booting into windows for the first time. It sets the state of the bios in such a way that my brightness keys don't work anymore in linux. If you know that you don't need to boot into window you can try a full power reset. This gets reset the bios state. You can do that by unplugging the battery or holding the power button for a certain time, look at your laptop's manual for how to do that. If you do need to boot into windows, you either have to deal with these mappings, or set the bios option of always turning on fn, which will work as if you always press fn. Then your function keys will just be F1, F2, etc. You can remap those to whatever function you want.

Offline

#3 2021-05-15 19:52:25

Tompouce
Member
Registered: 2020-12-07
Posts: 3

Re: [Answered] HP laptop function keys change behaviour after suspending

Yes, I did try to find documentation by HP about that and couldn't find anything remotely relevant. Ah well, that's a shame. It's not a dramatic issue though, I can do what you said and just have the fn key always pressed and go with the very successful solution of not worrying about it. I was simply very disturbed by this behaviour and wondered if there was something I was misunderstanding.
Thank you for your insight!

Offline

#4 2021-05-17 10:54:51

TheStroyer
Member
Registered: 2018-08-28
Posts: 54

Re: [Answered] HP laptop function keys change behaviour after suspending

Yeah it's just sad that they say they support officially linux (at least on my laptop), while doing nothing to fix widespread bugs for it, or even just give us some documentation.

Offline

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB