How to Turn Off Multimedia Keys on HP Pavilion Wireless Keyboard and Use FN Keys Instead

I've run into a small problem while trying to disable the multimedia keys on my HP Pavilion Wireless Keyboard and instead use the function (FN) keys. Here’s how I tackled the issue:

The most suggested solution was to enable or disable the action key option in BIOS, but this option was not found in my BIOS.

Some people on Google suggested holding down the Fn key and tapping Caps Lock, or pressing Fn + Esc, but these did not work for me.

Then, I came across the following solution on an HP forum, which worked for me. I'm sharing it below for future reference:

"I found a pretty decent workaround for this Fn lock issue after hunting for a while. The workaround is sort of sophisticated, but you can give it a shot if you’re really dedicated to solving this issue.

The method involves using a program called AutoHotkey.

AutoHotkey uses hooks to map the media function key presses back to the F keys and F key presses into media function keys, effectively "unlocking" the Fn lock.

My HP keyboard is Pavilion Wireless Keyboard 600 (black). I had tried the white version of this chiclet keyboard in BestBuy, but the white version is only sold with the all-in-one, which meant I had to use the black version with my custom desktop (non-HP). As a result, I couldn't fix the Fn lock issue through the BIOS.

The attached code is specifically written for the Pavilion Wireless Keyboard 600. Other keyboard models or brands will likely have different associations. If you have a different model, you can refer to the AutoHotkey tutorial to customize your own code.

The steps for this workaround are as follows:

  1. Go to AutoHotkey's official website to download the program.
  2. Right-click on your desktop.
  3. From the menu, select New > AutoHotkey Script.
  4. Give the script a new name with the .ahk extension (e.g., MyScript.ahk).
  5. Find the newly created file on your desktop and right-click it.
  6. Select Edit Script.
  7. A Notepad window should pop up. If it does, you're good to go!
  8. Copy and paste the attached code into Notepad, then save the file.
  9. Double-click the .ahk file on your desktop to run it.
  10. Create a shortcut of the .ahk file and move it to the Startup folder so that the script runs automatically every time you start Windows.

**Note:** The drawback of this method is that I haven't found a way to revert the F7 & F8 keys. Therefore, only F1 through F5 and F8 through F12 can be reverted to unlock the Fn lock.

Here is the script that worked for me:


  #NoEnv ; Recommended for performance and compatibility with future AutoHotkey releases.
  #InstallKeybdHook
  SendMode Input ; Recommended for new scripts due to its superior speed and reliability.
  SetWorkingDir %A_ScriptDir% ; Ensures a consistent starting directory.

  ; Below based on HP Pavilion Wireless Keyboard 600

  ; F1 | Mute
  VOLUME_MUTE::F1
  F1::VOLUME_MUTE

  ; F2 | Volume Down
  VOLUME_DOWN::F2
  F2::VOLUME_DOWN

  ; F3 | Volume Up
  VOLUME_UP::F3
  F3::VOLUME_UP

  ; F4 | Last Song
  MEDIA_PREV::F4
  F4::MEDIA_PREV

  ; F5 | Play/Pause
  MEDIA_PLAY_PAUSE::F5
  F5::MEDIA_PLAY_PAUSE

  ; F6 | Next Song
  MEDIA_NEXT::F6
  F6::MEDIA_NEXT

  ; F7 | Brightness Down

  ; F8 | Brightness Up

  ; F9 | Search
  BROWSER_SEARCH::F9
  F9::BROWSER_SEARCH

  ; F10 | Toggle display mode for multi-screen
  <#Tab::
  SendInput {F10}
  Return

  ; F11 | ???
  <^<#F21::
  SendInput {F11}
  Return

  ; F12 | System Settings
  <#F21::
  SendInput {F12}
  Return

Credit: Crizalis