How to Disable Sticky Keys Prompt in Windows 10

When you press the Shift Key five times continuously, you will see the Sticky Keys dialog asking if you want to enable the Sticky Keys functionality. In all my days using Windows, that’s more than two decades, I’ve never seen someone appreciate the automatic Sticky keys prompt. The good thing is, you have two ways to disable the Sticky Keys prompt in Windows 10.

In case you don’t know, Sticky Keys is an accessibility feature. When enabled, the modifier keys (Ctrl, Alt, and Shift) remain active even after you release the key. This allows you to press the combination keys or shortcuts without holding the modifier keys. For instance, after enabling sticky keys, to copy something you can press the “Ctrl” and “C” keys separately rather than holding down the “Ctrl” key and then pressing the “C” key. As you can guess, this is very helpful for differently-abled people.

While this feature is useful at times, it is more annoying for a vast majority of users. Especially in specific situations such as gaming or other full-screen activities where pressing the Shift key repeatedly is pretty common. In this tutorial, I will show you the easiest ways to turn off Sticky Keys in Windows 10. Let’s get started.

Stop or Disable Sticky Keys in Windows 10 Using Settings

1. Open the Settings window by pressing “Start key + I”.
2. Click the “Ease of Access” option.
3. Navigate to the “Keyboard” tab under the “Interaction” on the sidebar.
4. Turn OFF the Sticky Keys toggle.
5. Uncheck the “Allow the shortcut key to start Sticky Keys” toggle.
6. With that, the Sticky Keys are disabled and you will not see the Sticky Keys prompt when you press the Shift key repeatedly.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, launch the Settings window. To do that, open the Notification Center icon on the taskbar and then click the “All Settings” button. Alternatively, you can also press the “Win + I” keyboard shortcut to open the same. Once the Settings window opens, click the “Ease of Access” option.

The Ease of Access page hosts all the accessibility features in Windows 10. On this page, navigate to the “Keyboard” tab under the “Interaction” section on the left panel. Turn OFF the toggle under the Sticky Keys section on the right panel. Next, uncheck the “Allow the shortcut key to start Sticky Keys” option.

That is it. Sticky Keys are disabled in Windows 10. From now on, no matter how many times you press the Shift key, the Sticky Keys prompt won’t appear.

Disable Sticky Keys in Windows 10 Using Control Panel

1. Press the Start button on the taskbar.
2. Enter “Control Panel” in the Start menu search bar.
3. Click the “Open” option to open the Control Panel.
4. Click the “View by” dropdown menu and select “Category“.
5. Press the “Ease of Access” option.
6. Click the “Change how your keyboard works” option.
7. Uncheck the “Turn on Sticky Keys” checkbox.
8. Click the “Set up Sticky Keys” option.
9. Uncheck the “Turn on Sticky Keys when SHIFT is pressed five times” checkbox and click “OK“.
10. With that, Sticky Keys are disabled in Windows 10.

Detailed Steps (With Screenshots)

First, open the Control Panel window. There are multiple ways to do it. The easiest and fastest way is to open the Start menu, type” Control Panel”, and click the top result. In the Control Panel window, select “Category” from the “View by” dropdown menu and then click the “Ease of Access” option.

The Ease of Access page has a ton of options to configure the Accessibility features of Windows 10. Here, click the “Change how your keyboard works” option.

Now, uncheck the “Turn on Sticky Keys” checkbox. Click the “Set up Sticky Keys” link appearing right under it.

On the page, uncheck the “Turn on Sticky Keys when SHIFT is pressed five times” checkbox. Click the “Apply” and “OK” buttons to save changes.

That’s it. You are done. From now on, the Sticky Keys prompt will not open when you press the Shift Key repeatedly.

Wrapping Up — Turning Off Sticky Keys in Windows 10

As you can see, whether you use the Settings app or Control Panel, disabling Sticky Keys in Windows 10 is nothing hard. Once disabled, you will not see the Sticky Keys prompt no matter how many times you press the Shift key. For gamers, turning off Sticky Keys is one of the must-do things after installing Windows.

Note: For those using Windows 11, follow this guide to disable Sticky keys in Windows 11.

If you have any questions or need help, comment below. I’ll be happy to assist. If you like this article, do check out how to disable the CAPS lock key and some of the most useful Windows 10 keyboard shortcuts.