Keyboard stops working and a "No" symbol is on the screen

My laptop keyboard suddenly stops working after showing a notification sign, then starts working after I press the Super key. The attached image shows the notification that I'm seeing:

How can I resolve this?

and my system's chassis type i.e. cat /sys/class/dmi/id/chassis_type is 10

Solution 1:

This is something I've seen at work for people using Acer, Toshiba, and HP notebooks. There's a bug in some of the recent 5.x kernels that makes Ubuntu think you're using your notebook in tablet mode, which then disables the keyboard. Pressing Super or one of the F# keys can sometimes restore the ability to type, but it's neither permanent nor something anyone wants to deal with.

Fortunately, you can work around the issue by blocking intel_vbtn from being loaded. Here's how:

0. Open Terminal (if it's not already open)
1. Create a new .conf file in /etc/modprobe.d/:

   sudo vi /etc/modprobe.d/block-intel_vbtn.conf
   

   _{Note: Feel free to use a different editor of your choosing.}
2. Add this to the file:

   # This module interferes with the keyboard in 5.x kernels. Do not load.
   blacklist intel_vbtn
   

3. Save the file
4. Reboot

If a later kernel resolves the issue, you can delete the file and everything will carry on just as it should.