How do I make my system keep the numlock turned on at startup?

Solution 1:

I too was puzzeled by this dilemma. I searched hard and long to find a solution that doesn't require numlockx, as I was convinced it must be a setting in a '.conf' file. Guess what... I found it!

To keep numlock turned on at startup you need to edit the following file:

/etc/sddm.conf

Find the label general and add the following

Numlock=on

Now save your file and reboot. It's as simple as that.

In my case I had already turned on numlock in my BIOS, so I don't know if this works with numlock turned off in your BIOS. I haven't tested that. However, I assume that if you're looking to keep numlock turned on at boot time, you've probably already turned that on.

Solution 2:

The only solution I know of requires the numlockx package. To install it, open a terminal (Alt-Ctrl-T) and type the following lines:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install numlockx

Then edit your Startup Applications and add a new entry. The command for the new entry should be numlockx on.

That's it! If you find a solution that doesn't require the numlcokx package, I'd love to hear about it.

(See also: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Activating_Numlock_on_Bootup )