How to set keyboard repeat delay and speed in Ubuntu Gnome 16.10?

These settings are under Settings → Universal Access → Typing → Repeat Keys. You have to click the Repeat Keys row item, which brings up a pop-up dialog with two settings: Delay and Speed.

This works in Ubuntu 17.04 and above.

In older versions of Ubuntu, the Speed setting worked in reverse: the lower the speed, the faster the repeat rate. This is no longer the case.

On ubuntu 14.04 and up this will survive after reboot:

gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.peripherals.keyboard repeat-interval 30
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.peripherals.keyboard delay 250

If nothing else works, try running xset r rate 220 40 from a console.

For me, the HID layer got broken in some way and config GUI didn't work, gsettings didn't work, only xset worked.

This solution however is not persistent - will disappear on restart (unless added to ~/.bashrc).

I'm a Ubuntu 18.04.3 User.... and not a techie. I tried changing the kdrate in terminal. I was told it had changed, but it didn't change the slow keyboard input. This low tech method worked for me. Go to "Show Applications", where there's a "InputMethod" utility, which has a keyboard as the icon. Open this.... ignore the warnings. Select "Yes" then you are presented with a list of options. The one which worked for me is "auto activate IM with @mark for most locales". You need to reboot your PC/laptop. Then you can go to "Settings" "Typing" and then click on "repeat keys" and "cursor blinking". Both these options have sliders which you can use to speed up and slow the keyboard and key strokes. I tried looking at the Keyboard Documentation..... I didn't understand it, so I hope this answer works for Ubuntu users like me.