[Bug] when pressing <R-ALT> key, R-ALT and L-CTRL gets recognized

[nnako]

Describe the Bug

I am currently experiencing that when pressing the right ALT key (<R-ALT> or KC_RALT), not only the right ALT key but at the same time also the left CONTROL key (<L-CTRL> or KC_LCTL) gets recognized and triggered by the keyboard.

I am using a K8 PRO ISO RGB (German) keyboard and tried this using the "usevia.app" application on the KEY TESTER pane.

questions

• Does anybody know why the keyboard(s) behave like this?
• Is it an unspoken law to operate maybe only German keyboards like this?
• Is there a way to modify this low-level configuration to be able to recognize only a KC_RALT when a <R-ALT> is pressed, and no additional KC_LCTL?

Keyboard Used

Keychron K8 Pro RGB (German)

Link to product page (if applicable)

No response

Operating System

Windows 10

qmk doctor Output

No response

Is AutoHotKey / Karabiner installed

• [ ] AutoHotKey (Windows)
• [ ] Karabiner (macOS)

Other keyboard-related software installed

No response

Additional Context

No response

[lokher]

Can you show me the keymap in VIA?

[nnako]

Sorry. Don't understand. How do I get to the "keymap in VIA"? Is "VIA" the web application I open when issuing https://www.caniusevia.com/docs/supported_keyboards in the browser? Within their "supported keyboards" I don't see a "Keychron K8 Pro".

Could you point me to some valuable information in order to be able to answer your request?

[nnako]

any hint? any help on this?

[lokher]

Can you try holding fn + j + z these three keys for 4 seconds to factory reset the keyboard?

[nnako]

yes, I did that. no change regarding the issue. just some configuration changed which resulted in the delay time until keyboard sleep to be lower than before. after starting "usevia.app", the delay is normal again. but the issue is still there.

[lokher]

Can you share the screenshoft as beflow of all layers with me?

[nnako]

the only thing I see is that on German keyboards (as mine) the <Y> and <Z> are exchanged. I use the "Windows" switch position which activates "Layer 2", as I have read.

[lokher]

Does Left Ctrl cause Right Alt pressing as well? Can you toggle on Test Matrix and test again to check if both keys are trigger if Right Alt is pressed?

[nnako]

here, I took a small video describing what you asked me to do:

https://github.com/Keychron/qmk_firmware/assets/5845602/54db5b39-8159-4318-90a1-4bba7d88d6ea

[lokher]

Can you test it on another PC? Looks like a OS issue

[nnako]

Indeed. I checked on an English Linux machine. And here, the test (without selecting "Test Matrix") shows that when pressing <R-ALT> only a KC_RALT gets detected. No KC_LCTL. Which is exactly what I had expected.

But what could be the reason for this? Is this a problem (or maybe it is considered as a special "feature") of only German versions of Windows OS? Would there be ways to deactivate this "feature" within the Windows OS?

[nnako]

Is there anything I can do to move forward, solving that issue locally? Any hints?

[lokher]

Can you test in safe mode of Windows? If it works fine in safe mode, try disabling unnecesary startup option.

[nnako]

are there no further hints available? where could I find more information about where to further check relevant operating system configurations?

[lokher]

are there no further hints available? where could I find more information about where to further check relevant operating system configurations?

Have you tried safe mode?

[mbartlett21]

@nnako If you are on Windows, the AltGr key (which Windows maps right Alt to on some keyboard layouts) is passed to applications as Ctrl+Alt rather than a separate keycode.