Bug 505550

Summary: NumLock startup setting ignored when BIOS NumLock is enabled
Product: [Applications] systemsettings Reporter: kde-bug
Component: kcm_keyboardAssignee: Plasma Bugs List <plasma-bugs-null>
Status: REPORTED ---    
Severity: normal CC: butirsky, duha.bugs, john.kizer, kde, kde, natalie_clarius, olib141
Priority: NOR    
Version First Reported In: unspecified   
Target Milestone: ---   
Platform: Fedora RPMs   
OS: Linux   
Latest Commit: Version Fixed/Implemented In:
Sentry Crash Report:

Description kde-bug 2025-06-12 21:21:13 UTC 
SUMMARY

When NumLock is enabled in the BIOS/UEFI firmware, Plasma ignores the user setting "Turn on NumLock at startup" (from the Keyboard Hardware settings). Even with autologin enabled, this setting is expected to override the firmware state, but it does not.

If NumLock is disabled in BIOS, Plasma correctly applies its own setting — NumLock is enabled at session start, as expected.

This leads to confusion, especially because:
- There is no warning or indication in the GUI
- The setting is available in KDE System Settings, but simply ignored

Steps to reproduce:
1. Enable NumLock in BIOS
2. Enable "Turn on NumLock at startup" in Plasma's Keyboard settings
3. Enable autologin (optional)
4. Reboot the system

Expected:
Plasma activates NumLock regardless of BIOS state

Actual:
NumLock remains in BIOS-defined state; Plasma setting is ignored

Workaround:
Disable NumLock in BIOS – Plasma setting then works as expected.

Tested on:
- Fedora 42
- KDE Plasma 6.3.5
- Wayland session

May be related to bug 454478, but this was tested on Plasma 6.3.5 and Wayland with autologin enabled.
Comment 1 kde-bug 2025-06-12 21:35:12 UTC 
Addition for "Actual:"

NumLock LED remains on (from BIOS), but the numeric keypad is not functional.  
Plasma ignores its own setting and does not override the BIOS state correctly.  
This results in a misleading state where the LED suggests NumLock is active, but the key behavior shows it is not.  
Only after manually pressing the NumLock key does the keypad start working as expected.
Comment 2 John Kizer 2025-06-21 03:28:27 UTC 
Hi - just double-checking, has this issue always occurred on this device or did it begin with a specific update? Can you please provide the Info Center "About This System" page info, or the output of the kinfo command?

Thanks!
Comment 3 kde-bug 2025-06-22 15:36:03 UTC 
(In reply to John Kizer from comment #2)
> Hi - just double-checking, has this issue always occurred on this device or
> did it begin with a specific update? Can you please provide the Info Center
> "About This System" page info, or the output of the kinfo command?
> 
> Thanks!

Hi John,

thanks for the follow-up!

This is a fresh installation, not an upgrade from a previous version.

Here is the requested information:

KDE Plasma: 6.3.5

Kernel: 6.14.9-300.fc42.x86_64

Distro: Fedora 42 (KDE Plasma Desktop Edition)

Session: Wayland

kinfocenter version: 6.3.5

Output of inxi -Faz:

System:
  Kernel: 6.14.9-300.fc42.x86_64 arch: x86_64 
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.3.5 (Wayland)
  Distro: Fedora Linux 42 (KDE Plasma Desktop Edition)

Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: Dell OptiPlex 3050

CPU:
  Info: Intel Core i7-7700 (8 threads) @ 4.2 GHz
  Features: sse4_1, sse4_2, avx, avx2, vmx
  Vulnerabilities: mitigations active

Graphics:
  GPU-1: Intel HD Graphics 630 (i915)
  GPU-2: AMD Radeon Pro WX 3200 (amdgpu)
  Display: Wayland (kwin) via Xwayland
  Monitors: 3× 3840x2160 @ 60 Hz (Samsung, LG, Samsung)

Audio:
  Devices:
    - Intel PCH HD Audio
    - AMD HDMI/DP Audio
  Server: PipeWire 1.4.5 (with wireplumber, pipewire-pulse)

Network:
  Device: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 (r8169)  
  Link: 1000 Mbps full duplex

Drives:
  NVMe SSD: Intenso, 232.89 GiB, Btrfs root and home

Swap:
  zram: 8 GiB (enabled, low usage)

Memory:
  RAM: 32 GiB total, ~18 % in use

Other:
  Boot mode: Legacy BIOS  
  Init: systemd v257  
  Display Manager: SDDM  
  Packages: Flatpak (19)

Let me know if I should test anything else.

Best regards,

Stefenzo
Comment 4 Tim 2025-11-08 01:29:54 UTC 
This has reared itself on an upgrade from V6.4.5 to V6.5.2 on Solus Plasma 4.7 week 45 update. 

Numlock is on in BIOS on 2 machines but when login screen is presented numlock is turned off but settings ask for numlock to be turned on.

Operating System: Solus 4.7
KDE Plasma Version: 6.5.2
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.19.0
Qt Version: 6.9.3
Kernel Version: 6.16.12-323.current (64-bit)
Graphics Platform: Wayland
Processors: 6 × Intel® Core™ i5-9400F CPU @ 2.90GHz
Memory: 32 GiB of RAM (31.3 GiB usable)
Graphics Processor: NVIDIA GeForce GT 1030