Sticky Keys shortcut: turn it on or off
Press the Shift key five times in a row on Windows to turn Sticky Keys on or off. Sticky Keys lets you press modifier keys (Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Win) one at a time instead of holding them.
| Action | Mac | Windows | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Toggle Sticky Keys | press ⇧ 5× (if enabled) | press ⇧ 5× | |
| Open the Sticky Keys prompt | — | press ⇧ 5× | |
| Lock a modifier key | press modifier 2× | press modifier 2× | |
| Turn off (both pressed at once) | — | press two keys together |
Turn Sticky Keys on or off (Windows)
Press the Shift key five times in a row. Windows shows a prompt asking whether you want to enable Sticky Keys. With Sticky Keys on, you can press Ctrl, Alt, Shift or the Win key once and it stays active for the next key — so shortcuts like Ctrl+Alt+Del can be typed one key at a time.
Stop the Sticky Keys pop-up
If the prompt keeps appearing by accident (common in games), open Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard and switch off Keyboard shortcut for Sticky Keys. Pressing two keys together at once also turns the feature off.
Sticky Keys on Mac
macOS has the same feature under System Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard → Sticky Keys. Turn on Press the Shift key five times to toggle Sticky Keys to get the same ⇧×5 shortcut. Press a modifier twice to lock it until you press it again.
More accessibility shortcuts: turn on high-contrast mode or start the screen reader (VoiceOver / Narrator).
FAQ
What is the Sticky Keys shortcut?
Press the Shift key five times in a row. On Windows this toggles Sticky Keys (or shows a prompt); on Mac enable the same ⇧×5 toggle in Accessibility settings.
How do I turn Sticky Keys off?
Press Shift five times again, or press any two keys together at once. To stop the pop-up for good, disable the shortcut in Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard.
What does Sticky Keys actually do?
It lets you press modifier keys (Ctrl, Alt, Shift, Win/⌘) one at a time instead of holding them, so multi-key shortcuts can be typed sequentially.