If your refurbished laptop has arrived with unfamiliar symbols or keys in slightly different positions, don't worry. Different keyboard layouts are common with refurbished laptops and don't mean there's anything wrong with the device.
Refurbished stock can come from businesses across different countries, so a laptop originally used in Germany, France or the US might eventually be sold elsewhere. The physical keys can therefore differ from the layout you're used to. In most cases, this has little effect on how the laptop works, and changing the keyboard language in Windows or macOS only takes a few moments.
Here, we explain why these differences occur, how to identify your layout and what you can do about it.
Where Do Refurbished Laptops Come From?
Many refurbished laptops begin their working lives in businesses and other large organisations. Companies regularly replace devices as part of planned IT refresh cycles or return equipment at the end of a lease.
Those laptops can then enter the refurbished market and find new owners in completely different countries.
That's why someone in Ireland might receive a laptop with a US, German, French or another European keyboard. A foreign keyboard isn't an indication that the laptop is faulty or that anything has been replaced incorrectly. It can simply reflect where the device was originally used.
The important thing is understanding which layout you have and whether you're comfortable using it.
Different Keyboard Layouts You Might Come Across
There are several different laptop keyboard layouts, and some are much easier to identify than others.
A UK keyboard uses the familiar QWERTY arrangement and includes the £ symbol. The Enter key is also typically taller and backwards-L shaped.
A US keyboard is also QWERTY, so it can initially look very similar. Look more closely and you'll notice differences around keys such as @, ", # and £, as well as a wider, single-row Enter key. German keyboards generally use QWERTZ, meaning the Y and Z positions are swapped compared with UK and US keyboards. You'll also see additional German characters such as ä, ö and ü.
French keyboards commonly use AZERTY, making them much easier to distinguish at a glance. Swiss and Nordic keyboards have their own arrangements and additional characters suited to the languages they're designed for.
Despite these visual differences, the physical keyboard doesn't necessarily determine what appears on screen when you press each key.
Physical Keyboard vs Software Layout
This is the most important distinction to understand about your laptop keyboard layout.
The letters and symbols printed on the keys are physical. They won't change unless the keyboard itself is replaced. What your computer actually types when you press those keys, however, is controlled by software.
For example, you could have a physical US keyboard but configure Windows to use a UK keyboard layout. Your computer would then interpret your keystrokes according to the UK configuration, even though the symbols printed on the physical keys would still show the US arrangement. This means you can usually configure an international laptop to type exactly as you're accustomed to. You just need to remember that a few printed symbols might no longer correspond with what appears on screen.
If you're a touch typist who rarely looks at the keyboard, you might barely notice after changing the software settings.
How to Change Your Keyboard Layout in Windows
If you're wondering how to change the keyboard layout on your laptop, Windows makes the process fairly straightforward.
Go to: Settings → Time & language → Language & region
From here, check which language is currently installed. You can add your preferred language or keyboard layout through the language options. For someone in Ireland who wants a familiar English-language keyboard setup, choose the appropriate Irish or UK configuration depending on your typing preference. Once the correct keyboard has been added, you can select it as the layout you use and remove any unwanted alternatives if necessary.
If you have multiple keyboard layouts installed, Windows also lets you switch between them. This can be useful if you regularly type in more than one language, but accidental switching can sometimes explain why your keys suddenly seem to be producing the wrong characters.
How to Change Your Keyboard Layout on macOS
Changing an international keyboard layout on a Mac follows the same basic principle.
Open: System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources
You can then add the input source you want to use, such as British or Irish English. Once your preferred layout is available, you can select it and remove any input sources you don't need.
Again, this changes what macOS types rather than what's physically printed on the keyboard.
If the physical layout and software configuration don't match, a few symbols can therefore appear in different places from the ones shown on the keys.
When Is a Different Keyboard Actually a Problem?
For many people, it isn't.
If the keyboard is still QWERTY and only a handful of symbols have moved, you might adjust surprisingly quickly. Characters such as @, ", £ and # are among the differences you're most likely to notice between UK and US layouts.
The shape of keys can also vary. A US keyboard, for example, commonly has a different Enter key from the one UK typists are used to. These changes matter more if you type quickly without looking at the keyboard, write for several hours each day or frequently use punctuation and symbols. In that case, repeatedly hitting the wrong key can become frustrating.
If you only use your laptop for general browsing, email and occasional documents, a different physical layout might be something you get used to within a short period. And if you're concerned about other aspects of buying refurbished, choosing refurbished laptops with warranty can provide additional reassurance around your purchase.
Prefer a Particular Layout? Check Before You Buy
If you already know that changing physical layouts would bother you, the simplest solution is to check before ordering your next laptop.
Refurbished product listings should identify the keyboard configuration where relevant. Pay particular attention to whether a laptop is listed as UK, US, German, French or another international layout rather than assuming the keyboard will match your location.
Photos can also help. Look at the Enter key, the first row of letters and symbols such as £ and @ if you want to confirm what you're getting.
Alternatively, some people deliberately prefer another country's keyboard. Our international keyboard laptops are useful if you're specifically looking for a non-UK layout.
A quick check before ordering means you can choose the physical keyboard you're most comfortable using rather than adapting afterwards.
A Different Keyboard Doesn't Mean There's a Problem
Finding unfamiliar keys on a refurbished laptop can be surprising, but it's usually completely normal. Refurbished devices can originate from different countries, which means their physical keyboards won't always match the layout you're accustomed to. In most cases, changing the software settings will get you typing normally again in moments, although the printed symbols will remain unchanged.
Next time, check the listed keyboard layout before ordering if you have a strong preference. You can also explore our wider range of refurbished electronics when choosing your next device.