Re: Bug#1107988: German “ä” key not working on Raspberry Pi 5 with Debian 12
Hi,
I think you may be running Raspberry Pi OS rather than stock Debian here
since as far as I know you cannot get stock Debian to run on a Pi 5 yet.
On Wed, Jun 18, 2025 at 02:24:27PM +0000, in270324 wrote:
> Package: keyboard-configuration
> Version: 1.221rpt1
>
> On my Raspberry Pi 5 (Model B Rev 1.0) running Debian GNU/Linux 12 (Bookworm) aarch64, the lowercase “ä” key does not work on any connected keyboard (tested with several Bluetooth and USB keyboards, all with German layout). The issue persists regardless of keyboard model or connection type.
>
> Device: Raspberry Pi 5 Model B Rev 1.0
> OS: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (Bookworm) aarch64
Could you give us the output of /etc/debian_version and /etc/os-release ?
Although the Raspberry Pi folks use our name, I suspect this is still
Raspberry Pi OS
> Kernel: 6.12.25+rpt-rpi-2712
Not a Debian kernel version, I think.
> Keyboards tested: Multiple (Bluetooth and USB, German layout, including 65% and standard size)
> Issue: Pressing the “ä” key produces no input. In `xev`, no KeyPress/KeyRelease event is generated for this key, only a KeymapNotify event. All other keys work as expected.
> What I tried:
> - Verified keyboard layout (`de`, `de-t3`, `de-nodeadkeys`, etc.)
> - Used `setxkbmap` and reconfigured `/etc/default/keyboard`
> - Upgraded all packages (`sudo apt full-upgrade`)
> - Edited `/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-keyboard.conf`
> - Set `HID2HCI_ENABLED=1` in `/etc/default/bluetooth`
> - Tested with different user accounts and fresh installs
> - Tested on Ubuntu Asus machine: **The “ä” key works perfectly there!**
>
> Expected behavior:
> The “ä” key should produce the character “ä” (adiaeresis) as on other Linux distributions.
>
Other distributions on the Raspberry Pi or your expected behaviour from the
more common amd64 AMD/Intel machines?
> Actual behavior:
> No character is produced, and no KeyPress/KeyRelease event is detected in `xev`.
>
> Steps to reproduce:
> 1. Install Debian 12 (Bookworm) aarch64 on Raspberry Pi 5
> 2. Connect a German-layout keyboard (Bluetooth or USB)
> 3. Set keyboard layout to “de”
> 4. Try to type “ä” (lowercase)
> 5. Observe that nothing happens and `xev` shows no key event
>
> Additional information:
> This issue affects all tested keyboards and persists after all configuration and upgrade attempts. It does **not** occur on Ubuntu amd hardware
>
Take this up with the Raspberry Pi OS folks, please. You might find that
running the raspi-config scripts again would help but Raspberry Pi OS may
do things very differently. It is not Debian's fault if they choose to do
so..
With every good wish, as ever,
Andrew Cater
(amacater@debian.org)
> Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/mail/home) secure email.
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