ALT-F1 doesn't switch to console

MNT Pocket Reform
1

According to the printed manual (page 15), from the login screen ALT+F1 (and F2, F3, etc) should switch to a plain console.

On page 9, in the keyboard section, it’s listed that HYPER+1 is F1. So ALT+F1 should be ALT+HYPER+1, but when I press that combination, nothing happens.

I tried a few different combinations, also with CTRL, SHIFT, and SUPER involved, but so far I have not been able to access a plain console without logging into a graphical desktop and using a terminal from there.

When checking key presses with xev, it seems that Alt and F1 are sent correctly, though.

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Umm, metoo.

In fact I can’t find any use, practical or otherwise, for the HYPER key. Its location is dominant – right under my left pinky but I can’t find that it does anything. And because it’s owned by the keyboard processor it can’t be mapped.

After these months this is the only annoyance I’d call a “design flaw”.

I too would love to be able to get to the old “screens” consoles under the window manager.

The Reform manual v2 chapter 3, has a list of Hyper functions but none of them work as advertised.

Screen brightness etc work, but are SUPER-F1 etc, not HYPER-F1, etc.

With SUPER as shift: F1-screen dim, F2-bright, F3 vol-, F4 vol+, f5 mute, F6…12 do nothing.

With HYPER as shift: F1…12 no action.

With no shift key: F1 nothing, F2 nothing, F3 browser search dialog, … lol I’m afraid to try the others with this editor open for fear of closing a page etc.

Am I missing something?

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This isn’t about the HYPER key. It works fine and I quite like having a modifier that so software can “steal”.

This is either a bug in the console-switching or an error in the documentation.

Regardless of what it is, it would be good to have some way of getting to a console in case the graphical desktop gets borked somehow.

I’d rather not have to have SSH open on my laptop. But right now that’s the only working option for emergency access.

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I just checked this and it’s indeed a bug in the keyboard firmware. It’s because Hyper changes Alt to AltGr. This is a leftover from when we had two Shift keys instead of a dedicated AGR key and needed an awkward way to generate AltGr. I will fix this in the upcoming keyboard firmware update.

To access the console in the meantime, you can press F3 in tuigreet (the text based login interface) and change the command to /usr/bin/bash. This gets you to the console after logging in.

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@tomicdesu I think you’re talking about Reform, not Pocket Reform, where Hyper is less important. If the Hyper combinations don’t work as advertised, you might have old keyboard firmware. For example, Hyper+Cursor keys generate Home, End, PgUp, PgDown. Hyper+F7-F12 generate media keys. Brightness control on Hyper+F1/F2 was added somewhere in the last 6-12 months, I don’t remember 100%.

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When in the GUI, you can also run this to switch:

sudo chvt 1

You can get more consoles on vt 1 through 6. To get back to the GUI, run:

sudo chvt 7

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OOPS – so sorry, yes, my problem is a Reform issue, and this thread is POCKET Reform, which I overlooked. Sorry for the confusion.

I’ll look at updating keyboard firmware. (It had been one of those new-computer issues, fairly minor in impact, that I’m finally getting around to looking at. I’m fine, I’ve not been steaming in angry silence, lol, on a 1…10 scale of annoyance, it’s about a 1. – Signed, Totally Satisfied Customer : - )

1 Like