Swap CapsLock and Escape feature disabled on external keyboard when keyboard is unplugged and replaced.

[dotancohen]

System:
 - New install of Kubuntu 15.10 on a Lenovo G560 laptop
 - External USB keyboard connected to laptop
 - Use of feature "Swap CapsLock and Escape"

When removing the external keyboard's USB plug, then putting it back, the "Swap CapsLock and Escape" feature is disabled on the external keyboard. The feature continues to function properly (i.e. the two keys properly remain swapped) on the built-in keyboard. The removal and replacement of the external USB keyboard is important in my workflow.

This feature worked fine in Kubuntu 14.10, I would disconnect the keyboard regularly without issue on that version. I have not used other Linux distributions on this hardware.

$ lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu 15.10
Release: 15.10

The "Swap CapsLock and Escape" feature is toggled in System Settings -> Input Devices -> Keyboard -> Advanced -> CapsLock Key Behavior

[Ubuntu Foundations Team Bug Bot (crichton)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. It seems that your bug report is not filed about a specific source package though, rather it is just filed against Ubuntu in general. It is important that bug reports be filed about source packages so that people interested in the package can find the bugs about it. You can find some hints about determining what package your bug might be about at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/FindRightPackage. You might also ask for help in the #ubuntu-bugs irc channel on Freenode.

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[dotancohen (dotancohen)]

I just had this issue occur again (the CapsLock and Escape functionality returned to their normal keys instead of being swapped) when returning after leaving the computer unattended for some time. However, the computer did not enter sleep or suspend during that time.

What can I do to troubleshoot? This is a major issue in my workflow, Kubuntu 15.10 is almost completely unusable with this regression.

[dotancohen (dotancohen)]

To clarify, sometimes I'll be in the middle of working and whoops the physical CapsLock key, which I use for Escape, has become CapsLock again.

I have for years used the "Swap CapsLock and Escape" option in KDE, and then when this issue cropped up I disabled that option and started using the following ~/.Xmodmap file instead:

clear Lock
keysym Caps_Lock = Escape
keysym Escape = Caps_Lock
add Lock = Caps_Lock

Both methods are affected by this issue.

[dotancohen (dotancohen)]

Comments #2 and #3 may be confusing as I did not know what caused the bug to trigger at the time that I wrote them (disconnecting and reconnecting the USB cable).