Wrong keyboard layout by graphical login

[Carsten Holzmüller]

I have installed a new xubuntu (Ubuntu 12.04 LTS) on an empty system.
My home directory is encrypted (checkbox by install).
The text console (F1, F2, F3... ) uses the german keyboard layout (correct).
The lightdm 1.2.1-0ubuntu1 uses an english keyboard (maybe us) and there is no chooser.
I also tried xdm 1:1.1.11-1ubuntu1 with the same result.

/etc/default/keyboard
XKBMODEL="pc105"
XKBLAYOUT="de"
XKBVARIANT=""
XKBOPTIONS=""
BACKSPACE="guess"

/etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf
[SeatDefaults]
greeter-session=lightdm-gtk-greeter
user-session=xubuntu
allow-guest=false
[default-display]
language=de_DE.utf8
layout=de

~/.dmrc (but encrypted...)
Language=de_DE.utf8
Layout=de
Session=xubuntu

[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.

To change the source package that this bug is filed about visit https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/990214/+editstatus and add the package name in the text box next to the word Package.

[This is an automated message. I apologize if it reached you inappropriately; please just reply to this message indicating so.]

[Carsten Holzmüller (carsten-holzmueller-q)]

The Bug #985065 is fixed, but my problem still exists.
I've no xkeyboard-config package (not installed and not available for installing).
My xkb-data package has the version 2.5-1ubuntu1.3.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Ilkka Jylhä (ilkka-jylha)]

I have this bug in xubuntu 12.04.01 but not in ubuntu 12.04

[Carsten Holzmüller (carsten-holzmueller-q)]

This bug still exists in xubuntu 12.10 (fresh installation, no update, without encryption).

[Uriel32 (max-faul)]

I still have this problem in Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS

[Barta Tamás (barta-tamas-d)]

Ubuntu 13.10 here, and I installed it via apt-get, and I get english keyboard layout instead of hungarian.

[Serede (serede)]

Adding this line to either /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/20-keyboard.conf or /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-evdev.conf is a possible workoround:
Section "InputClass"
 Identifier "keyboard"
 ...
 Option "XkbLayout" "de"
EndSection

[r_avital (raphaelavital)]

Additional info:

1. At login screen, no way to choose a keyboard layout.

2. At screen-unlocker (activating after screen has been locked for a while):

   a) There is a small window with "en" in it, even though the system has been set up to show a country flag (U.S. in this case).
   b) Switching to different layouts is possible, I can tell because one of my layouts is right-to-left, and when I switch to it via keyboard shortcuts, the cursor jumps to the right of the password box -- HOWEVER, the language indicator (the box with "en" in it) does not reflect the change at all, stays on "en"

[Pavel Podkorytov (tierpod)]

Xubuntu 14.04.2, same problem. Lightdm-gtk-greeter and light-locker show me 'ru' layout, but when i type username, it's 'us'.

[Pascollin (pascollin)]

Xubuntu 15.10 fresh install, same problem. Lightdm-gtk-greeter still always forces 'en' layout on USB keyboard (instead of 'fr' required layout).

When using my laptop internal keyboard, 'fr' layout is correctly applied. But USB attached keyboard always apply 'en' layout.

[Pascollin (pascollin)]

/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/ doesn't exists anymore to apply the workaround proposed by Sered on 2014-07-08.

[vigilian (vigilian)]

how can't it be a priority number one !!!! it stills sucks on 14.04.3 and 15.10

[monomakh (monomakh)]

and 16.04

[Antoine Delaporte (adlp.org)]

On a 16.04, Fresh Install net install, tasksellto install xfce...
It's on a (french laptop) wich is plugged on a dock station

Test in THIS order (because it's fun)
  * try to login with the USB keyboard : I'm in qwerty even if the notification upper right part of the screen write "fr"
  * try to swap this to en, and to fr
  * the USB keyboard stay in qwerty
  * swap to text mode (ctrl-alt-f1)
  * the USB keyboard is in azerty !
  * go back to X11 (alt-f1)
  * the USB keyboard is en qwerty :/
  * use the internal (laptop) keyboard : it's in azerty !
  * finish the login with the USB keyboard : it's stay in azerty !!!

Funny, isn't it ?

[Antoine Delaporte (adlp.org)]

Ok... in case the problem may came because I've a Logitech Wireless Keyboard (K520)

my pseudo ref : https://forums.archlinux.fr/viewtopic.php?t=16249#p138183
The interessent sentence "C'est un bug connu depuis très longtemps avec les claviers sans fils de logitech. Généralement il est contourné via un lancement de setxkbmap..."
This sentence mean : "This is a well known old bug with the logitech wireless keyboard. Usualy it can be setup with a setxkbmap launc".

So I do the same thing than they explain : I create a /etc/lightdm/lightdm.conf in witch I add
[SeatDefaults]
greeter-setup-script=/usr/bin/setxkbmap fr oss

I dislike this solution I feel this not smart. But I need this working now :/

[Gunnar Hjalmarsson (gunnarhj)]

I'm not quite sure about the history, but it strikes me that there may be some misconceptions floating around in the above discussion.

On my Ubuntu 16.10 I

* removed all keyboard layout related user settings,
* set XKBLAYOUT="se" in /etc/default/keyboard, and
* rebooted.

The resulting effective layout on lightdm-gtk-greeter was Swedish as expected.

Please note that the language chooser shown by default in lightdm-gtk-greeter is about setting the session's display language, and has nothing to do with keyboard layouts.

You can enable a keyboard layout switcher; please see <http://askubuntu.com/q/821017> including the comments.

[Michael Grivas (mgrivas)]

These seem related (and none fixed) :
https://bugs.launchpad.net/lightdm/+bug/1051288
https://bugs.launchpad.net/lightdm/+bug/1343582
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/lightdm/+bug/919200
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/lightdm-gtk-greeter/+bug/990214