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I access Ubuntu 20 Guest VMs that I installed from .iso on a ESXi server. I access the console via VSphere HTML Client.

Everything seems normal at first until I started doing more serious work via the web console. That is when I realize certain keys takes a ridiculous amount of retries. These keys are - . / ' [ ] \ and their corresponding shifts _ ? " { } |

Often times, nothing happens when I type those letters. Once in a while, 1 instance will be recorded but more often, it went into a endless repeat, like ..........................................

Most other keys, including all alphabet keys, seem to work fine within the virtual console. What could have caused this? I tried tuning the setting as suggested here (https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/196) and it didn't make any difference.

some user
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1 Answers1

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You seem to have encountered the problem described in the VMware knowledge base article
Keystrokes typed into the vSphere Web Client console of a virtual machine do not translate correctly (2071245):

When you type special characters into the vSphere Web Client console of a virtual machine, you experience these symptoms:

  • Keystrokes for special characters typed in to the vSphere Web Client console of a virtual machine do not translate correctly.

  • The affected characters can include, but are not limited to:

    • / (slash)
    • \ (backslash)
    • . (period)
      • (dash)
    • _ (underscore)
    • & (ampersand)
    • , (comma)
    • : (semicolon)
    • $ (dollar sign)
    • (pound sign)
    • @ (at symbol)

  • This issue occurs when you use a Swedish, Turkish, German, Swiss, French, Spanish or Austrian locale on your computer or keyboard.

  • This issue does not occur when:

    • You connect via a remote desktop to the affected virtual machine.
    • You use the vSphere Client console of a virtual machine.
    • You use the vSphere Web Client on a console of a Windows guest operating system.

This is a known issue affecting vSphere vCenter Server 5.5 , 6.0 & 6.5.

The article adds some information that can help when encountering this problem :

Resolution

To resolve this issue, use the VMware Remote Console, available at VMware Downloads.

To work around this issue on a virtual machine, use one of these options:

  • Change the operating system keyboard layout to another locale on the machine opening the console.
    Note: This makes further characters available for usage but some characters may still be affected.

  • Connect to the affected virtual machine through a remote desktop.

Workaround

Use VMRC and even Web-Client works fine.

harrymc
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  • It looks very close to what I am experiencing. But my region and locale has always been `English (United States)` . And it is not an issue of keystroke translation. It is sometimes keystrokes are missing and sometimes keys are stuck at a repeat loop. – some user Dec 01 '22 at 22:40
  • Your problem could be another variant or evolution of this bug. It would be interesting to see if some of the described solutions or workaround help in your case. – harrymc Dec 01 '22 at 22:50
  • I am awarding the bounty since this answer is the closest. Using a different client works. In fact, it seems the problem is only with FireFox. But the issue isn't trivial. When client console is only opened in Chrome, symbol keys work. But if I open a console window in Firefox, symbol keys failed, even in Chrome. The problem went away after I closed the Firefox console. – some user Dec 07 '22 at 19:31
  • I encounter the same issue. Login fails with Web Console but I can login by any other means. I'm on vCenter 7.0.3 Build: 20990077 and ESXi 7.0.3i, Build: 20842708. – Jeff Jan 11 '23 at 13:24
  • Enabling 'privacy.resistFingerprinting' in Firefox appears to be one of the culprits. – Jeff Jan 11 '23 at 13:40