Neo2 locked in level 4 after boot

[Celebrir]

Hi everyone!

I’m currently in the process of complete transition from Win10 to Garuda Linux with a dual boot setup and I’m getting everything to work step by step. My hope is to delete Windows as soon as possible and I’m opimistic I’ll do that soon. However, there is one problem I’m unable to find a solution for:
I’m using the keyboard layout “neo2” (https://neo-layout.org/) which is an alternative keyboard layout better fitted to the needs of someone who is using 10-finger-typing in the german language. On windows I always had to use a special program to use it, but on linux it is one of the standard layouts. I already used it in other distros and it always worked fine. However, in Garuda after booting it’s not on level 1 as it should but locked in level 4, which might be comparable to a CapsLock mode for AltGr. I can unlock it by hitting the correct key combination but with the next reboot it is locked in again.
The internet seems to be full of people who hit the key combination by accident and a system reboot helps them, but for me it is the other way around
I also searched the layout settings, but I was unable to find a setting that might cause this.

Thanks in advance for all help

My garuda-inxi:

System:
Kernel: 6.15.3-zen1-1-zen arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.1.1
clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/@/boot/vmlinuz-linux-zen
root=UUID=025f34bf-7f80-4098-aa7b-eadd34700896 rw rootflags=subvol=@
vt.default_red=30,243,166,249,137,245,148,186,88,243,166,249,137,245,148,166
vt.default_grn=30,139,227,226,180,194,226,194,91,139,227,226,180,194,226,173
vt.default_blu=46,168,161,175,250,231,213,222,112,168,161,175,250,231,213,200
quiet loglevel=3 ibt=off
Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.4.1 tk: Qt v: N/A wm: kwin_wayland with: krunner
dm: SDDM Distro: Garuda base: Arch Linux
Machine:
Type: Desktop System: ECT product: One Computer Core i5-4690K, 4 v: N/A
serial: <filter>
Mobo: Micro-Star model: MAG Z390 TOMAHAWK (MS-7B18) v: 1.0
serial: <filter> part-nu: 11131537
uuid: 7fc4a500-2441-11eb-9d68-f23e93a00f00 UEFI: American Megatrends
v: 1.B0 date: 10/10/2020
CPU:
Info: model: Intel Core i9-9900KF socket: LGA1151 (U3E1) note: check
bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Coffee Lake gen: core 9 level: v3 note: check
built: 2018 process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0x9E (158)
stepping: 0xD (13) microcode: 0x104
Topology: cpus: 1x dies: 1 clusters: 8 cores: 8 threads: 16 tpc: 2
smt: enabled cache: L1: 512 KiB desc: d-8x32 KiB; i-8x32 KiB L2: 2 MiB
desc: 8x256 KiB L3: 16 MiB desc: 1x16 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 800 min/max: 800/5000 base/boost: 3600/8300 scaling:
driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave volts: 0.9 V ext-clock: 100 MHz
cores: 1: 800 2: 800 3: 800 4: 800 5: 800 6: 800 7: 800 8: 800 9: 800
10: 800 11: 800 12: 800 13: 800 14: 800 15: 800 16: 800 bogomips: 115200
Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Vulnerabilities: <filter>
Graphics:
Device-1: NVIDIA GA104 [GeForce RTX 3070] vendor: ZOTAC driver: nvidia
v: 575.64 alternate: nouveau,nvidia_drm non-free: 550-570.xx+ status: current
(as of 2025-04; EOL~2026-12-xx) arch: Ampere code: GAxxx
process: TSMC n7 (7nm) built: 2020-2023 pcie: gen: 2 speed: 5 GT/s
lanes: 16 link-max: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s ports: active: none
off: HDMI-A-1 empty: DP-1,DP-2,DP-3 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:2484
class-ID: 0300
Device-2: Microdia AUKEY PC-W3 driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo type: USB
rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-2.3:23
chip-ID: 0c45:636d class-ID: 0102 serial: <filter>
Display: unspecified server: X.Org v: 24.1.8 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.8
compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: nvidia unloaded: modesetting
alternate: fbdev,nouveau,nv,vesa gpu: nvidia,nvidia-nvswitch
display-ID: :1 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 2560x1440 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 677x381mm (26.65x15.00")
s-diag: 777mm (30.58")
Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 note: disabled model: Dell S3220DGF serial: <filter>
built: 2020 res: mode: 2560x1440 hz: 144 scale: 100% (1) dpi: 93 gamma: 1.2
size: 697x392mm (27.44x15.43") diag: 806mm (31.7") ratio: 16:9 modes:
max: 2560x1440 min: 640x480
API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: nvidia platforms: device: 0 drv: nvidia device: 2
drv: swrast gbm: drv: nvidia surfaceless: drv: nvidia x11: drv: nvidia
inactive: wayland,device-1
API: OpenGL v: 4.6.0 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: nvidia mesa v: 575.64
glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070/PCIe/SSE2
memory: 7.81 GiB
API: Vulkan v: 1.4.313 layers: 2 device: 0 type: discrete-gpu
name: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 driver: nvidia v: 575.64 device-ID: 10de:2484
surfaces: N/A
Info: Tools: api: clinfo, eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo
de: kscreen-console,kscreen-doctor gpu: nvidia-settings,nvidia-smi
wl: wayland-info x11: xdpyinfo, xprop, xrandr
Audio:
Device-1: Intel Cannon Lake PCH cAVS vendor: Micro-Star MSI
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel alternate: snd_soc_avs,snd_sof_pci_intel_cnl
bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:a348 class-ID: 0403
Device-2: NVIDIA GA104 High Definition Audio vendor: ZOTAC
driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16
link-max: gen: 4 speed: 16 GT/s bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:228b
class-ID: 0403
Device-3: Corsair VOID WIRELESS v2 Gaming Receiver
driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s
lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-2.1:21 chip-ID: 1b1c:2a08 class-ID: 0300
serial: <filter>
Device-4: Microdia AUKEY PC-W3 driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo type: USB
rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 1-2.3:23
chip-ID: 0c45:636d class-ID: 0102 serial: <filter>
API: ALSA v: k6.15.3-zen1-1-zen status: kernel-api tools: N/A
Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.4.5 status: n/a (root, process) with:
1: pipewire-pulse status: active 2: wireplumber status: active
3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
Device-1: Intel Ethernet I219-V vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: e1000e
v: kernel port: N/A bus-ID: 00:1f.6 chip-ID: 8086:15bc class-ID: 0200
IF: eno1 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
Device-2: Intel I211 Gigabit Network vendor: Micro-Star MSI driver: igb
v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: 3000 bus-ID: 04:00.0
chip-ID: 8086:1539 class-ID: 0200
IF: enp4s0 state: down mac: <filter>
Info: services: NetworkManager,systemd-timesyncd
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 2.73 TiB used: 2.07 TiB (75.8%)
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Western Digital
model: WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0 size: 931.51 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B
logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter>
fw-rev: 211070WD temp: 47.9 C scheme: GPT
SMART: yes health: PASSED on: 256d 5h cycles: 3,440
read-units: 77,794,951 [39.8 TB] written-units: 108,755,234 [55.6 TB]
ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Seagate model: ST2000DM008-2FR102
family: BarraCuda 3.5 (SMR) size: 1.82 TiB block-size: physical: 4096 B
logical: 512 B sata: 3.1 speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: HDD rpm: 7200
serial: <filter> fw-rev: 0001 temp: 40 C scheme: GPT
SMART: yes state: enabled health: PASSED on: 6201h+41m+30.779s
cycles: 3430 read: 33.39 TiB written: 17.96 TiB Pre-Fail:
attribute: Spin_Retry_Count value: 100 worst: 100 threshold: 97
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 194.85 GiB size: 194.85 GiB (100.00%)
used: 48.41 GiB (24.8%) fs: btrfs block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5
maj-min: 259:5
ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 400 MiB size: 396 MiB (99.00%)
used: 36 MiB (9.1%) fs: vfat block-size: 512 B dev: /dev/nvme0n1p1
maj-min: 259:1
ID-3: /home raw-size: 194.85 GiB size: 194.85 GiB (100.00%)
used: 48.41 GiB (24.8%) fs: btrfs block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5
maj-min: 259:5
ID-4: /var/log raw-size: 194.85 GiB size: 194.85 GiB (100.00%)
used: 48.41 GiB (24.8%) fs: btrfs block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5
maj-min: 259:5
ID-5: /var/tmp raw-size: 194.85 GiB size: 194.85 GiB (100.00%)
used: 48.41 GiB (24.8%) fs: btrfs block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/nvme0n1p5
maj-min: 259:5
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 133 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
ID-1: swap-1 type: zram size: 31.27 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: 100
comp: zstd avail: lzo-rle,lzo,lz4,lz4hc,deflate,842 dev: /dev/zram0
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 45.0 C pch: 53.0 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
Memory: total: 32 GiB available: 31.27 GiB used: 5.82 GiB (18.6%)
Processes: 411 Power: uptime: 8h 44m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
avail: s2idle wakeups: 2 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
suspend, test_resume image: 12.42 GiB services: org_kde_powerdevil,
power-profiles-daemon, upowerd Init: systemd v: 257 default: graphical
tool: systemctl
Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1475 libs: 462 tools: octopi,paru,yay
Compilers: gcc: 15.1.1 Shell: garuda-inxi (sudo) default: Bash v: 5.2.37
running-in: konsole inxi: 3.3.38
Garuda (2.7.2-1):
System install date:     2025-06-06
Last full system update: 2025-06-27 ↻
Is partially upgraded:   No
Relevant software:       snapper NetworkManager dracut nvidia-dkms
Windows dual boot:       Yes
Failed units:

[Duke187]

Hi and welcome,

Did you try to set it as first layout here? (if new added move it up with the burger symbol 3___)After the normal login it will change to it. If you have a Luks encryption you need to change some settings but i dont know exactly because i dont have luks activated.

It is active when i reboot the system you also can change the shortcuts to change the layout.

[Celebrir]

Thanks for the welcome!
Yes I did that and everything (apart from the other layouts and the german translation I have) looks like in your screenshot.
The problem lies not in activating neo2, but that it is as if I pressed the shortcuts for locking it on level 4 after the boot process. When I deactivate the lock mode and switch between qwertz and neo2 everything fine. When I reboot Garuda, it is in level 4 lock mode again.

[gampel]

@Celebrir

UEFI: American Megatrends
v: 1.B0 date: 10/10/2020

Not your issue but you should make a bios update.
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-Z390-TOMAHAWK/support

[Celebrir]

True, thanks for the advice!

[Duke187]

I see the issue what you mean myself here too. I dont use it btw even if im coding myself but i have a ie keyboard and english system. Its interesting for me too. If i press both buttons to unlock it its switch back to layer 1. I did try to use a script what execute the buttons 5 seconds after login but it ended up on layer 3. I found something on a old post.
See here but it changed the mod buttons and so on … Maybe you can have a look and try and i would suggest to do backup files before chance something.

would also say update the Bios for Security reasons but already recommended

Neo Keyboard Layout is stuck at level 3 / Newbie Corner / Arch Linux Forums

[Duke187]

Just forgot all the Stuff lol the Solution is simple. Worked for me if we can read lol.

On the website its clear.

Before activate/switching the Neo2 Keyboard you should turn off the NUM LOCK !!! IF its activated you get locked on Layer 4.

For the reboot issue you can change the Settings here you have to activate yourself again but switch out of Neo to other Layout.

and here its locked

[Celebrir]

Reading is truly a skill not to be underestimated…

Thanks a lot, that was the solution to the problem!