If you've landed here, your ASUS ROG Strix XG27AQDMG is showing a "Keys Locked" message every time you press a button, and the on-screen menu refuses to open. Good news: nothing is wrong with the monitor. The OSD (on-screen display) key lock has simply been toggled on — almost always by accident while reaching behind the panel. Below is the precise fix, in plain steps.
THE FIXUnlock the XG27AQDMG in 5 seconds
The single action that unlocks the keys is a long press of the control joystick in the down direction. Do this:
It's a press-and-hold, not a tap, and the direction is down (↓). If you tap it or hold it for only a second, nothing happens. Commit to the full five-second hold and watch for the "Keys Unlocked" confirmation on screen.
STEP DETAILWhere the control joystick is on the XG27AQDMG
The XG27AQDMG's controls sit on the rear of the panel. With the screen facing you, the main 5-way joystick is on the right-hand side near the bottom edge. There are also one or two smaller shortcut buttons and the power button nearby — make sure you're operating the larger joystick, not those.
- The 5-way joystick — clicks in (press) and moves up / down / left / right. This is the one you hold down to unlock.
- Power button — usually the closest separate button; a quick tap toggles power, so don't use this to unlock.
- Shortcut / close buttons — small buttons that jump to GameVisual, GamePlus, or back out of the menu. Not used for the key lock.
Reaching behind a screen you can't see is fiddly. Tilt the monitor forward slightly, or feel along the bottom-right of the rear housing for the joystick that wobbles in four directions — that movement is how you tell it apart from the fixed-press power and shortcut buttons.
BACKGROUNDWhy your monitor says "Keys Locked"
"Keys Locked" is a deliberate feature, not a fault. ASUS includes an OSD key lock so your carefully dialed-in picture settings can't be changed by an accidental bump — handy in shared setups, around kids, or for streamers and offices where the monitor settings should stay fixed.
Because the same long-press of the joystick toggles the lock both on and off, it's easy to trigger without meaning to. The usual culprits:
- Reaching behind the monitor to plug in a cable and pressing the joystick down by mistake.
- Cleaning the screen or repositioning the panel and resting a thumb on the control.
- A new monitor where you held the joystick the wrong way while exploring the buttons.
- Cable management or wall-mounting where the joystick gets pushed against something for several seconds.
Don't factory-reset the monitor, unplug it repeatedly in a panic, or assume it's a warranty issue. The lock is intended behaviour — the down-hold above clears it instantly. A factory reset isn't needed and would wipe your colour and gaming presets.
TROUBLESHOOTINGIf the keys still won't unlock
If the down-hold isn't working, run through this short checklist — one of these is almost always the cause:
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing happens at all | You're holding the wrong button | Confirm it's the 5-way joystick (it moves in 4 directions), not the power or shortcut keys. |
| "Keys Locked" flashes then returns | Held too briefly | Hold a full 5 seconds without releasing — count it out. Watch for "Keys Unlocked". |
| Joystick feels unresponsive | Not pressed firmly / wrong angle | Push straight down and keep steady pressure; avoid pushing diagonally. |
| Still locked after several tries | OSD needs a power cycle | Switch the monitor off at the wall for 30 seconds, power back on, then try the down-hold again. |
If a power cycle plus the down-hold still doesn't clear it, update the monitor firmware via ASUS DisplayWidget Center (download from the official ASUS support page for the XG27AQDMG), then retry. A genuinely stuck joystick that won't register any press at all is rare and would be a warranty matter — contact ASUS support.
REVERSEHow to lock the keys on purpose
The lock is genuinely useful once you know how to control it. To deliberately lock the XG27AQDMG's controls — so settings can't be changed accidentally — use the exact same action: push and hold the joystick down for about 5 seconds until the screen reads "Keys Locked". It's a single toggle:
- Hold down ~5s while unlocked → screen shows "Keys Locked" (controls now protected).
- Hold down ~5s while locked → screen shows "Keys Unlocked" (controls work again).
That's the whole mechanism. One button, one direction, one five-second hold — it just flips between the two states each time.
CONTEXTAbout the ASUS ROG Strix XG27AQDMG
The ASUS ROG Strix XG27AQDMG is a 26.5-inch OLED gaming monitor with a 2560 × 1440 (QHD) resolution and a 240 Hz refresh rate, aimed at competitive and high-refresh gaming. Like most ASUS ROG and TUF displays, it's driven entirely by a single rear-mounted 5-way joystick plus a couple of shortcut buttons — which is exactly why the OSD key lock is so easy to trigger by feel and so quick to clear once you know the down-hold.
The same "hold the joystick to toggle the key lock" behaviour appears across many ASUS ROG, TUF, and ProArt monitors. The hold direction can differ by model, but on the XG27AQDMG it's down. If a future ASUS monitor shows "Keys Locked", try a long press of the joystick in each direction until "Keys Unlocked" appears.
FAQASUS XG27AQDMG "Keys Locked" — common questions
Push and hold the OSD joystick — the 5-way control button on the back of the monitor, lower-right as you face it — in the down direction for about 5 seconds. The screen changes from "Keys Locked" to "Keys Unlocked" and the buttons work again.
Down. Hold it downward for roughly 5 seconds. On the XG27AQDMG the same down-hold toggles the lock both ways, so holding it down again re-locks the keys.
It's an intentional OSD feature that stops your picture and gaming settings being changed by accident. It usually switches on by mistake when you reach behind the monitor or clean the screen and hold the joystick down for a few seconds.
No. Nothing is damaged. It's a normal feature, and the down-hold clears it instantly. You don't need a factory reset or a warranty claim.
Check you're holding the actual 5-way joystick (not the power or shortcut buttons), press firmly straight down, and hold a full 5 seconds. If it still won't budge, switch the monitor off at the wall for 30 seconds, turn it back on, and try the down-hold again.
Use the same action while the monitor is unlocked: hold the joystick down for about 5 seconds until the screen shows "Keys Locked". It's a single toggle that flips between locked and unlocked each time.
SOURCESSources & further reading
- [1] ASUS Support — asus.com/support · Product manuals, firmware, and DisplayWidget Center downloads for ROG Strix monitors.
- [2] ASUS ROG — rog.asus.com/monitors · ROG Strix gaming monitor range, including the XG27AQDMG OLED series.
- [3] ASUS ROG Strix XG27AQDMG product page — search the model number on asus.com for the official spec sheet and user guide (OSD key-lock instructions).
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