If Roblox keeps highlighting buttons, moving between menus with WASD or the arrow keys, or steering focus instead of your character, turn off UI Navigation Toggle. In an experience, press Esc → Settings → UI Navigation Toggle → Off. For a temporary fix, press Roblox’s UI-navigation key again—normally (Backslash).
The permanent player fix
- Join any Roblox experience on PC.
- Press Esc to open the in-experience menu.
- Choose Settings.
- Find UI Navigation Toggle.
- Set it to Off.
This setting disables the keyboard shortcut that enters or exits Roblox’s UI-navigation mode. Roblox introduced the setting for its in-experience and app settings in November 2023. See Roblox’s in-experience settings guide for the current menu information.
This is the correct lasting fix for the unwanted keyboard shortcut. It is not a universal switch that prevents every possible form of controller navigation, developer-created focus, or an already-selected GUI object.
The quick fix while you are playing
Press the UI-navigation toggle key once more:
Roblox documents the default action internally as Enum.KeyCode.BackSlash. When no interface element is selected, the key can select an eligible object in PlayerGui; when an object is selected, pressing it again deselects that object. This is why the game can suddenly start highlighting buttons and why the same key often returns control to normal.
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What to do if Backslash does not work
Keyboard layouts do not all place Backslash on the same physical key. Do not assume that /, #, or ~ is the universal Roblox shortcut. Open the Roblox menu with Esc, select Help, and check the shortcut shown there. On some UK keyboards, for example, players have reported that the working key appears as # rather than the US-layout Backslash key.
The internal Roblox binding remains Enum.KeyCode.BackSlash; the physical key you press depends on your keyboard layout. Roblox’s keyboard-navigation announcement and its regional-layout discussion explain the distinction.
Why WASD or arrow keys control menus
Roblox has entered keyboard UI-navigation mode and a GUI object is selected. In that mode, the arrow keys and W, A, S, and D can move between selectable interface elements, while Enter activates the selected element.
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Press the appropriate toggle key again for an immediate escape, then set UI Navigation Toggle to Off so the Backslash shortcut does not re-enter the mode.
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In-experience UI navigation
This is the system affected by the player-facing UI Navigation Toggle setting and the Backslash shortcut. Developers can control related behavior through GuiService, including AutoSelectGuiEnabled, SelectedObject, and other GUI-navigation APIs. Roblox’s GuiService documentation describes these controls.
Roblox desktop-app navigation
The Roblox desktop app has a separate keyboard and gamepad navigation mode. Pressing arrow keys, WASD, or using a controller can put the app into that mode. Roblox says that clicking with the mouse or using touch exits the app’s input mode. This explains why clicking the app may appear to fix the problem temporarily, but it does not replace turning UI Navigation Toggle off inside an experience. See Roblox’s desktop-app navigation announcement.
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If a controller is causing the navigation
Roblox supports gamepad navigation on PC. A connected USB, Bluetooth, or virtual controller can cause controller-style UI selection in an experience or in the desktop app. Disconnecting the device can remove that input source, but it is separate from the Backslash shortcut and is not a substitute for the permanent setting.
If you still need the controller, first turn off UI Navigation Toggle, then check whether the experience itself deliberately supports gamepad-focused menus.
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If you are developing the experience rather than merely playing it, put this code in a LocalScript:
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local GuiService = game:GetService("GuiService")
GuiService.AutoSelectGuiEnabled = false
According to Roblox’s AutoSelectGuiEnabled reference, this prevents Backslash or the gamepad Select button from automatically assigning a selected GUI object. It does not disable every form of UI navigation: your code can still assign GuiService.SelectedObject manually.
Clear an existing selection
If a focus outline is already visible, disable automatic selection alone may not remove it. Clear the current selection explicitly:
local GuiService = game:GetService("GuiService")
GuiService.SelectedObject = nil
Roblox documents SelectedObject as the GUI object currently focused by the navigator; assigning nil removes that selection. This is a developer-side fix for an experience you control, not a setting ordinary players can run themselves.
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Replace the default Backslash action
An experience can bind a higher-priority contextual action if it needs custom behavior instead of Roblox’s default toggle:
local ContextActionService = game:GetService("ContextActionService")
local GuiService = game:GetService("GuiService")
local Players = game:GetService("Players")
local playerGui = Players.LocalPlayer:WaitForChild("PlayerGui")
local function customKeyboardNavigation(actionName, inputState, inputObject)
if inputState ~= Enum.UserInputState.Begin then
return Enum.ContextActionResult.Pass
end
if GuiService.SelectedObject then
GuiService.SelectedObject = nil
else
GuiService:Select(playerGui)
end
return Enum.ContextActionResult.Sink
end
ContextActionService:BindActionAtPriority(
"CustomKeyboardNavigation",
customKeyboardNavigation,
false,
100,
Enum.KeyCode.BackSlash
)
This follows Roblox’s documented approach for overriding the default Backslash action with a higher-priority binding. Test the behavior alongside any controller and accessibility features your experience supports.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Common fixes that do not solve the underlying problem
- Clicking the game: may interrupt the current input mode, but it is not a permanent setting.
- Pressing
/: not the documented default shortcut. - Pressing
#on every keyboard: only potentially correct for certain layouts. - Pressing F9: opens the Developer Console; it is not Roblox’s UI-navigation-off command.
- Reinstalling Roblox: Roblox does not identify reinstallation as the fix for this input mode.
- Changing
GuiNavigationEnabledas a player: the supported player-side solution is the in-experience UI Navigation Toggle → Off setting. For developers,AutoSelectGuiEnabledis the documented control for preventing automatic Backslash selection.
If the outline remains after switching the setting off
The setting controls whether the Backslash shortcut enters or exits UI navigation. It does not guarantee that an experience cannot create or retain a selected object through its own code, gamepad input, or other navigation logic.
As a player, try the quick toggle key, click back into the game, and disconnect any controller or virtual gamepad to identify the input source. If the problem occurs in an experience you develop, clear GuiService.SelectedObject and review code that assigns focus or enables custom navigation.
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Bottom line
For a lasting PC fix, open Esc → Settings in Roblox and set UI Navigation Toggle to Off. To escape the mode immediately, press the layout-appropriate key for Roblox’s documented Backslash action. If that does not stop the behavior, check for a connected controller, desktop-app navigation, or an experience script that is selecting GUI objects independently.
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