Keyboard Missing Keystrokes or Stuck Repeating Keys

Parallels 26.2.2 on an M5 MacBook Air running Tahoe 26.3.1. Brand new Windows VM (spun up another clean VM as well to confirm it is not an issue with my Windows install).

When typing quickly, a large number of keystrokes get dropped, and eventually it'll get hung up on repeating a single key, stopping only if I press several more keys or switch away from the Parallels application and switch back.

Doesn't happen pretty much at all if I purposely type slow.

 

This issue still persists in the latest 26.3.0 release.

 

The issue of missing or repeating keystrokes in Parallels is most likely caused by how the virtual machine processes keyboard input rather than a fault in the physical keyboard. In a virtualized environment, each key press is divided into two signals: press and release. If the release signal is delayed or lost, the system may treat the key as still being pressed, which results in repeated characters. Similarly, dropped signals can cause missed keystrokes.

This problem is often related to the virtual keyboard driver used by Parallels and how it synchronizes input between macOS and the guest operating system. It may appear more frequently after long usage sessions or when the system resumes from sleep, as the input state can become unsynchronized.

A practical solution is to connect the keyboard directly to the virtual machine as a USB device, which bypasses the virtual input layer. Another temporary fix is suspending and resuming the virtual machine to reset input handling. Adjusting key repeat settings may also reduce visible symptoms, although it does not address the root cause.

Overall, the issue stems from input handling limitations within virtualization.