Ubuntu keyboard poor performance after upgrade to 16.2.0 build-18760230

[jimsnab]

I took a VMWare upgrade today to 16.2.0 build-18760230, and now, my Ubuntu 20.04 VM (hosted also on Ubuntu 20.04) has poor keyboard performance. An initial keystroke has a delay, and sometimes I get several repeated keystrokes. If I hold down a key, as a key repeats, there will be short pauses after 10 or so characters - the repeat is not smooth.

In general this makes it very hard to use the VM and get work done. >:-|

Can I roll back this upgrade?

 

[ajgringo619]

I created this post about the same issue - https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Workstation-Pro/Noticeable-typing-lag-in-Linux-VM-terminals-since-v16-2-upgrade/td-p/2872427 - but have gotten no responses. Besides my Ubuntu VM, this has randomly affected all my other Linux-based VMs.

[jimsnab]

I stumbled on something. I noticed Printer marked Connected and Connect at power on. I don't remember what these were set to before, but I don't have a local printer, so I turned them off. To my surprise the keyboard started behaving better, but not fully fixed.

Then I turned the printer back on (Connected/Connect at power on), and the key delay didn't get worse. Great.

Next I turned off USB Controller Share Bluetooth devices with the virtual machine. Ah! the keyboard works properly.

Then I turned USB Controller Share Bluetooth back on, and keyboard is still OK.

Weird stuff.

It makes me wonder if it would have been fixed by toggling any arbitrary setting in Hardware.

[jimsnab]

Update - it's not resolved with voodoo in my last reply. It's delaying today, but strangely, instead of delaying on each key press, today it is delaying only on the last keystroke when I type a few characters. This is not nearly as unworkable, but it feels like working over a slow remote desktop.

You'd figure something as ubiquitous as a keyboard wouldn't be an issue for VMWare.

[erguny]

I have the same issue since the last Workstation update. All of my Linux VMs has a lag when typing. Otherwise they perform normal. It is very annoying. I could not find anything wrong with the host or the VMs, and all of them were working fine. My host is also Linux.

[jimsnab]

After the upgrade to 16.2.1, it is still not fixed. The lag I have today is at the end of a keystroke - takes about a half a second for the last keypress to appear.

Good grief.

[forgetlight]

I also experienced this lag issue. I initially thought it's because of the distro (POP OS), but then realized it's because of the update.

[wila]

Hi,

Are you using a NVIDIA GPU and graphics driver?
See  's solution in that other thread:
https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Workstation-Pro/Noticeable-typing-lag-in-Linux-VM-terminals-since-v16-2-upgrade/m-p/2877869/highlight/true#M172460

--
Wil

[jimsnab]

Not using NVIDIA...

VM

 *-display
description: VGA compatible controller
product: SVGA II Adapter
vendor: VMware
physical id: f
bus info: pci@0000:00:0f.0
version: 00
width: 32 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
configuration: driver=vmwgfx latency=64
resources: irq:16 ioport:1070(size=16) memory:e8000000-efffffff memory:fe000000-fe7fffff memory:c0000-dffff

Host

*-display
description: VGA compatible controller
product: UHD Graphics 620
vendor: Intel Corporation
physical id: 2
bus info: pci@0000:00:02.0
version: 07
width: 64 bits
clock: 33MHz
capabilities: pciexpress msi pm vga_controller bus_master cap_list rom
configuration: driver=i915 latency=0
resources: irq:137 memory:de000000-deffffff memory:c0000000-cfffffff ioport:f000(size=64) memory:c0000-dffff

[wila]

Hi,

Ok, that's pretty much ruled out then.

Another stab...

With Workstation Player 16.2 there's another big change for Linux.

As the release notes show, it now adds support for a Vulkan renderer and it will use that by default for a number of GPU's including Intel.
See:
https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workstation-Pro/16.2.0/rn/VMware-Workstation-1620-Pro-Release-Notes.html#What's%20New

From the looks of it the Intel UHD Graphics 620 is indeed available for Kaby Lake.

Please check this:

https://wiki.vi-toolkit.com/index.php?title=Vmx_hacks#Linux_Host_-_switch_back_from_Vulkan_to_X11

also read the link back to VMTN as it has more details.

Now to be frank..
Personally I don't know why this would make a keyboard slow and if that happens I would imagine that simply turning off 3D acceleration also fixes this.
But then again.. also don't know why this would be an issue for NVIDIA. However as these issues might be related, I'd figured to give you this tidbit of info as another thing to try and/or rule out.

Good luck!
--
Wil

[jimsnab]

Thanks Will, this led me to a fix. I tried the suggestion in the link (go back to X11) but it didn't help. But disabling 3D acceleration seems to work. Fortunately I don't need it.

 

[JMA100]

I also have this problem with 16.2.0 and 16.2.1.  I can verify that turning off 3d acceleration works around the problem.  But I don't think Vulkan is directly responsible for the issue.  I have an Nvidia Pascal generation video card (1070ti) which is not supported by VMware's Vulkan Translation, but instead, uses the old OpenGL code path.

I've re-installed 16.1.x for now and hope they get around to fixing this one for the next version.

[Alexander4]

The workaround "turning off 3d acceleration" solved the issue on my CentOS guest hosted on vmware workstation 16.2.1. Thanks.

[JMA100]

I've re-read through the posts about this issue today and decided to test the latest 16.2.3 release.  The issue persists.  This time I tested two different systems (both linux) :

1 - My desktop with AMD CPU and Nvidia 1070ti.

2- My laptop with Intel CPU and Intel Video.

On both systems, the issue is present - (putting to rest the thought that it's GPU drivers on the host machine.)  To reproduce, create a new virtual machine, enable accelerate 3d graphics, and do a fresh install of 20.04.  Open a terminal or a text editor and you'll see it right away.

If you open a terminal and run glxgears the issue totally goes away as long as it runs.  It appears that keeping the display busy prevents the issue from happening.  Some people have reported doing odd things (voodoo) that can make the issue go away (at least for awhile.)  I believe the busyness of the system has a lot to do with it.  

[dingetje61]

---

 wrote:

If you open a terminal and run glxgears the issue totally goes away as long as it runs.  It appears that keeping the display busy prevents the issue from happening.  

---

Thanks for this "hack", it resolved the issue on my VM as well. Running glxgears in a topmost window (if it's in the background, the hack won't work) fixes the incredibly annoying keyboard lag.

Right after booting the terminal is OK too, but only for a minute or so. My setup: host W11, VMWare 16.2.4, client is RHEL7.

[Oz Ben Eliezer]

I wrote a small program that has the same effect as glxgears but runs in the background and doesn't display anything on the screen.

I uploaded it to Github: https://github.com/obeobe/eliminate-vm-delays

[Oz Ben Eliezer]

Your tip with glxgears helped me a lot, thanks.

It's unbelievable that we face this issue 2.5 years later even in the latest version of VMware Workstation.

It's quite annoying to keep glxgears open and visible at all times, so I wrote a small program that occupies the GPU and has the same effect as glxgears, but runs in the background and doesn't actually display anything on the screen.

I put it on github in case it could be useful for you or for others: https://github.com/obeobe/eliminate-vm-delays

[peterjg]

The hack worked for me

[kostenko]

Same problem.

Host: Win11, Thinkpad T580, 48Gb RAM

Guest: Ubuntu 21.10

Reboot of Guest helps for some time

Version: 16.2.1 build-18811642

 

Nothing useful in logs

[bahmanp]

I upgraded the VM itself also to be compatible with 16.2; the problem seems to be solved. Note that After upgrading the workstation to 16.2, you can see something like "Upgrade VM hardware" under the change/edit setting in the window right before turning on the VM that you should click, follow the steps, and in the last page choose version 16.2.

[JMA100]

Hi Bahmanp, I gave your suggestion a try.  I installed VMWare Workstation 16.2.4.  I upgraded an Ubuntu 22.04 virtual machine I created with 16.1.2 through Workstation's GUI and then tried it with Workstation Player 16.2.4.  No change for me. Did I miss something?

[APaes]

In my case, using an ubuntu derivative (Kali Linux) I get absolutely no keyboard once X session is started. This was working nicely before 16.x and only after upgrading the issue started. I've upgraded the VM so now I can't even go back... Anyway to solve this? I get no keyboard at all, neither USB externally connected nor laptop builtin.

[wila]

there's been some reports on this that it happens when you assign too many vCPU's to the VM.

From what I've seen this happens when monitor mode is ULM and you're thus using the Microsoft WHP API instead of VMware's native hypervisor.

--
Wil

[bahmanp]

My experience has been with 20.04. I have not upgraded 22.04, exactly because I am not mentally prepared for so many such headaches yet!

[bahmanp]

 My experience has been with 20.04. I have not upgraded 22.04, exactly because I am not mentally prepared for so many such headaches yet!

[peterjg]

in Settings/USB Controller - I turned off 'Share Bluetooth devices with the virtual machine'. 
Set 'USB Compatibility' to 3.1
Seems to have got rid of the lag for me.

Speculation: My wireless host keyboard may have had multiple paths through to the guest. Or choppy buffer access

[codemonkey82]

I've noticed a strange behavior on that.

For me, only the arrow keys are affected AND only if num-lock is on.

If num-lock is off, everything seems fine. Maybe coincidence but a tried it a few times now, it only happens if num-lock was on in the vm.

[sigmatics]

I can confirm this exact same issue and that it is related to Numlock.

 

- VMWare 16.2.5

- Ubuntu 22.04 VM

- Nvidia T1200 GPU

 

None of the other fixes here worked. Turning off numlock fixes the arrow key input lag completely

[VMware Community Member]

For me enabling IOVMMU helped with laggy keyboard on my Windows 11 Host PC, running VMWare Workstation 16.2.5 Pro and a Debian 12 VM.

activate: Virtual Machine Settings > Processors > Virtualize IOMMU

[Rtaylor]

I have the same issue running the latest Kali, fully updated/upgraded on Windows 11 with Intel graphics on the the host.

Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-10900K CPU @ 3.70GHz 3.70 GHz

VMWare Workstation Pro 17.0.1 build-21139696

Running glxgears in the foreground on this latest Kali does seem to reduce the keyboard lag. Also manually manipulating the mouse as I type seems to make keyboard lag disappear. Running various software mouse jiggler scripts in the VM or on the host made no difference. Makes no difference if Accelerate 3d graphics is checked or not. Makes no difference if using VMWare enhanced keyboard driver or not. No printer is installed in the VM.

Core Isolation memory integrity is off.

Side channel mitigations is not enable for Hyper-V enabled hosts.

Kali VM with this version of the kernel is nearly unusable with keyboard lag: 6.0.0-kali6-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 6.0.12-1kali1 (2022-12-19) x86_64 GNU/Linux

Kali VM with this version of kernel is not as bad but still has a little keyboard lag: 5.18.0-kali5-amd64 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Debian 5.18.5-1kali6 (2022-07-07) x86_64 GNU/Linux

Kali VM with this version of kernel has zero lag: 5.3.0-kali3-686-pae #1 SMP Debian 5.3.15-1kali1 (2019-12-09) i686 GNU/Linux

The same Kali VM that has the lag is usable when run on other hosts, same version of Windows host, same version of VMWare Workstation Pro, still slight lag at times but usable.

The same Kali VM that has the lag, when run on a Linux (Debian GNU/Linux 10 4.19.0.9-amd64 kernel) host on old wimpy hardware has zero keyboard lag. Same version of Vmware Workstation Pro 17.0.1.build-21139696.

I also run Windows 10 VMs with no noticeable keyboard lag.

Trying to keep glxgears in the foreground while penetration testing is not a solution. Having to manually jiggle the mouse while typing is not a solution either.

Thanks.

 

[Rtaylor]

I found another solution. Hook a 2nd keyboard up to the host computer and find it in the Removable Devices list of the VM menu and connect it directly to the Virtual Machine where you are experiencing the horrible keyboard lag. This second keyboard works perfectly in the VM. The original keyboard which is supposedly having it's keypresses passed through is still horribly laggy in this configuration so always switch to the 2nd keyboard when typing in the VM in question.

 

[VMware Community Member]

Do u get any solution im having the same problem im getting really mad hahahah. 

[Samuel Holzer]

I tried just about every fix in this thread except for disabling VBS (required by my organization) and nothing was working for me. The issue did resolved for me when running `glxgears` as others had mentioned. This is not a very viable solution.

But the following was the only thing that resolved the issue for me. Add the following setting to the `.vmx` file. Thank you for your help:

 keyboard.vusb.enable = "TRUE"

For reference, here are my versions:

VMWare Workstation PRO: 16.2.5
Host: Windows 11 24H2 (26100.2314)
Guest: Ubuntu 24.04.1