How to Type the @ Symbol: Shift+2, Shift+' and Alt+64

How-To Guides · 2 min read · Published October 25, 2026

Quick answer: on a US keyboard press Shift+2. On a UK Windows keyboard press Shift+' (the key next to Enter). On a German keyboard press AltGr+Q. On any Windows PC, Alt+64 on the numeric keypad always works.

@ on different keyboards

Fixing "Shift+2 types a quote mark"

This is the most common @ problem. It means Windows is set to the UK layout while your keyboard is a US one (or the other way round), so @ and " have swapped places.

1. Look at the language indicator on the taskbar (ENG UK / ENG US).
2. Press Win+Space to switch to the layout that matches your keyboard.
3. To fix it permanently, open Settings → Time & language → Language & region, select your language → Language options, add the correct keyboard and remove the wrong one.

Laptops sold in one country but set up in another often have this mismatch. See keyboard symbols for the other keys that move.

Phones

@ is on the first symbols page of the iPhone keyboard (tap 123) and of Gboard (?123). In e-mail address fields, most phone keyboards show @ directly next to the space bar.

No working key at all?

If the key is broken, use Alt+64 (needs a numeric keypad), the Windows symbol panel (Win+. → Symbols → punctuation), the On-Screen Keyboard (Settings → Accessibility → Keyboard), or copy @ from this page. Without a numeric keypad, see Alt codes not working.

What @ means

The at sign began as a merchants' shorthand for "at the rate of" (5 apples @ 10p). Since the first e-mail programs in the early 1970s it has separated the user from the server in e-mail addresses, and today it also marks mentions and handles on social media. In HTML its entity is @.

Frequently asked questions