diff --git a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
index 3d7b0f735..1a0734377 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
+++ b/CHANGELOG.asciidoc
@@ -123,6 +123,8 @@ Fixed
 - Movements in caret mode now should work correctly on OS X and Windows.
 - Fixed upgrade from earlier config versions.
 - Fixed crash when killing a running userscript.
+- Fixed characters being passed through when shifted with
+  `forward-unbound-keys` set to `auto`.
 
 v0.4.1
 ------
diff --git a/qutebrowser/keyinput/modeman.py b/qutebrowser/keyinput/modeman.py
index 6906a8720..e2ae924e0 100644
--- a/qutebrowser/keyinput/modeman.py
+++ b/qutebrowser/keyinput/modeman.py
@@ -168,7 +168,9 @@ class ModeManager(QObject):
                             "{}".format(curmode, utils.qualname(parser)))
         handled = parser.handle(event)
 
-        is_non_alnum = bool(event.modifiers()) or not event.text().strip()
+        is_non_alnum = (
+            event.modifiers() not in (Qt.NoModifier, Qt.ShiftModifier) or
+            not event.text().strip())
         focus_widget = QApplication.instance().focusWidget()
         is_tab = event.key() in (Qt.Key_Tab, Qt.Key_Backtab)
 
diff --git a/tests/conftest.py b/tests/conftest.py
index 407540fbe..d1cbfd426 100644
--- a/tests/conftest.py
+++ b/tests/conftest.py
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ from helpers.messagemock import message_mock
 from qutebrowser.config import config
 from qutebrowser.utils import objreg
 
+from PyQt5.QtCore import QEvent
 from PyQt5.QtNetwork import QNetworkCookieJar
 import xvfbwrapper
 
@@ -315,12 +316,13 @@ def fake_keyevent_factory():
     from unittest import mock
     from PyQt5.QtGui import QKeyEvent
 
-    def fake_keyevent(key, modifiers=0, text=''):
+    def fake_keyevent(key, modifiers=0, text='', typ=QEvent.KeyPress):
         """Generate a new fake QKeyPressEvent."""
         evtmock = mock.create_autospec(QKeyEvent, instance=True)
         evtmock.key.return_value = key
         evtmock.modifiers.return_value = modifiers
         evtmock.text.return_value = text
+        evtmock.type.return_value = typ
         return evtmock
 
     return fake_keyevent
diff --git a/tests/unit/keyinput/test_modeman.py b/tests/unit/keyinput/test_modeman.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d0569f7de
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/keyinput/test_modeman.py
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+# vim: ft=python fileencoding=utf-8 sts=4 sw=4 et:
+
+# Copyright 2016 Florian Bruhin (The Compiler) <mail@qutebrowser.org>
+#
+# This file is part of qutebrowser.
+#
+# qutebrowser is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# qutebrowser is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with qutebrowser.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+import pytest
+
+from qutebrowser.keyinput import modeman as modeman_module
+from qutebrowser.utils import usertypes
+
+from PyQt5.QtCore import Qt
+
+
+class FakeKeyparser:
+
+    """A fake BaseKeyParser which doesn't handle anything."""
+
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.passthrough = False
+
+    def handle(self, evt):
+        return False
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def modeman(config_stub, qapp):
+    config_stub.data = {'input': {'forward-unbound-keys': 'auto'}}
+    mm = modeman_module.ModeManager(0)
+    mm.register(usertypes.KeyMode.normal, FakeKeyparser())
+    return mm
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('key, modifiers, text, filtered', [
+    (Qt.Key_A, Qt.NoModifier, 'a', True),
+    (Qt.Key_Up, Qt.NoModifier, '', False),
+    # https://github.com/The-Compiler/qutebrowser/issues/1207
+    (Qt.Key_A, Qt.ShiftModifier, 'A', True),
+    (Qt.Key_A, Qt.ShiftModifier | Qt.ControlModifier, 'x', False),
+])
+def test_non_alphanumeric(key, modifiers, text, filtered,
+                          fake_keyevent_factory, modeman):
+    """Make sure non-alphanumeric keys are passed through correctly."""
+    evt = fake_keyevent_factory(key=key, modifiers=modifiers, text=text)
+    assert modeman.eventFilter(evt) == filtered