diff --git a/java/client/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebElement.java b/java/client/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebElement.java
index f142c816b40d3..dd7fe7554dc29 100644
--- a/java/client/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebElement.java
+++ b/java/client/src/org/openqa/selenium/remote/RemoteWebElement.java
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ public void sendKeys(CharSequence... keysToSend) {
     List<File> files = Arrays.stream(allKeysToSend.split("\n"))
         .map(fileDetector::getLocalFile)
         .collect(Collectors.toList());
-    if (! files.contains(null)) {
+    if (!files.isEmpty() && !files.contains(null)) {
       allKeysToSend = files.stream()
           .map(this::upload)
           .collect(Collectors.joining("\n"));
diff --git a/java/client/test/org/openqa/selenium/TypingTest.java b/java/client/test/org/openqa/selenium/TypingTest.java
index 2e652c8db44a4..c18bc75ce3efe 100644
--- a/java/client/test/org/openqa/selenium/TypingTest.java
+++ b/java/client/test/org/openqa/selenium/TypingTest.java
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@
 import static org.openqa.selenium.testing.TestUtilities.isFirefox;
 
 import org.junit.Test;
+import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions;
 import org.openqa.selenium.testing.Ignore;
 import org.openqa.selenium.testing.JUnit4TestBase;
 import org.openqa.selenium.testing.NotYetImplemented;
@@ -657,6 +658,22 @@ public void canClearNumberInputAfterTypingInvalidInput() {
     assertThat(input.getAttribute("value")).isEqualTo("3");
   }
 
+  @Test
+  public void canTypeSingleNewLineCharacterIntoTextArea() {
+    driver.get(pages.formPage);
+    WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("emptyTextArea"));
+    element.sendKeys("\n");
+    shortWait.until(ExpectedConditions.attributeToBe(element, "value", "\n"));
+  }
+
+  @Test
+  public void canTypeMultipleNewLineCharactersIntoTextArea() {
+    driver.get(pages.formPage);
+    WebElement element = driver.findElement(By.id("emptyTextArea"));
+    element.sendKeys("\n\n\n");
+    shortWait.until(ExpectedConditions.attributeToBe(element, "value", "\n\n\n"));
+  }
+
   private static String getValueText(WebElement el) {
     // Standardize on \n and strip any trailing whitespace.
     return el.getAttribute("value").replace("\r\n", "\n").trim();