How to turn on the backlight of a laptop keyboard

If you need to turn on the backlight of the laptop keyboard, but you do not know how to do it, in the instructions below - detailed information about it, the keys and key combinations to turn on the backlight on laptop keyboards of different brands.

The article also includes more information on why these keyboard backlight keys may not work and how to fix it.

How to turn on the laptop keyboard backlight

On laptops with a backlit keyboard, there is usually a key to turn on the backlight and sometimes two keys: one to increase the brightness of the keyboard backlight and one to decrease it. Normally it is not an independent key, but an additional action of one of the main keys of the keyboard, below in the photo you will see it.

Depending on the configuration and the specific make and model of the notebook, this key can be activated alone or in conjunction with the Fn key, which is usually found on the bottom row of the keyboard.

HP

Typically, on HP notebooks, the backlight is turned on by the keys F5, F9 or combinations of Fn + F5 и Fn + F9 respectively.

If your laptop does not have this key with the backlight icon like in the photo above, look for it on other keys, and also make sure your modification of the HP laptop has a backlit keyboard.

ASUS

Standard keyboard shortcuts for turning on the backlight on ASUS laptop keyboards - Fn + F3 (to dim the backlight) and Fn + F4 (to increase the brightness). The icon is the thumbnail of the keyboard with the light at the top. On some models there may be a combination of Fn + F7.

In some cases, the backlight can be turned on simply by pressing the specified keys, without holding down Fn.

Lenovo

On Lenovo laptops that have the backlit keyboard feature, you will see an icon with an illuminated key to the left of the space bar. If there is no such symbol, you can assume that the keyboard is not backlit.

To turn on the backlight on Lenovo, use the key combination Fn + Spacebar.

Acer

Standard keys to turn on the keyboard backlight on an Acer laptop - F9 o Fn + F9sometimes - F8 (o Fn + F8). Some Acer notebooks use two keys at the same time: F9 (Fn + F9) to decrease the backlight level and F10 (Fn + F10) to expand it.

The letter A is used as a symbol with a "burst" light at the top.

Dell

In most modern Dell laptops, the key backlighting turns on with F10 o Fn + F10.

But this combination may vary in different models, for example, you may find a combination of Fn + Right Arrow.

MSI

MSI notebooks have keys to raise and lower the brightness:

• Fn + PgUp и Fn + PgDn.
• Fn + "Plus" и "Less". on the numeric keypad block

Huawei and Honor

On Huawei and Honor laptops, the standard backlight key is F3 (Fn + F3).

The key symbol with the key light is used as the icon.

More ways to turn on the laptop keyboard backlight

In addition to the keys, as long as your laptop has the backlit keyboard function, you can use it:

• Windows Mobility Center (you can run it through the Windows 10 or Windows 7 taskbar search), or you can press the keys Win + Rwalk into mblctr and press Enter.
• Laptop manufacturer firmware utilities, available on the official website under "Support" for your laptop model.

What to do if the keyboard backlight keys are not working or are missing

In case you can't find the keyboard backlight enable key, your laptop may not be equipped with it.

Important point: Laptops of the same model, but with different modifications, can be with or without a backlit keyboard. Taking the Acer Aspire 3 as an example, some of this notebook's mods will have a backlight symbol on the F9 or F8 key, while others will not. In the latter case, the reason is that there is no backlight function.

The following is a common situation: Laptop keyboard backlight keys are there, but not workingNothing changes when you press them.

Usually the reason is the lack of necessary utilities from the manufacturer, as examples, but it is not a complete list and even within the same brand for different models the utilities may be different:

• In MSI's case, System Control Manager (SCM) and other things like SteelSeries Engine for the brand's gaming laptops.
• For Acer - Quick Access Application.
• ASUS ATK Package or Hotkey Utility.
• Dell Command, Dell System and Devices manager utilities.
• HP System Event Utility and other HP tools.

Sometimes it is possible to disable the backlight function in the notebook BIOS (present on rare models). The above are just software examples: the required utility sets may differ even within the same brand of notebooks: different software for consumer and gaming notebooks, new and old models. But the logic is the same: without these utilities, some of the keyboard function keys may not work as described in the manual (there are also typical function key utilities for different brands of notebooks): What to do if the Fn doesn't work on your laptop.

Possible solutions to the problem in this case:

1. Go to the official support page of your laptop model (write a search query in Google or Yandex like: "laptop model support" and in the results open the official website) and download the necessary utilities from there (usually found in the drivers section).
2. If you cannot determine what you need to download, you can specify the exact make and model of your laptop (usually on the sticker at the bottom) in the comments of this article and wait for my response, I usually respond to comments once a day.

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That's it, I hope everything is resolved. Willing to answer any questions that arise, but do not forget to specify the exact information about the notebook: if you write that you only have Asus without a specific model number and modification, you will not get an answer.