How to Light up your Keyboard

Backlit keyboards are fast becoming an essentially handy feature in modern PCs.

Not only does it improve your professionalism during office and classroom presentations, but it can also serve as a great way to improve the aesthetic appeal in your home and general PC gaming satisfaction.

If you constantly find yourself working late nights, trying to meet up deadlines, then a backlit keyboard will be indispensable to you, especially in low-light conditions.

How to identify a Keyboard with Backlights

You can easily confirm if there’s a backlight attached to your Keyboard by looking for an illumination logo (appears like a rising sun) on any of the Function (F) keys or the right arrow key.

If you’ve confirmed backlight support on your PC’s Keyboard, then turning it on is easy.

REDRAGON S101 Set combo Backlight keyboard

Turning on Keyboard Backlight on Windows 10/11 PC

To turn on the Keyboard backlight on most Windows PCs, hit the F5 key (you might see the rising sun icon on it). If you can’t find the keyboard backlight icon on the F5 key, scan through the Functional (F) keys to locate it.

Light keyboard
Image source: Quora

If that doesn’t work directly, using Fn + F5 keys might just do the trick.

Suppose you’re able to find the Keyboard backlight key, but it’s not working, then you’ll need to enable keyboard Backlights via Windows Mobility Center.

Turning on Keyboard Backlight via Windows Mobility Center on Windows 10/11

  • Hit the Windows Start button and head to the Control Panel. You can also hold the Windows +X keys to go to the control panel.
  • Head to Windows Mobility Center (under Hardware and Sound) and select the Keyboard Backlight slider to enable it.
  • Select the additional options tab to choose your preferred keyboard backlight level. 
  • You can also select your preferred Keyboard backlight timing for how long you want the keyboard backlight to stay on without use. 
  • Select ‘OK’ to finalize and save your settings.

Turning on Keyboard Backlight on HP Laptop/PC

The highest demand for backlit keyboards is seen among online pro gamers, and our choice pick among HP gaming PCs are the HP Omen, HP Envy and Elite Book PCs.

HP laptop keyboard light
Credit: HP

The HP Omen Sequencer mechanical keyboard offers an array of white, violet, blue, and orange LED Backlights that can be programmed into several animated preferences.

Omen by HP Sequencer USB Optical Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

To turn on the Keyboard backlight:

  • Go to the F4/F5 function keys and check if there’s an illumination icon.
  • If there’s none, scan through all the function keys (F1 – F12) to find the keyboard backlight key.
  • Use Fn + F4 or Fn + F5 keys as an alternative method.

Turning on Keyboard Backlight on a Dell laptop/PC

You can locate the Keyboard backlight for most Dell laptops on the F6 or F10 keys, and other recent models also have it on the directional arrow keys.

Once you find the keyboard backlight key, press Fn + Keyboard backlight key, e.g., Fn + F11 if the backlight key is on F11.

Dell systems have special reset keys; if your keyboard backlight won’t turn on, hit Fn + ESC keys to reset your settings, then try to turn on the Keyboard Backlights again.

Turning on Keyboard Backlight on Lenovo PC 

Lenovo PCs are a delight to most users for their sleek designs and smooth performance. 

Turning the keyboard backlight on a Lenovo laptop/PC is easy; hit Fn + Spacebar and watch the keyboard backlight as it illuminates your space. 

Turning on Keyboard Backlight on Apple MacBook PC

Your MacBook should have two dedicated keys for increasing and decreasing keyboard backlight intensity. If you can’t find these keys on the Keyboard, then the MacBook is not fitted with a backlit keyboard.

  • Head to the Control center and select keyboard brightness to change your preferences.
  • You can also change how long the backlight stays on. Head to the Apple menu and choose ‘System preferences.’ 
  • Select ‘keyboard’ and follow the prompts.

Turning on Keyboard Backlight on Chromebook

You can confirm if your Chromebook has a keyboard backlight installed. 

Hit the Ctrl + alt + I keys and select your preferred backlight preferences from the available options.

You can permanently turn on Keyboard Backlight on Chromebook by heading to Settings > Keyboard and selecting ‘Turn on’ among the options.

Turning on Acer laptop Keyboard Backlight

The Acer laptop models with backlit keyboards include Acer Aspire 3/5 and ES 5/14 models.

Once you find the ‘rising sun’ backlight icon with the letter ‘A’ on it, then your Acer laptop has a backlit keyboard.

Hit the Fn + F9 or Fn + F10 keys to turn on Keyboard Backlight on the Acer laptop.

Turning on Keyboard Backlight on other PC Brands

Most Asus laptops have keyboard backlights on the F4 key. Hit the Fn + F4 keys to turn it on.

You can also decrease the backlight intensity using the Fn + F3 keys.

Surprisingly enough, the same method applies to a VivoBook PC. Repeat the Fn + F4/F3 to regulate the keyboard backlight intensity.

Sony Vaio PCs also have keyboard backlight variants that can be turned on easily. 

Using a Sony Vaio PC? Hit your keyboard’s start button and head to Programs > All Programs menu > Vaio control center > windows > keyboard & mouse > Backlight keyboard.

Change the toggle to ‘Turn backlight on when surroundings are dark’.

Let us know in the comments section which of these steps worked for your PC.