How to Turn Off Your Keyboard Lights

Are your keyboard lights annoying you? Perhaps they are hurting your eyes or distracting you. Or maybe you just want to conserve your battery energy. In this guide, I will show you how to turn off the keyboard lights on your laptop or completely disable the keyboard backlight.

How to Turn Off Keyboard Lights Using Function Keys

The easiest way to turn off your keyboard lights is by using the keyboard backlight shortcut. Most laptops will have an FN key keyboard light control shortcut. You will have to press the FN key together with this key to turn off the backlight.

On my laptop, it’s FN + Z. On other laptops, it might be FN + F3 or FN + F5. On some keyboards, it’s the spacebar or an arrow button. You can typically find the key by looking for the backlit keyboard icon on the key, as shown in the image above, or by referring to the user manual for your laptop.

On a Mac, you just need to press the Decrease Brightness key (usually F5), which has an icon that looks like this:

Keep pressing it to decrease the brightness until the light turns off entirely.

How to Turn Off Keyboard Lights in Windows Settings

Some Windows laptops, depending on the manufacturer, allow you to control the keyboard light from the Mobility Center. Press the Windows Key + X and select Mobility Center.

Look for Keyboard Brightness or Keyboard Backlighting. Use the slider to control the brightness, or click on it for further options, including the option to turn it off completely.

Not all Windows laptops have this option in the Mobility Center, unfortunately.

If you are using an external keyboard that comes with a specific software, you may also be able to control the keyboard brightness using that software.

On a Mac, go to Apple Menu > System Settings > Keyboard, where you will find a brightness slider. Drag it all the way to the left to turn off the keyboard backlight completely.

How to Turn Off Keyboard Lights on Lenovo Laptops

On most Lenovo laptops, you can turn the keyboard backlight on or off using the FN + Spacebar combination. Many Lenovo laptops have three keyboard backlight modes: Off, Low, and High. Press FN + Spacebar to keep toggling through these three modes.

If you have the Lenovo Vantage app, you can also control the keyboard lights from the Device > Lighting settings.

How to Turn Off Keyboard Lights on HP Laptops

On HP laptops, the keyboard backlight key is usually F5, F9, or F11. Press FN + F5/F9/F11, depending on the model (look for the backlight icon), to turn the keyboard lights on or off or to toggle through the different modes, when available (such as low and high). Some HP laptops use the right arrow key to control the backlight instead.

On HP OMEN laptops, you can use the OMEN Command Center/Gaming Hub to control the keyboard lights in the Lighting settings.

How to Turn Off Keyboard Lights on Dell Laptops

On Dell laptops, the keyboard illumination shortcut key is usually F6 or F10, but it may also be F5 or the right arrow key. You can usually use this key alone to control the keyboard backlight on Dell laptops (without the FN key).

Most Dell laptops with backlit keyboards also allow you to control it from the BIOS settings. When turning on the computer, repeatedly press on F2 to boot into the BIOS. Then, navigate to Keyboard > Keyboard Illumination, where you can select between Disabled, Dim, or Bright, and then select Apply Changes and Exit.

How to Turn Off Keyboard Lights on Asus Laptops

On ASUS laptops, you can usually press FN + F7 to turn the keyboard backlight on or off. On some keyboards, it will be FN + F3 or FN + F4. On ASUS gaming notebooks, it’s usually the up arrow and down arrow buttons. Press FN + the down arrow repeatedly to lower the brightness until you turn it off completely.

How to Turn Off Keyboard Lights on Acer Laptops

Most Acer laptops use the FN + F9 key to control the keyboard backlight. However, on some models, it may be the FN + F7/F8/F10 or an arrow key. Look for the keyboard illumination icon to find the correct key.

Does Turning Off Keyboard Lights Save Battery?

Absolutely! To light up the keyboard, your computer requires power. This causes the battery to drain more quickly. The result may or may not be noticeable on your battery life, depending on how strong your battery is and the keyboard backlight timeout settings. However, disabling the keyboard backlight usually helps conserve battery, which is a good reason to turn it off if your laptop is not plugged in.

What to Do If the Keyboard Light Will Not Turn Off

If your keyboard backlight is not turning off, make sure that you are using the correct backlight shortcut key. This differs from model to model, so Google your model or check your owner’s manual for more information. Try pressing the FN key together with the backlight keyboard shortcut key. On most laptops, you must press the FN key with the backlight shortcut key for it to turn on or off.

Conclusion

I hope this guide on how to disable your keyboard backlight was helpful. Typically, you can turn it off by simply pressing the FN key together with the keyboard backlight key. You may also be able to turn it off from the BIOS settings or Windows Mobility Center, on some Windows laptops.