Ultimate Guide to Keyboard Backlight: Turn On, Off, and Customize Your LEDs

Depending on your keyboard, you can use the following shortcuts to turn your keyboard backlight on or off:

A keyboard backlight sits beneath your keys for easier visibility in dim or dark rooms. The backlight illuminates both the edges of the keys and the letters to help you see more clearly. Depending on your keyboard, you can adjust its brightness and switch between backlight effects.

A backlit keyboard offers a range of benefits. Whether you work at night or prefer a dim workspace, turn the backlight on to:

• Improve typing accuracy. If you find yourself making more typing errors when working at night, your keyboard backlight can help. Well-illuminated keys allow you to locate keys more quickly and improve your typing accuracy.
• Reduce eye discomfort. Eye strain is a real concern if you work at a computer all day. A keyboard backlight can reduce both contrast and eye strain. While there isn’t a direct study linking keyboard backlighting and reduced eye strain, research suggests that adjustable lighting can decrease visual discomfort.
• Boost focus. With greater accuracy and less fatigue, focusing on your work can become easier.

Each keyboard has its own method for turning on the keyboard backlight. Here’s how to turn on the backlight on your keyboard:

• Use a dedicated backlight key. Many keyboards include a key for adjusting the keyboard backlight, typically located on the function keys. Click these keys to turn the keyboard backlight on and off, or click through them several times to adjust brightness.
• Use a combination of keys. If you’re using the G512 or G513, both of which feature LIGHTSYNC RGB backlighting, you’ll need to hold down the Fn key while pressing the designated keyboard backlight key to activate lighting.

A keyboard backlight key will often feature an illustration of a small keyboard with light rays emanating from it. You can distinguish it from the screen brightness button, which typically looks like a sun. If you see this symbol, your keyboard supports backlighting.

Many of our keyboards are equipped with backlights. Some even offer multiple brightness options or backlighting effects. Here’s how to turn on the keyboard backlight on your Logitech® keyboard.

If you have one of the keyboards below, you have a backlight on your keyboard.

• Logitech Craft
• Logitech MX Keys
• Logitech MX Mechanical
• Logitech MX Mechanical Mini
• Logitech MX Keys S
• Logitech Alto Keys K98M/K98S
• Logitech Alto Keys K75M (C4C)

To turn on a backlit keyboard on Logitech keyboards, follow these steps:

• Find the backlight key. Look at the F keys on the top row of your keyboard to find the symbol that looks like an illuminated keyboard.
  • Logitech Alto Keys keyboard. If you have a Logitech Alto Keys keyboard, your keyboard has a designated keyboard brightness key.
  • Logitech Craft and MX keyboards. Adjust your MX keyboard or Logitech Craft keyboard backlighting using two keys with this symbol. One key is for increasing brightness and the other is for decreasing it. Look for the symbol with longer lines on the right.
• Hold the Fn key. If you’re using the G512 or G513, find the Fn key at the bottom of your keyboard next to the spacebar. Hold it down.
• Press the backlight key. While holding down the Fn key, press the keyboard backlight key. Our keyboards offer several brightness levels, so keep pressing the keyboard backlight key until you find your desired brightness.

MX Keys, MX Mechanical, MX Mechanical Mini, and MX Keys S keyboards are compatible with the Logi Options+ software. Follow these steps to adjust your keyboard backlight on Logi Options+:

• Download or ensure you have the latest version of the Logi Options+ App.
• Click on your keyboard in the app. 
• Navigate to “Backlighting” from the left-hand menu.
• Toggle the “Backlighting” switch at the top to the on position.

Once you’ve turned on the backlighting, you can adjust the duration and brightness. You can also turn Battery Saving Mode for backlighting on or off.

Logi Options+ also allows you to customize backlighting effects on MX Keys and MX Mechanical keyboards. Try it out with these steps: 

• Once you’ve toggled your backlight on, click “Select Effect” to the right.
• Experiment with different backlighting effects.

Next time you’d like to swap keyboard backlight effects, hold down the FN key and press the lightbulb at the top of your keyboard to rotate through effects.

When you no longer need your keyboard backlight, it’s easy to turn it off. Follow these general steps to turn off the backlights on a keyboard:

• Use the backlight key. If you have only one backlight key, you’ll use that key to turn the backlight on and off. Press this key until the backlight turns off, or hold down Fn while pressing it.
• Use the backlight brightness decrease key. Some keyboards have two keys, one to turn the keyboard backlight up and one to turn it down. If you have two keys, press the keyboard with shorter lines to lower the backlight until it’s off. You may need to hold down Fn while pressing this key, too.

You can also adjust the backlight for selected keyboards using the Logi Options+ App.

Many keyboards are built with backlight sensors that automatically turn off the backlight when the ambient light is bright enough. To keep your keyboard backlight on all the time, go to your keyboard settings to adjust the backlight timeout. You may have to look through your keyboard manual or search your manufacturer’s website to determine if this function is available to you.

Most keyboards offer varying backlight brightness levels. You can toggle through brightness levels by pressing the keyboard backlight key several times.

Many Logitech keyboards can be customized using Logi Options+. This software enables fine-tuned adjustments of brightness levels and effects for compatible keyboards.

If you find that your keyboard isn’t lighting up, it’s time to troubleshoot. Use these tips to guide your problem-solving:

Check your keyboard battery
If your keyboard backlight doesn’t turn on, it may be due to a low battery. Many keyboards turn off the backlight when the battery is under 10% power. A simple charge can fix your backlight issue.

Wait for your keyboard to finish charging
If your keyboard backlight uses a proximity sensor to turn on the backlight when your hands are near, this feature is disabled while charging. Wait until you unplug the power source, then check if your backlight is working again.

Move to a room with less light
If your keyboard has an ambient light sensor, the backlight won’t turn on in bright rooms. Move to a more dimly lit room to enable the keyboard backlight.

Inspect your software and settings
If your keyboard has ample battery and is in a dimly lit room, but your backlight still isn’t working, take a look at your software and settings. Check for software updates and whether you may have manually turned off your keyboard backlight using Logi Options+.

Can all keyboards light up?
No, not all keyboards light up. If you’re unsure if your keyboard supports backlighting, check your manual.

Does keyboard backlighting drain the battery?
Keyboard backlighting can drain your battery. However, how quickly it drains depends on the brightness and how often the backlight stays on. To help conserve battery, many keyboards automatically adjust or turn off the keyboard backlight when it’s not in use.

Can I add lighting to a non-backlit keyboard?
Non-backlight keyboards don’t have built-in lighting, so you can’t add this feature manually. If backlighting is important to you, consider upgrading to a keyboard with lighting effects.

Whether you’re working late or want to enhance your typing experience, a keyboard backlight can make all the difference. To turn your backlit keyboard on or off, you can press the designated backlight key or a combination of keys, such as Fn and the keyboard backlight key. If your keyboard supports backlighting, you’ll be able to customize the brightness to your liking using the same activation method.

With Logitech, you can expect expertly crafted backlit keyboards designed to boost your work experience. Explore our keyboards with backlit keys.