How to Turn on the Keyboard Light on an ASUS Laptop

Turning on the keyboard light not only gives your laptop an aesthetic appearance, but also helps to identify keys clearly in low light conditions.

The backlight feature has been in the market for quite a while but, users still struggle to turn it on, mainly because the backlight button looks different depending on the manufacturer.

Sometimes, when the proper driver (ATK driver) is not installed on the laptop or the backlight LED is broken, you will have a hard time turning on the keyboard light.

In this article I will explain how you can easily turn on the keyboard light on your ASUS laptop.

Through the Backlight Button on the Laptop

Any ASUS laptop equipped with a backlit keyboard will have dedicated buttons to turn it on/off or control its intensity. These backlit keys are marked on the keyboard with a sun-shaped icon.

On most ASUS notebooks, the backlit key is the F7 key. Press the Fn + F7 keys to turn on the keyboard backlight and cycle through the brightness levels. If that doesn’t work, check the F3 and F4 keys for the keyboard backlight icon. If this button doesn’t work, check the backlight icons on other function keys.

For gaming laptops, you can use Fn key + up arrow to turn on the backlight and increase its intensity. To turn off or lower the backlight intensity, you can use the Fn key + down arrow.

If your backlit keyboard has RGB LEDs, the above method may not work if the color is set to black. If so, press Fn + Left/Right Arrow to change RGB on the backlit keyboard.

Via Armory Supply

Armory Crate is the default application in all ROG series game products. The app also comes with AURA Sync which allows you to control the lights on any RGB device connected to the system.

Download Armory Crate & Aura Creator Installer and install the app. If you already have it installed, you can skip this process. Open the Weapon Chest. Check if the Armory Crate is updated by clicking it Arrangement > Update Center > check for updates. Click Update. After the update is complete, the application must be restarted. If the app is up to date, you can continue with the following steps. Now, go to tabs AURA Sync and choose AURA Effects. Here, make sure Basic Effects is not set to Dark (Off). Now on the right pane, select a color other than black.

Through G-Helper

While Armory Crate is the official companion app for all ASUS gaming laptops, G-Helper is a great alternative to Armory Crate. According to the G-Helper developer, the app works on ROG, TUF, STRIX, SCAR, ProArt, and many other ASUS laptop models.

Open GHelper repository website. Scroll down and click Download the App. Right click on the downloaded file and click Extract All. Go to the extracted folder and open GHelper.exe. The application may suggest that you download the latest .net Desktop Runtime. If yes, select Yes and you will be redirected to the website. Download and install the framework. Once you have installed everything the app requires, run G-Helper. Under Laptop Keyboardsset effect and color.

Still Facing Problems Turning on the Keyboard Light?

If you are having trouble turning on the keyboard backlight, the problem may be with the physical Component LEDs, or it may also be that the ATKdriver is not installed on your ASUS laptop.

Here’s what you need to do in such a situation.

Open ASUS Support website. Find your laptop model from Select your product. If you don’t know the laptop model, check the base of the laptop. Click Drivers & Utilities. Choose your Operating System. Under ATKdownload the latest ATK Pack. Once the download is complete, extract the downloaded file and run the Setup.exe file. Follow the installation setup wizard. Restart your laptop after the installation is complete, and your backlight should work now.

You can refer to this complete guide for other solutions if you are still having trouble turning on the keyboard light.