How to Turn On the Keyboard Light on a Lenovo Laptop

The article explains how to turn on the keyboard light on a Lenovo laptop.

How to Turn On the Keyboard Light on a Lenovo Laptop

These steps work for Lenovo IdeaPad and ThinkPad laptops which have a keyboard backlight.

1. Find the keyboard backlight shortcut key on your Lenovo laptop. Most laptops place a light icon on the Spacebar, but check the Esc key, too.

   

2. Press-and-hold the Fn (Function) key, press Spacebar once, then let go of both keys.

3. Most Lenovo laptops offer several levels of keyboard backlight brightness. Repeat the previous step to cycle through the three available modes: Off, low/dim, and high/bright.

How to Turn On a Lenovo ThinkLight

Older Lenovo ThinkPad laptops don't have a keyboard backlight and instead used a built-in LED lamp called the ThinkLight. It's at the top of the display and shines down on the keyboard, providing usable light for both the keyboard and any nearby documents.

Here's how to turn it on:

1. Find the ThinkLight shortcut key. This is typically the Page Up key, which may be abbreviated as PgUp.

   

2. Press-and-hold the Fn key, press Page Up once, then release both keys.

3. Repeat the previous step to turn the ThinkLight off.

Does My Lenovo Laptop Have a Backlit Keyboard?

You can quickly tell if your Lenovo laptop has a backlit keyboard by searching for the keyboard backlight shortcut (the light icon), typically found on the Spacebar or Esc key. Lenovo laptops that don't have backlighting will not have this shortcut printed on the keyboard.

Why Is the Keyboard on My Lenovo Laptop Not Lighting Up?

It might sound a little funny, but the most common reason a Lenovo keyboard isn't lighting up is that there isn't one on your laptop. Lenovo still sells less-expensive laptops which don't include a keyboard backlight. You'll know this is true if you can't find the keyboard light icon.

If your Lenovo laptop does have a keyboard backlight, but the keyboard shortcut doesn't work, try activating it with Lenovo's Vantage software. The keyboard backlight's toggle is in the Input & Accessories section.

Are you still having trouble? See if the backlight is turned off in the laptop's BIOS. Restart and press Enter at the boot screen (which displays a Lenovo logo). Then press F1 to enter the BIOS. The BIOS menu can vary significantly between laptops but look for a Keyboard or Keyboard/Mouse menu. Open it and search for a Keyboard Backlight field. If it's off or otherwise disabled, turn it on. Save your settings and exit BIOS.