To turn on the keyboard light on a Windows 10 laptop, find the key with the backlight icon (a small keyboard or key with light rays), then hold Fn and press that key. Press the same combination again to change the brightness or switch the light off. Windows 10 has no keyboard light switch of its own, so the shortcut comes from the laptop maker.
Applies to: Windows 10 laptops with a built-in backlit keyboard (Dell, HP, ASUS and Acer shortcuts are covered).
Before you start: check that the laptop has a backlit keyboard
A keyboard backlight is a hardware part, a set of small lights under the keys. If the laptop was built without it, no Windows setting, driver or app can add it. Two models with nearly the same name can ship with different keyboards, so check your own machine before spending time on fixes.
- Look for the backlight key. Dell tells owners to look first on the function key row across the top of the keyboard and then at the lower-left side of the keyboard. A computer without the Backlit key does not have the feature.
- Check the manual. If you cannot find the backlight hotkeys, or the hotkeys chapter of the user manual does not mention them, the laptop may not support a backlit keyboard.
- Check the exact model. Look up your laptop’s full model number on the manufacturer’s support site and read the keyboard details in the specifications.
Turn on the keyboard light with the shortcut key
This is the main method on every brand. The only thing that changes is which key carries the backlight icon.
- Find the backlight key. Check the top row (F1 to F12) first, then the arrow keys and the lower-left corner of the keyboard. You are looking for a key icon with light rays coming from it.
- Hold down Fn, usually found near the lower-left corner of the keyboard.
- While holding Fn, press the backlight key once. The keys should light up right away. It is easiest to see in a dim room.
- Press the combination again to change the brightness. On HP laptops, each press cycles through off, dim, medium and bright. On many ASUS laptops, repeated presses raise the brightness and then turn the light off.
- If nothing happens, press the backlight key by itself, without Fn. Some laptops are set so the top-row keys perform their icon action directly.
Keyboard light shortcuts by laptop brand
These are the shortcuts each manufacturer publishes. Your model may differ, so treat the icon printed on the key as the final word.
| Brand | Documented shortcut | What repeated presses do |
|---|---|---|
| Dell | Fn + the Backlit key (top row or lower-left side of the keyboard) | Switches the keyboard light off and on |
| HP | Fn + the backlight key, usually F5, F9 or F11; on some models the right arrow key | Cycles through off, dim, medium and bright |
| ASUS (most notebooks) | Fn + F7 | Raises the brightness step by step, then turns the light off |
| ASUS (some notebooks) | Fn + F4 to brighten, Fn + F3 to dim | Fn + F3 dims the light until it is off |
| ASUS gaming notebooks | Fn + Up arrow to brighten, Fn + Down arrow to dim | Fn + Down arrow dims the light until it is off |
| Acer Nitro | Fn + F9 | Switches the keyboard light on and off |
For other brands, including Lenovo, MSI, Samsung and Microsoft Surface, look for the same style of icon on the keyboard and confirm the shortcut in the model’s user guide on the manufacturer’s support site.
When you need Fn and when you do not
The top-row keys do two jobs: the standard F1 to F12 functions and the icon actions such as volume, screen brightness and keyboard light. A setting usually called Fn Lock or function key lock decides which job happens when you press the key alone. Depending on the function key lock setting, you press either F1 to F12 alone or Fn plus the key to start the hotkey function.
In practice, try the backlight key both ways. To change which behavior is the default, you can use function keys without pressing Fn on Windows 10.
How to confirm it worked, and how to turn the light off
You should see light around or through the key legends as soon as the shortcut registers. A backlight on its lowest level can be hard to see in daylight, so shade the keyboard with your hand or check in a darker room before deciding it failed.
To turn the light off, press the same shortcut until the keys go dark. Nothing is saved in Windows, so there is no setting to undo.
If the keyboard light will not turn on
The first two checks solve most cases.
- Try the key with and without Fn. A changed Fn Lock setting is the most common reason a shortcut that used to work suddenly seems dead.
- Press the shortcut several times. On laptops that cycle through levels, one press may only move from one dim level to the next.
- Restart the laptop, then try the shortcut again.
- Install pending Windows updates. Select Start, then go to Settings > Update & Security > Windows Update and check for updates.
- Update the laptop maker’s software. The shortcut depends on the manufacturer’s hotkey driver, not on Windows alone. ASUS, for example, lists updating the BIOS, Windows packages and drivers, reinstalling the ASUS System Control Interface driver, and reinstalling the MyASUS and Armoury Crate apps as fixes for keyboard backlight problems. Download drivers only from your manufacturer’s official support page for your exact model.
- Reinstall the keyboard driver. Right-click the Start menu and select Device Manager. Expand the keyboard category, right-click the built-in keyboard and select Uninstall device, then select Uninstall. Restart Windows, and it attempts to reinstall the driver on its own. Microsoft’s driver update instructions also cover the Update driver option.
- Check the BIOS setup. On HP laptops especially, make sure the backlight is turned on in the BIOS settings. The key that opens BIOS setup and the name of the option vary by model, so follow your model’s manual, and do not change settings you do not recognize.
If the laptop is managed by your work or school, driver installs and BIOS setup may be locked. Ask your IT department instead of trying to get around the restriction.
Avoid third-party “keyboard light” utilities and driver download sites. They cannot switch on hardware that is not there, and they are a common source of unwanted software.
A note on Windows 10 support
Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on October 14, 2025. The system still runs, and the keyboard shortcut still works because it is handled by the laptop’s own hardware and drivers, but Windows 10 no longer receives free software updates, security fixes or technical help from Microsoft. If the laptop meets the requirements, moving to Windows 11 is the safer long-term choice. The backlight shortcut is the same after the upgrade, and turning on the keyboard light in Windows 11 explains the extra lighting options there.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a keyboard light setting in Windows 10 Settings?
No general one. On Windows 10 laptops the backlight is controlled by the manufacturer’s shortcut key, and on some models by the manufacturer’s own app or BIOS setup. If a guide sends you to a Windows 10 Settings page for the keyboard light and you cannot find it, that is normal.
Can I add a backlight to a keyboard that does not have one?
Not with software. The lights are part of the keyboard hardware. A small USB light or an external backlit keyboard is the practical alternative.
Why does my keyboard light turn off after a few seconds?
Some laptops switch the backlight off after a period without typing to save power. Where the delay can be changed, the option is in the manufacturer’s app or BIOS setup rather than in Windows 10, so check your model’s manual.
Does the keyboard light use more battery?
Yes, somewhat. Backlighting can increase power usage and may reduce battery runtime depending on the brightness level and how you use it. Use a lower level or turn it off when you are in a bright room.
How do I make the keyboard light brighter?
Press the backlight shortcut again. Laptops with several levels step through them with each press. ASUS models with separate keys use one shortcut to brighten and another to dim.
Which key is the keyboard light key on Dell laptops?
Dell does not name a single key for all models. Look for the Backlit key on the function key row first, then on the lower-left side of the keyboard, and hold Fn while pressing it. Model details are in Dell’s keyboard usage and troubleshooting guide.
Once the light is on, the next thing most people adjust is whether the top-row keys need Fn at all; the function key guide linked above covers that.
Related: turn on the keyboard light on an HP laptop.
Matt Jacobs writes and maintains the guides on Support Your Tech, which he started in 2017. He spent most of his career keeping small-business PCs running and still takes the occasional consulting job, so the steps here come from fixing the same problems on other people’s computers. Every guide is checked on his own Windows 11, Windows 10, Mac, iPhone and iPad before it goes up.