Acer Swift s515-51T - Backlit Keyboard Behavior

Hello! I've been trying to figure out if m laptop is working as designed or defective as the behavior is odd. When the backlit keyboard is activated it will time out after about 10 seconds which is normal with most manufacturers. The issue I'm having with this laptop is the touchpad won't then reactive the backlight for the keyboard, it actually requires I hit a key for them to come back on. This isn't ideal when in dark rooms as you are hitting a key to have them turn on which could have a negative effect based on what app you are in and what you are working on.

All my previous laptops including a cheap acer chromebook 15 has the backlight reactive once you touch the touchpad at all.

Appreciate any feedback from Swift 5 S515-51T users.

Thanks!

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MaClane

Good Morning EJAY81 !

The default is as follows:
Using the battery only, the backlight will turn off after 30 seconds
Connected to the power outlet, some models have an option at Bios so that they do not turn off.
In your case, I believe there is an ethical blinking error.
Perform a battery reset to remove statics and do a test.

EJAY81

Appreciate the response but doesn't appear you have this model and the feedback you're providing is a bit off target. My backlight keyboard works fine and so does the timeout etc... That isn't the question/issue. My question and issue is that once the backlit keyboard times out i can't reactive it by touching the touchpad, I have to physically hit any key on the keyboard to make it turn back on.

My laptop is 1 day old.

MaClane

The answer was yes clear ... I believe you did not understand.
Internal static electricity can cause keyboard lights to malfunction.
It occurs in several different models.
So I asked you to reset the battery.

EJAY81

I can try that. How do you perform that?

MaClane

See here:

EJAY81

Ok, i powered off the laptop, Put a paper clip in that hole for 10 seconds. Then turned the laptop back on and same behavior. Touchpad won't reactive the backlit keyboard. Requires physically hitting any key on keyboard to come back on. Do you have this model? Maybe my experience is expected, but seems odd...

MaClane

I am checking the service manual, but apparently the touch does not reactivate the backliht, only the keys.

EJAY81

That's really odd, considering the cost of this device. I've never had a backlit keyboard not reactive by using the touchpad, some even turn on again just by hovering you hands over the keys.

Appreciate you looking into it though.

Gijs1973

MaClane said:

The answer was yes clear ... I believe you did not understand.
Internal static electricity can cause keyboard lights to malfunction.
It occurs in several different models.
So I asked you to reset the battery.

Dear MaClane,
I am experiencing the same behaviour and resetting the battery helps, but I am a bit worried about your comment: "Internal static electricity can cause keyboard lights to malfunction"; is there anything I can do to prevent this? Resetting the battery doesn't seem like good practice to me.

Thanks in advance for any insights you can provide.
Best,
Gijs

billsey

The wording is a bit poor there... It's not static electricity, like you get from shuffling across a carpet. It's residual electricity in the motherboard, typically stored in capacitors and the battery itself. That power allows the motherboard and battery to remember stuff even when the laptop is shut off. The battery reset, including the wait times to allow power to bleed off, resets that stuff to defaults and when you next power it on it will have better numbers to work with. A lot of system configuration stuff can be involved, which is why the reset works for some pretty weird errors, such as backlit keyboards...

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