Keyboard backlight not working (Acer Nitro 515-42)

alexb_ry
alexb_ry Member Posts: 5

Tinkerer

edited November 2023 in 2018 Archives
Hi,
I got a new Acer Nitro 515-42 over the weekend and all seems to be working great. However, the backlight on the keyboard has not worked at all, despite trying the keyboard shortcut (FN+F9), restarting, checking for keyboard driver updates, etc.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Answers

  • Jack22
    Jack22 ACE Posts: 3,652 Pathfinder
    @alexb_ry
    This model dont have a backlight keyboard

    Hit 'Like' if you find the answer helpful!   
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!
  • alexb_ry said:
    Hi,
    I got a new Acer Nitro 515-42 over the weekend and all seems to be working great. However, the backlight on the keyboard has not worked at all, despite trying the keyboard shortcut (FN+F9), restarting, checking for keyboard driver updates, etc.
    Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
    Hello,
    Could you give me the first ten characters of the laptop serial number (S/N)? Only the first ten.
    France
  • alexb_ry
    alexb_ry Member Posts: 5

    Tinkerer

    alexb_ry said:
    Hi,
    I got a new Acer Nitro 515-42 over the weekend and all seems to be working great. However, the backlight on the keyboard has not worked at all, despite trying the keyboard shortcut (FN+F9), restarting, checking for keyboard driver updates, etc.
    Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
    Hello,
    Could you give me the first ten characters of the laptop serial number (S/N)? Only the first ten.
    Sure. They are NHQ3REK007.
  • alexb_ry
    alexb_ry Member Posts: 5

    Tinkerer

    Jack22 said:
    @alexb_ry
    This model dont have a backlight keyboard

    Hit 'Like' if you find the answer helpful!   
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!
    Hi Jack22, are you sure? Both the website I purchased the laptop off and the manual it came with say it should have one. The F9 key also shows the little light-up symbol.

    Obviously happy to be proved wrong but would you please double check?
  • laurent_14
    laurent_14 ACE Posts: 10,018 Trailblazer
    edited November 2018
    Hi alexb_ry,
    Your laptop has a backlight keyboard:
    France
  • alexb_ry
    alexb_ry Member Posts: 5

    Tinkerer

    Hi alexb_ry,
    Your laptop has a backlight keyboard:
    Thanks laurent_14 - any idea how to get it working...?
  • AMDKilla
    AMDKilla Member Posts: 57 Devotee WiFi Icon
    Any idea which BIOS version you are running? Version 1.11 is confirmed to have a bug relating to the back light for the keyboard. My experience of that bug is that the back light acts as it does while it's on battery power (turns on with the Fn + F9 shortcut, but goes off after 20-30 seconds to save power, comes back on with a keypress), but the bug means the keyboard does this even when plugged in. When it's plugged in, they keyboard is supposed to be lit all the time (unless turned off with the hotkey).

    If you have 1.11 installed, maybe the bug is a little worse than what others have experienced.

    That or the connector cable for your laptop wasn't seated correctly and you aren't receiving power to the keyboard. In that case, you should either return it back to where you purchased it from for a warranty repair, or you could speak to Acer's customer services and they could look into it for you.
  • alexb_ry
    alexb_ry Member Posts: 5

    Tinkerer

    AMDKilla said:
    Any idea which BIOS version you are running? Version 1.11 is confirmed to have a bug relating to the back light for the keyboard. My experience of that bug is that the back light acts as it does while it's on battery power (turns on with the Fn + F9 shortcut, but goes off after 20-30 seconds to save power, comes back on with a keypress), but the bug means the keyboard does this even when plugged in. When it's plugged in, they keyboard is supposed to be lit all the time (unless turned off with the hotkey).

    If you have 1.11 installed, maybe the bug is a little worse than what others have experienced.

    That or the connector cable for your laptop wasn't seated correctly and you aren't receiving power to the keyboard. In that case, you should either return it back to where you purchased it from for a warranty repair, or you could speak to Acer's customer services and they could look into it for you.
    Thanks AMDKiller, very helpful answer. I updated to BIOS 1.11 in an attempt to fix this issue before turning to the forums, but it wasn't working before this either.

    I assume there is no "keyboard driver" that should be installed?

    I will go to Acer support first, then back to the vendor if that fails. However I'm loathe to send it off for days on end if they need to fix it!
  • AMDKilla
    AMDKilla Member Posts: 57 Devotee WiFi Icon
    alexb_ry said:
    AMDKilla said:
    Any idea which BIOS version you are running? Version 1.11 is confirmed to have a bug relating to the back light for the keyboard. My experience of that bug is that the back light acts as it does while it's on battery power (turns on with the Fn + F9 shortcut, but goes off after 20-30 seconds to save power, comes back on with a keypress), but the bug means the keyboard does this even when plugged in. When it's plugged in, they keyboard is supposed to be lit all the time (unless turned off with the hotkey).

    If you have 1.11 installed, maybe the bug is a little worse than what others have experienced.

    That or the connector cable for your laptop wasn't seated correctly and you aren't receiving power to the keyboard. In that case, you should either return it back to where you purchased it from for a warranty repair, or you could speak to Acer's customer services and they could look into it for you.
    Thanks AMDKiller, very helpful answer. I updated to BIOS 1.11 in an attempt to fix this issue before turning to the forums, but it wasn't working before this either.

    I assume there is no "keyboard driver" that should be installed?

    I will go to Acer support first, then back to the vendor if that fails. However I'm loathe to send it off for days on end if they need to fix it!
    There is no keyboard driver that affects the backlight, it's all BIOS controlled. Acer support should offer to take the unit in depending on how long ago you purchased it. They wanted to take mine in to investigate the backlight issue I spoke about, but they estimate that they will need it between 7-10 days, and they don't provide a replacement during that time. If you need a replacement, you may have more luck going through the vendor for warranty repair instead.