Having a great laptop is one thing, but having a backlit keyboard is spectacular.
While this feature might take a backseat to the thrills of the latest processor, the screen resolution or the CPU or GPU inside, a backlit keyboard is a great feature to consider when purchasing a laptop, as it significantly enhances your user experience.
So, if, for example, you are looking to purchase a laptop or have bought one but have not considered whether it has a backlit keyboard, how would you know it has this feature?
First, it is important to know that different manufacturers have different areas for putting the icon of a backlit keyboard. Thus, look for an icon of a turned-on lightbulb (do not mistake it with the brightness icons). Usually, a backlit keyboard icon will be a single light bulb.
Function Keys
That said, in Dell laptops, you can see the icon either on the F10, F6, or the right arrow key (on the lower right corner of a full-keyboard layout.)
On HP, the icon will often be on F5 with three dots on it.
On Lenovo, the light icon is on either the space of the Esc button.
If you do not see the light bulb icon on these keys, then your laptop doesn’t have this feature.
Turning on the Backlight
So, if your laptop has a backlit configuration, how do you turn on the feature?
For Dell, you can press the F10 to turn on the backlight. Alternatively, you can use the Fn and F6 or Fn and Right Arrow keys, depending on where the backlight icon is.
On HP, Fn + F5 should do the trick.
On Lenovo, Fn + Spacebar or Fn + Esc, depending on where the backlight icon is, will do the trick. Some models may have two modes, in which case you can choose which one to use.
And there you have it – you no longer need to strain in the dark as you work with your backlight on.