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How to adjust your Chromebook's keyboard backlight
When you first start with Chrome OS, you’ll inevitably find yourself relearning a number of basic functions — most people are raised on Mac or Windows PCs, after all. One of the simpler things to learn is how to adjust the backlighting on a Chromebook‘s keyboard. The trick, if you can call it that, is recognizing which shortcuts are available in your case.
QUICK ANSWER
To adjust keyboard backlighting on a Chromebook:
- If your model has them, use the dedicated function keys with three lines "glowing" off a horizontal line.
- Alternately, hold Alt and one of the sun icons in the function key row.
How to adjust your Chromebook’s keyboard backlight
Exact methods vary. While it’s rare, some Chromebooks have dedicated function keys for keyboard brightness, typically labeled with icons that have three lines “glowing” off a horizontal one. If your Chromebook has these, simply tap the bigger icon to increase brightness, and the smaller one to lower brightness or shut it off entirely.
Like other laptops, all Chromebooks have two “sun” icons among their function keys. Normally these control screen brightness, but if there are no dedicated keys for keyboard backlighting, hold Alt and one of the sun icons to adjust brightness up or down. This shortcut should work on every Chromebook with a backlit keyboard.
A handful of gaming Chromebooks go a step further, letting you set different colors for the backlighting, even rainbow effects. The current list includes the Acer Chromebook 516 GE, ASUS Chromebook Vibe CX55 Flip, and the Lenovo Ideapad Gaming Chromebook.
To change backlight color on supported machines:
- Select the time in the bottom-right of Chrome OS.
- Pick Settings.
- Under Personalization, choose Set your wallpaper and style.
- Under Keyboard backlight, pick a color scheme. Otherwise keyboard color defaults to match your wallpaper.