My refurbished M11X R2 keyboard backlight is non-functional.

I received my refurbished M11X today, and everything looked great... until I noticed that my keyboard backlighting does not work. All other lighting, however, is working perfectly (alienware logo, side vents, alien head). Could this be a hardware problem? Loose wiring? Kinda sucks that it's not working, since it would help me use my laptop at night without the lights on.

I start classes in a few days and I would not be too happy with sending my laptop in just because some LED lights don't work, but still this is a big concern for me.

Any thoughts on what could be wrong?

 

have them overnight one to you or have a tech come over and install it for you if they want that.

 

Sorry, this is my first Dell. How would I request a tech to come over? Also, the warranty is for the complete one year since I've purchased it, correct? If I call in a tech, the warranty will still be valid for the remainder of the year?

 

yes warranty will still be effect for the remainder of the year.

if you're brave/competent enough to attempt a disassembly of the m11x, you could potentially resolve the suspected issue (loose wiring) in about 5 minsutes by reseating the small thin bronze ribbon cable that lives underneath the keyboard which connects to the mobo in order to supply the LEDs with power.

basically, once you lift up the keyboard, you will see 2 ribbon cables: a wide white one (keyboard functionality) and a smaller thinner bronze cable (supplied power for keyboard LEDs). I'm guessing that the bronze cable has come loose and/or not fitted properly.

2:40 to 3:50
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeqQQU_PWRg

 

Thanks! Very helpful post. If I disassemble the laptop myself and try to fix it, will it void my warranty?

Also, what's the likelihood of Dell sending a technician to me VS. making me send the laptop back to Dell?

 

they will send a technician for something like this, they send it to the depot usually when the tech repairs it and its still broken, or the job is too complicated for the tech and requires a lot of work.