G73 Keyboard Lights not coming on

Just received my G73 from xotic and the first thing I noticed was the keyboard lights are NOT coming on. I've used the top left button to change the lighting, FN+F4, and nothing. I have the 206 BIOS. I did read somewhere that this bios version really plays havoc with the keyboard lighting.

I really don't want to send this baby back after just getting it, so does anyone have an idea? I used the search function and can't find anyone with this problem. Please tell me I'm not one of the first!

Thanks!

 

The keyboard lights should flash on then off during boot (POST)...do they?

 

No, the keyboard lights did not blink during boot.

 

If you're tech savvy, you can check the keyboard ribbon cables to make sure they're connected. The keyboard comes off without opening the case

If you search this forum, there's links posted to a disassembly guide showing how to do it.

If the cables are fine then I don't know...

I've read literally thousands of G73 posts over the last few months, and I haven't seen a fix for this.

I sent mine in to get it repaired. Unfortunately I didn't get any paperwork indicating what was fixed, so it could have been anything from a wire to a motherboard.

 

Ok Mark, thanks for the help! I'll check out the cables in the morning.

 

Another victim.
My backlit never came back after upgrading to bios 206.
I dont believe this is a hardware issue because i never moved the laptop and the backlit was 100% killed by the new bios.

 

hi guys,

i also have the same problem, my keyboard LED not working anymore
i upgrade to bios 209, the problem with fn+esc is fixed.

is there anyone can fix the keyboard led to work again?

thanks

 

On the plus side, Fn-ESC now works. Hope it was worth it

Asus can fix it!

 

yeah hope the fix out soon...
or is anyone have tried unplug and plug in the keyboard led cable?? do that fix it?

edit:
also has anyone tried clean install? do they can fix this?

 

I have tried the unplug and plug in of the keyboard led cable with no success. I also put the keyboard in my G72 and verified that the led keyboard still works. It works great in the G72, but not in the G73.

I also did a clean install, just for the heck of it, and it made no difference. I keep a cloned second hard drive in my computer, so it was easy to do a fresh install without data loss, but the lost led keyboard lights is obviously a bios problem. It seems to me from my experience and from what I have read, that if you do a bios flash in windows with the lights turned on... they are gone!

 

even with fresh installation it don't work? T_T
please come out BIOS 210...T_T

 

Did the G72 keyboard work in your G73? Are they the same part?

Is the light a separate lead or just one of the wires in the kybd connector?

Cheers,

 

Same part, different color. Part #04GNV33KUS00-3

Data and lighting are on separate ribbon cables.

 

This is the KB light connector:



Be extremely careful wen trying to lift the KB, Asus use super sticky double-sided tape to hold the KB so lift the KB up gently otherwise you'll bend the KB.

 

Seeing as these are separate connections how hard would it be to check whether power is being fed to the cable on the non-working vs. working systems. If it has power but some sort of control lead is permanently set to off that might be something that could be fixed programmatically. If there is no power, perhaps there is a way to force the right amount of pwr to the right pins on the cable.

Understanding that few people do board level repair or diagnosis I'm more curious than expecting anyone to try. I certainly don't know how or whether it's possible at all.

Cheers,

 

This seems to be the last of the problems unresolved for G73jh IMO. Let's see if we can get a solution to this problem for the many G73 owners who have lost their backlit keyboard from flashing their bios.

 

Just to reiterate, the issue appears to involve the firmware for the keyboard, and the Asus techs use an app to update the kb firmware, which is unavailable to us mere mortals.

 

Is there any news on this.. I got my laptop 2 days ago, and I did not do anything to it and the keyboard lights just stopped working after I turned it off and back on. The Fn + F3F4 do not work, and also the overclocking button, the button to change viewing modes and the FN volume buttons do not work.. every other button works fine. Please help me!

 

Do the keyboard lights flash briefly when you do a fresh boot but will not work in Windows?

If not, you may have to RMA it.

Cheers,

 

Hello everyone, after reading this thread it seems that I am a new ASUS customer with this annoying issue.

Well I have got my G73jh yesterday and the keyboard backlights were working fine, that is until I pressed the "lighting control button ??" (don't know how it is called) and the keyboard backlight never came back again, I of course pressed the button again and again but the keyboard lights does not come back (the blue lights does go off and on whenever I press this button).

today I turned on the laptop again and the Keyboard lights does not come off, after reading this thread I have realised that the keyboard backlights does come on briefly when I start-up the laptop.

Should I send my laptop to ASUS or perhaps wait for a hopefully soon solution, because the hardware seems to work in my case (the lights does come on briefly) so I imagine it may be the software,? Someone mentioned the BIOS.

 

We have a sticky now: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/513264-keyboard-light-fix-gary-key.html

 

Fn-F4 should do the trick?

 

No, your lights are fine. Cycle the left lights button in the upper left corner until the blue bar is on under your laptop screen., The use Fn+F4 to brighten the keys.

 

The blue bar doesn't have to be on to turn on the keyboard lights. Just hit the Fn+F4 and the keyboard lights should come on.

 

I wanted to make sure the laptop wasn't set to not having any lights on, then Fn+F4 does nothing.

 

well what can I say?, I feel a bit silly now ... thanks for your help, fn+f4 solved my KB backlight.

 

(The following is only applicable if your keyboard lights *flash* upon startup, but then don't light up the rest of the time.)

If the fn+f4 key combination isn't working for you, try starting up your laptop with no battery in, just the a/c adapter plugged in. I just tried this with my G73s and the keyboard lights turned back on.

*Another work-around to try: I know this sounds crazy, but when your laptop is on, close the lid so that the computer will go to sleep (wait 30 seconds or so). When the computer is asleep and the lid is closed, pull out the a/c adapter, and then also pull out the battery, and then plug the a/c adapter back in (computer still asleep). Then open the lid so that the laptop is on and running again, only on a/c power (no battery). Use the fn+f4 combo at that moment. You should get the "Brightness up" module that indicates the keyboard lights are on.

 

FIX: here is the answer you've all been looking for! ok so i have an asus g73sw-xt1 and was having same issue. so i did some digging and it turns out fix is so super simple. simply reinstall the ATK driver that comes on the drivers CD with your laptop. (typed out on my now backlit keyboard!)

 

I never update bios in my computers.never.
just my 2 cents