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If you use your Lenovo ThinkPad laptop in dark environments, you may want to enable the keyboard light to see your keys. Newer Lenovo devices have a Backlight icon, which looks like a horizontal bracket with arcing rays on top. This can usually be found on the spacebar of your keyboard. Older ThinkPads usually come with a ThinkLight, which is located at the top of the display and shines a small light on your keyboard. This wikiHow will show you how to turn on your Lenovo device's backlight and ThinkLight using keyboard shortcuts.

Things You Should Know

  • If your Lenovo laptop has a backlight, you'll see the Backlight icon on your spacebar.
  • To turn on the backlight, press the Function (Fn) key and Backlight shortcut key at the same time.
  • To turn on the ThinkLight, press the Function (Fn) key and Page Up key together.
Section 1 of 3:

Turning on Backlight

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  1. In some cases, your backlight may not turn on due to low battery.
    • Make sure your laptop is charged to at least 75%.
    • If your battery is an issue, there are ways to increase your battery longevity.
  2. In most cases, this will be located on your keyboard's Spacebar. [1]
    • The icon looks like a horizontal bracket with arcing rays above it.
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  3. Fn is the abbreviation of Function . [2]
    • Similar to taking screenshots on Lenovo , you'll need to press these keys at the same time.
    • To adjust your brightness, press Fn and Backlight as many times as needed to cycle through your laptop's brightness presets.
    • To turn off your backlight, press Fn and Backlight until the backlight turns off.
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Section 2 of 3:

Turning on ThinkLight

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  1. Make sure your laptop is charged.
  2. In most cases, this will be located on your keyboard's Page Up button. This is abbreviated as PgUp on your keyboard. [3]
    • The icon looks like a half circle with rays extending below it.
  3. Fn is the abbreviation of Function . Your ThinkLight should turn on. [4]
    • To turn ThinkLight off, press Fn and Page Up together again.
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Section 3 of 3:

Troubleshooting the Backlight

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  1. This is a built-in application that helps your Lenovo device run properly. [5]
    • Open your task bar and search for Lenovo Vantage .
    • Click Device, Input & accessories .
    • Confirm Keyboard backlight is activated.
  2. Newer laptops will have a built-in battery. [6]
    • Unplug the AC adapter.
    • Press and hold your device's Power button for 10 seconds.
    • Reconnect the AC adapter and turn the device on.
  3. Older laptops will have a detachable battery. [7]
    • Unplug the AC adapter.
    • Press and hold your device's Power button for 10 seconds.
    • Install the battery, reconnect the AC adapter, and turn the device on.
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