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Mike Pither · Feb 14, 2004, 08:48 PM

I notice recently that the illuminated keyboard on my PB 15 doesn't always come on. To get it to work I have to mess about tapping various keys and going in and out of the system preferences before it will switch on. It seems to have started after switching to Panther but I am not sure if this is connected. Is this a common problem? Also where is the light sensor hidden?

EdipisReks · Feb 14, 2004, 09:45 PM

at first i had some issues with the keyboard not lighting, but a couple reboots and a couple times clicking the acitvation button in the preference panel fixed it. the sensor is under one of the speaker grills. i find the ALS system to be great, especially in its ability to control the brightness of the screen.

Mike Pither · Feb 15, 2004, 09:29 AM

Anyone know where the preferences are for the illuminated keyboard. I have tried selecting and deselecting keyboard illumination in the system preferences and rebooting the machine but no joy. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. Maybe if I delete the preferences it will fix the prob when the pref file is recreated, only problem is that I cannot find the file.

echosphere · Feb 15, 2004, 11:47 AM

If you have been turning it on and off in the System Preferences>Keyboard & Mouse settings then this is the only one.

The backlight usually stops responding for me when there is a bright light on the grills area of the PB. One thing that may help is turning off the Automatically adjust brightness in the Display Preferences, but don't know if the conflict is there.

So the problem is that when you want to adjust the backlight and you press F9 or F10, you get that little annoying icon that pretty much says the backlight is "locked" (not on)?

One poster told me to cover the speakers grills (where the sensor is) with you hands for about five seconds, then quickly adjust the brightness using the F10 or F9 key. This is how I got functionality back, it's a silly fix for such a stupid problem. Hopefully 10.3.3 will solve this. Why doesn't apple just make a solid on/off switch setting?

~Echo

EdipisReks · Feb 15, 2004, 01:43 PM

Originally posted by echosphere:
If you have been turning it on and off in the System Preferences>Keyboard & Mouse settings then this is the only one.

The backlight usually stops responding for me when there is a bright light on the grills area of the PB. One thing that may help is turning off the Automatically adjust brightness in the Display Preferences, but don't know if the conflict is there.

So the problem is that when you want to adjust the backlight and you press F9 or F10, you get that little annoying icon that pretty much says the backlight is "locked" (not on)?

One poster told me to cover the speakers grills (where the sensor is) with you hands for about five seconds, then quickly adjust the brightness using the F10 or F9 key. This is how I got functionality back, it's a silly fix for such a stupid problem. Hopefully 10.3.3 will solve this. Why doesn't apple just make a solid on/off switch setting?
~Echo

turning off "automatically adjust brightness" only effects whether the screen will adjust itself due to ambient light. it doesn't really have anything to do with the keyboard.

the reason that you get the "turned off" icon when you hit F10 is because there is too much ambient light for the keyboard to come on. when you do the "cover and adjust" move, the keyboard lighting is just going to turn off as soon as it realizes that there is too much light.

the reason that apple doesn't just have an on off switch is, as far as i can tell, because if there is much light at all, you can't even see the illumination. it also eats a ton of battery power if you aren't plugged in.

EdipisReks · Feb 15, 2004, 01:45 PM

the bottom line is that, if you want the ALS system to illuminate the keyboard, you are going to have to go where it is dark. the system is innefectual where it is even slightly bright, and it is not going to come on in illuminated rooms even just because you want it to. the fact that the F8-F10 keys don't always work is simply a side effect of the machine being able to determine for itself whether it should come on or not.

Mike Pither · Feb 15, 2004, 02:05 PM

Obviously I have been trying to use mine in a pitch dark room. As I say sometimes it works other times not. Sometimes it will not come on in a room with the shutters closed and so little light that I cannot even see where the keyboard is. Other times it works fine.

My problem is that one of the reasons that I choose the PB was for this feature as I like to work sometimes late at night in a dark room!

EdipisReks · Feb 15, 2004, 05:29 PM

Originally posted by Mike Pither:
Obviously I have been trying to use mine in a pitch dark room. As I say sometimes it works other times not. Sometimes it will not come on in a room with the shutters closed and so little light that I cannot even see where the keyboard is. Other times it works fine.

My problem is that one of the reasons that I choose the PB was for this feature as I like to work sometimes late at night in a dark room!

my response about the ALS only being for situations where it was truly dark were for echosphere, and not you. i had the same problem as you at first, but a few reboots fixed the problem. one thing i noticed was that if i applied an update, but didn't reboot when the upgrade was finished installing but pending a reboot to finalize, the ALS wouldn't work. as soon as the machine was restarted and the update finalized, the ALS would work again.

echosphere · 03:12 AM

Originally posted by EdipisReks:
turning off "automatically adjust brightness" only effects whether the screen will adjust itself due to ambient light. it doesn't really have anything to do with the keyboard.

the reason that you get the "turned off" icon when you hit F10 is because there is too much ambient light for the keyboard to come on. when you do the "cover and adjust" move, the keyboard lighting is just going to turn off as soon as it realizes that there is too much light.

the reason that apple doesn't just have an on off switch is, as far as i can tell, because if there is much light at all, you can't even see the illumination. it also eats a ton of battery power if you aren't plugged in.

Newbie, do some research before you post.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86271

"Since the system is automatic, as the ambient light changes, the display and keyboard illumination levels vary from the base level you established."

Switching the automatic adjust brightness does affect the keyboard.

Ever hear the saying, "it's not a bug, it's a feature"?
Well, it's not a feature, it's just plain annoying that we can't set the brightness how we want it.

"Unlike the display brightness keys, the keyboard brightness can only be adjusted when the ALS is engaged with the keyboard illuminated (as in a dimly lit room)."

Who is defining what is a bright and dim room? There are times when I simply would like the keyboard to be brighter, even if Apple's engineers don't think so. Am I smarter than them, possibly not, but I do like to have the option to choose. As the last poster, this was also one of the reasons that got a 15" Al PB. I love my PB with the backlight, just needs some improvement.

Btw, to solve your problem, when you're finished with an update, restart your computer after it's done, that might solve your problem.

~Echo

echosphere · Feb 16, 2004, 03:13 AM

EdipisReks · Feb 16, 2004, 03:52 AM

newbie, eh? so just because i don't post much on this forum makes me a newb? i think your response makes you a tard. the basis for my opinion is at least as valid as the basis for yours.

turning the automatic adjustment for the screen doesn't effect the keyboard on MY PowerBook. whether the screen is on automatic adjustment or not, the keyboard acts the same way when the keyboard ALS is selected in the appropriate preference pane. i would prefer that apple had given complete control to the user. however, slinging around childish insults isn't going to change the fact that apple engineers predetermined the settings. my explanation for why is just as valid as anyone elses.

Mike Pither · Feb 16, 2004, 02:38 PM

When I said that I wanted to know where the sytem preferences for the keyboard illumination were I meant the actual pref file as I don't see anything useful in either of the preferences folders (home or general). If I can't get it to work regularly soon I may just try sending it in for repair as it is clearly not working correctly.

echosphere · Feb 16, 2004, 11:21 PM

EdipisReks:
Then something may be wrong with your PB settings as it's supposed to changes along with the screen brightness when the automatic settings are set to On.

Mike Pither:
I don't know if it's true, but I've heard that some of the screen, ALS and Keyboard backlighting prefs are stored in two places:

In the main library preferences and your home library prerferences. The file is called "com.apple.BezelServices.plist". Do a search on your computer and it should come up. If you have the skills you can edit the prefs in OmniOutliner, though I wouldn't advise it unless you are know what you are doing. What I have done before is deleted it, reset the PRAM and PMU to fix an issue with the right side of the screen becoming dim at times. This was another issue, but it seems that since I did those three things, ALS and keyboard backlighting seems to be more responsive and not cut out on me at times. Let me know if it helps. Sorry for my rant earlier, the winter must be driving me crazy.......

Mike Pither · Feb 17, 2004, 06:36 PM

Well I tried deleting the file that you suggested and restarting but it didn't improve anything. I shall try zapping the pram next

Boondoggle · Jun 18, 2004, 04:11 AM

I'm having a problem getting the keyboard illumination to work properly. I've tried resetting the PRAM and that did not help. In a completely dark room, All the prefs set correctly the keyboard illumination will not come on after sleep. After a restart it works.

Mike Pither · Jun 18, 2004, 03:35 PM

I have never resolved the problem. After a restart it works, at other times randomly, sometimes it comes on when the room is bright will not come on in the dark. Very annoying

Lancer409 · Jun 19, 2004, 03:17 PM

why dont u guys bring it to a genius bar .. ask them for help ... chances are, many already have and they may already be well versed in this.

Mike Pither · Jun 19, 2004, 03:22 PM

Originally posted by Lancer409:
why dont u guys bring it to a genius bar .. ask them for help ... chances are, many already have and they may already be well versed in this.

what is a "genius bar"?