Keyboard backlight repair

I took my Macbook Pro pretty much apart down to the keyboard and got it back together with no leftover parts. The only thing that does not work is the keyboard backlight. I do not see any connectors that I left off and would prefer to not take the motherboard out to see if I missed one unless I need to. Does anyone know where the backlight cable is connected or of anything else I might have done to kill it? Is it an especially delicate cable that I might have broken?

Thanks for the suggestion but it seems to be a hardware problem. First, I took the Mac apart because of a little drinky spill that would not be covered by the extended warrantee. This is the aluminum model and replacing the keyboard is not an option, the whole top needs to be replaced at $250. I would do it if I knew that would fix the problem. The LED backlight string is probably controlled by an LED driver circuit and this may have overshot and killed the LEDs. I measure 4.95 volts at the connector for the light string no matter what the brightness setting is. Not having information as to how the driver works (is probably current sensing) I have no way to know if the driver (part of the m-board) is fried or not. So, I want to diagnose the LED string but I want to do the least disassembly possible until I know that I can fix it and put it back together. I don't know how many times the various fine pitch connectors on the m-board can be connected/disconnected without failing.
What I really need is some detailed information. Just a photo of the LED assembly (it is stuck to the black plastic that covers the keyboard) would help a lot. I need to know if it is just a series string of LEDs that connect only at the connector that is near the left side fan. If I can determine that it is failed I can get some new chip LEDs and or fix a bad solder joint or cracked circuit trace. Apple does not sell the little stick on LED string but makes you buy the whole top cover.
Does anyone have a late model Macbook Pro (the kind with the keys fitting in individual holes in the top cover, not the one with the easily removable keyboard) with the motherboard removed that they can photograph? I can certainly take it all apart again but that will mean three disassembly/assembly cycles before I get it working and I am afraid of the possibility of screwing up one of the many fine pitch connectors.
Also, if anyone has a schematic or description of how the LED driver works that would help me determine if it is working or not. My guess is that the driver overshot because of a temporary short and that it killed the LEDs.

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What is the Keyboard Backlight attached to?

Hey there.
A while back I spilled some milk on my macbook pro 15" old model (NOT the unibody) keyboard and although I finally got the sticky keys issue sorted out (I spent a good 5-6 hours on my day off taking off all the keys and cleaning them, and then putting them back), the backlight of the keyboard doesn't illuminate the entire keyboard anymore.
I went to my local Apple store's genius bar and they told me that by replacing the keyboard (for a mere $150 USD), I would also be fixing the backlight. I took my macbook pro to my local MacTek, however, to compare what they would quote me for replacing the keyboard, but THEY said that in order to replace the LED light I'd have to replace the top case, and the keyboard alone wouldn't do it.
Then I take it back to the Apple store (MacTek was more expensive due to their having to order parts) and ask them about it and this time they tell me that I WOULD have to replace the top case to fix the LED, which would cost $300+. Obviously not worth it just to fix the backlight when nothing else about the top case is visibly wrong.
Then I get a little curious when I get home and do a google search for the makeup of the keyboard and find a site with pictures that show the LED IS actually part of the keyboard O_O I dunno what to believe here.
Assuming my goal is to fix the LED keyboard backlight, just what is it that I'd have to replace?

Thanks, that's exactly what I needed to know.
I'd click "solved" for your post but actually I have one more question. I took the MBP to a certified repair shop, and they order a keyboard from apple. Last week (7 days ago) they said they received the new keyboard and were replacing the old one now.
Then, an hour or two later, they called me back and told me that they think Apple sent them a defective keyboard, because now for some reason my computer "won't turn on." O_O
So I called them today and the guy just said he's waiting on the second replacement keyboard. My question is, can that realistically happen? That is, a bad keyboard causing the entire system not to be able to turn on?
(good thing I backed up before taking it to get repaired, eh..?)

MacBook Pro (mid-2010) keyboard backlight lags after 10.6.8 combo update

I'm one of those who take the extra time to perform major updates on my MacBook Pro very carefully. I always perform all the permissions and disk check/repairs, typically running something tried-and-true like AppleJack. I then always use the combined updater as opposed to the delta, fully downloading and applying it in Safe User Mode. So, I never run into the typical problems. That said...
Is anyone who has otherwise had a successful update to 10.6.8 on a MacBook Pro with keyboard backlighting experienced a sudden lag-time with the backlight coming on when touching the touchpad or pressing a key?
There is a definitely perceptible 1-second-ish lag I'm experiencing and I'm hoping it will be corrected quickly with either a firmware fix or an update.

Same here, although I have a MBP mid-2009.
The 1-2s lag is VERY annoying if you've gotten used to the old instantaneous light-up with previous SL.
I've fired off a bug report to Apple - here's hoping they don't just bury their head in the sand and release a fix quickly (I also hope they don't have the same bug in Lion as well, I'll be getting that soon)...

Bluetooth, iSight and Keyboard Backlight not working. Please help!

My Bluetooth stopped working along with my iSight and Keyboard Backlight. I first noticed the weird sign over the bluetooth icon, and it read "Bluetooth not available". I payed no attention to it for a while until I tried to take a picture with Photo Booth and I read "No camera found", for some reason I tried to dim the backlight on the keyboard and a blocked sign appeared under the brightness level, not letting me do anything (Later I was able to use the backlight with the LabTick app). I have tried everything. SMC, PRAM, NVRAM, logging as diferent and new users, booting in safe mode... every solution I have found on the internet has been tested by me. Then I read this about the Hardware Test solution, and surprisingly after performing the Hardware Test no problems were found! So basically my MacBook Pro (mid 2010) is not having any trouble of any sorts with anything. Then why can't I use Bluetooth, iSight or Key backlighting (which only works through LabTick). Given the fact that the hardware test shows no problems I am not comfortable with the idea of taking it to repair. There MUST be something I can actually do to fix these issues.
Does anybody have any idea? I repeat, these are NOT WORKING, NOT FOUND AND NOT AVAILABLE.
- Keyboard Backlight (Only works through LabTick)
- iSight Camera (Not found by any software)
- Bluetooth (No info appears on the system profile, the icon on the menu bar is completely gone)
All three issues happened at the same time, the night before everything was working perfectly fine.
If anyone could help... please!!!
Summary:
MacBook Pro Mid 2010 (http://support.apple.com/kb/SP583) Unibody, can't take out the battery.
Solutions tried:
- Reset SMC: Turning on while holding Shift + Ctrl + Option + Power Button (This makes my MacBook forget about the battery and start up with really loud fan noise, battery icon appears with an X on it, keyboard backlight buttons work, they show brightness level on screen, but the actual light won't work, no bluetooth, no isight)
-Reset PRAM and NVRAM: Turning on while holding Option + CMD + R + P (I have waited for 2 chimes, 3 chimes and 4 chimes at different times, nothing happens. Light, bluetooth and isight are still gone)
-Holding Power Button for 10 seconds, 20 seconds, longer... nothing changes.
-Creating and logging in as new admin user, nothing changes.
-Deleting the bluetooth.plist file and powering off and on again, also rebooting
-Deleting the SystemConfiguration folder, powering off and on again, also rebooting
-Installing "blueutil", didn't help at all, turned it off via terminal with command blueutil off.
-Performing Apple Hardware Test - Shows no erros or problems on any area after one full hour of testing (Performed the extended testing)
-Leaving it powered off overnight
Please anyone help meee!! I can't afford going crazy!
Thank you so much in advance!
Alvarock.

****UPDATE***
Hi guys i got across this forum after searching for bluetooth, front camera and the most ANNOYING no lost keyboard backligth.
After run all the test, procedures, tweeks and, and everything i remenbered that once i sent my MBP to repair at you bring i break, turns out that the little ribbon flex connector coming from the mother board ( from the rigth to left) was loose since the adhesive wich they used shrink do temp changes, anyhow y popped out the glas and found the flex cable totally sticked to the glass pulling out of the pcb board connector, reinstalled it smoothly and that FIXED the camera, bluetooth and keyboard backlight!..
thats it. hope i helped some frustraded owner.

Macbook Pro 17inch late 2011 keyboard backlight not working

Recently near the end of sum me 2014 I only noticed the backlight keyboard not working at all. I have done the following to try and rectify;
1. Reset SMC
2. Rest NVRAM
3. Disconnected battery and the above
4. hardware test online, result showing no issues found.
with all outcomes proving nil. Pressing Fn + F5 or F6 does show the brightness either increasing or decreasing but with no light. I then opened her up and disconnected a cable that was to the LHS of the RAM boards but this only powers the White Sleep LED and not the backlight keyboard on this 17inch model. My next step is to remove the mother board and find the actual cable that does power the backlight LEDs and ensure that it is connected. Similarly around the same time I noticed this with the backlights the fans were running fast. However the weather has gotten cooler and the mbp is not running fans as it was when it was in the warmer months.
Do I have to remove the motherboard and actually make sure that the connector for the backlights hasn't been dislodged?
Anyone out there with a 17inch mbp late 2011 that has had this problem please help.
keyboard-backlight-less
2.5Ghz Intel Core i7
8GB Ram
OSX 10.7.5
SMC Veresion 1.70f5

Thanks Ogelthorpe, I found an excellent video (not in english but it didnt matter) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HNAGodYMNA .
What I found was that the keyboard backlight is intergrated into the black plastic cover that is between the motherboard and the back of the keys/LEDS and its all one piece back to the connector that connects to the motherboard under the LHS fan. I need more details to find out if the LEDS are controlled by a chip or what, but it seems to me that I need to visit an apple store/repairer, however this will be really difficult for me as Im in an isolated location. If there are further tests that I can conduct on my own, I would be grateful. Even if there are tests that Apple themselves conduct to find out what the problem is
Peter

...Another Spill. MBP Keyboard Backlight/trackpad problem

Hello,
A friend (yes he remains a friend) recently spilled red wine all over my new Macbook Pro. I was very upset at first, but have calmed down... after several weeks. I've dried it out and I'm taking it to Apple to get it cleaned.
The only clear problems that exist at the moment: the keyboard is not illuminating fully, it is only bright in the middle; the tap-to-click feature on the trackpad has a one-second delay before any command is registered.
The problem with the keyboard backlight, i think, is due to wine staining the sheet of plastic separating the keyboard from the LEDs behind it. Could anyone suggest a means of cleaning this or any other method of reviving the backlight, IF they have not short-circuited.
Any suggestions other than getting Apple to help with the unresponsive trackpad?
Thanks
Jamie

What I was trying to communicate when I added "which will also include the trackpad" to a previous post was that the top case, the keyboard, the trackpad and various other internal parts that are attached to the inside of the top case will ALL be replaced when Apple repairs the machine, because Apple considers the whole assembly to be one part. Cleaning the keyboard effectively is impossible, but it would be pointless even if it were possible, because Apple is just going to discard or recycle it. When Apple repairs a machine, it comes back in virtual like-new condition — there are no partial repairs. You may prefer not to spring for a complete overhaul, but that's what you're going to get — and pay for — regardless.

Keyboard backlight

After the initial trauma of a beer spill, that happened to land all over my MBP keyboard, I have realised that it still functions perfectly. The wine hasn't managed to get through to the inner workings or hardware of my mac and the only casualty seems to be the keyboard backlight. Although it seems that the backlight is still working the beer has stained the film that separates the keyboard from the internal hardware. The result: a few keys light up properly and the rest are incredibly dim.
I realise that it'd be near impossible to repair this problem myself and I have come to understand that I will most likely have to have the top case replaced. Does anyone have any advice or any hint as to what the cost may be to fix my keyboard?

BtrLuckNxTime wrote:
I did the "hold both up/down volume buttons for 5 secs" and the device rebooted!!
Great, @BtrLuckNxTime it normally takes about 10-12 seconds.
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Please help - keyboard backlight not working properly

The keyboard backlighting on my 15in early 2008 macbook pro stopped working properly about two weeks ago. I opened it at night to find that only the middle keys were lighting up. No spills, no drops or anything out of the ordinary. I have already reset the SMC (via sleep/restart/shutdown and shift/control/option/power), but no luck. Currently the only keys being lit are: 6 7 8 T Y U G H J B N. If anyone knows of a fix for this or anything else I should try, please help. Thanks.

You should take your MacBook Pro to Apple for repair.

Keyboard backlight not working - settings missing on MacBook 2,1??

I have a macbook 2,1 that was given to me by a friend about 6 months ago. It is in perfect condition except some seperation around the edges. So, I took into the Apple store a couple of days ago and they replaced the entire 'inside' of the macbook; meaning screen surround, keyboard and surrounding 'faceplate'. (Excuse the incorrect terminology) I also mentioned to them that the keyboard didn't have any backlighting (at least I have never seen it) and the tech said would also be repaired as a result of the keyboard replacement.
ANYWAY, I am home and the keyboard backlight is still not working. I searched mac help and found the following:
To set keyboard backlighting for a portable computer:
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Keyboard & Mouse, and then click Keyboard.Open the Keyboard pane of Keyboard & Mouse preferences
To enable backlighting, select the “Illuminate keyboard in low light conditions” checkbox.If you want to automatically shut off the backlight when your computer is idle, drag the slider to indicate when to turn it off.
The only thing I saw was an option for bluetooth - n/a, keyboard shortcuts settings to change shortcuts..obviously and the keyboard setting which only gives me the choice to
1. change the key repeat rate
2. change the delay until repeat rate and 3. a box to check/uncheck if I want to use the f1, f2, etc as the standard function keys.
There is also a button at the bottom left corner which says 'modify keys' which I believe is n/a.
I should also probably mention, when searching help, it also said "The light sensors are located in your computer’s speaker grilles, so make sure the grilles are not covered when you use your computer in low light conditions" . I have no speaker grilles (that I can see) but my speakers work. and it says; "IF the keyboard on your computer can be backlighted, you can set it so the keys can be visible in lowlight conditions". I guess the keyword here being IF so maybe this mac isn't supported for that but I think that it is from what the person at the Apple store told me after looking up my serial number.
Just to add, I did search the forum and found close to the same problems but with different types of macs so I thought I would ask. I am still learning the ins and outs of using Mac so I hope I asked the right questions and I'm not over expanding on the question too much.
I am sure there is a simple explanation...maybe?! So if someone could enlighten me, I would be very grateful!!!!
Thank you!!!!
Sarah

welcome

Replace Macbook pro 13 Keyboard/Backlight

After the initial trauma of a red wine spill, that happened to land all over my MBP keyboard, I have realised that it still functions perfectly. The wine hasn't managed to get through to the inner workings or hardware of my mac and the only casualty seems to be the keyboard backlight. Although it seems that the backlight is still working the wine has stained the film that separates the keyboard from the internal hardware. The result: a few keys light up properly and the rest are incredibly dim.
I realise that it'd be near impossible to repair this problem myself and I have come to understand that I will most likely have to have the top case replaced. Does anyone have any advice or any hint as to what the cost may be to fix my keyboard?

Hopefully this helps….I dont work for apple so I cannot tell you the exact price of repair cost and parts….However I can say I had whole keyboard replaced on my previous MBP (was covered under applecare) and on the form that listed the replacements the keyboard was listed as 275. Again this may or may not be pertinent but hey better then nothing hopefully!

Flashing keyboard backlighting

Since upgrading my 4 year old MacBook Pro to Lion the keyboard backlight oscillates at a rate of about 20 times per minute. Disabling backlighting in the keyboard control panel does nothing. Ideas?

Hi everyone.
I had a similar problem with my keyboard. I got it replaced, and when I started using it, the keyboard backlight oscillates at a rate of once every 2 seconds. I googled and followed a bunch of hints, specially reseting the PRAM and NVRAM without success. Since the laptop was out of warranty I decided to open it up. Aparently there was nothing wrong with it not any other components, nad surprisingly, the kb light stop turning on and off... it simply worked! However, everytime I tried to put it back in place, around one inch away from closing it, the oscillating behaviour came back, and would disappear when took it back. At first I though it could be an electromagnetic interference, but it wasnt.
Here's what was it: The guys who repaired the keyboard, left a slit in the dark tape, so the keyboard's light would shine onto the luminosity detector, creating a loop in the backlight system! A piece of scotch tape made the trick. now the surrounding of the lumi. cell are completely dark, such that it only receives light through the little whole/lens above it.
I don't know if that's the same problem, but I thought it would be good to share.

Unibody Macbook display issue and keyboard backlight issues while booting

I have a 13" aluminum macbook which has been having some issues when booting up. The machine seems to be booting just fine all the way up to the log in screen. The display is normal and everything seems fine. After I log in, the various pieces of the screen start to display (desktop icons, menu bar, etc) and my wallpaper is visible. After a few seconds, the display seems to degrade and the wallpaper image is visible but distorted. It is almost as if the machine is in some sort of safe mode (pardon the windows reference).
Normally, I have my macbook connected to an external display and external mouse/keyboard. After a reboot, this issue occurs. If I put the macbook in sleep mode, and then wake it by clicking the external mouse, the display reappears normally and everything is fine.
The problem is when I am NOT connected to these external devices. The screen stays distorted (like it has lost its full color range) and there are other issues. The keyboard backlight seems to be disables and highlighting text does not work normally. I have tried rebooting, removing the battery and rebooting, resetting the SMC, removing recent applications (chrome, quicklook, etc.). Has anyone heard of or experienced this behavior?
Thanks.

Have you called Applecare? If you sent the machine in and it came back with a cracked case, that seems like an Apple repair to me.
As for the display issue - I think I would accept it and move on. Unfortunately, with these ever-higher resolution displays, we have more dead pixels. Since no one would pay $3000 for a display with 100% no dead pixel guarantee, Apple has to alot for a few dead pixels being acceptable inorder to keep prices reasonable.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=22194
Check with other vendors, this is common practice with LCDs (even HDTVs).
I know it isn't great to hear this, but it is what it is.
iMac G5, MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.7)
iMac G5, MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.7)
iMac G5, MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.7)
iMac G5, MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.7)

My keyboard backlights is't work well

this is a macbook pro core i7 15"
a few weeks age i turn on my mac and the keyboards backlight are not working till last night when i watching a video the lights came up , and tommorow it's gone again , what do i do ??!!! :S

If you are still under warranty and/or have AppleCare, call them. Let them deal w/it.
Out of warranty, take your MBP to your local AS or an AASP. Diagnostic testing is FREE!
Something else to try: Update your OS to last version of Lion. Use Software Update or the Lion combo update to update your OS. Also, update everything SU has to offer for your computer. When done, repair permissions and restart your computer.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1411 Apple Portables: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) and http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379 Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM

Satellite S55 BIOS update to 1.60 has a problem with UEFI keyboard backlight control

I recently updated my BIOS to version 1.60 from 1.50. The update went well. However now the setting for the keyboard backlight control will not hold my setting. I don't wish the backlight to illuminate as it will use up power. When I enter my UEFI and change the setting to "OFF", then save and exit, the keyboard illumination appears to operate as expected. However, following a Windows restart, or shutdown and boot, the UEFI setting resets to "TIMER" with "Backlight Lighting Time" set to 0. If I leave the mode set to "Timer", and set "Backlight Lighting Time" to 10, again the backlight appears to operate properly. But a reboot resets the time to 0. I thought possibly I was not saving and exiting UEFI properly. To test this, I change the setting for the "Internal USB3.0 Controller from "Enable" to "Disable", then also set the backlight control to "OFF", did a save/exit. I found that the USB3.0 remained disabled, but the backlight control again reset to "Timer". The BIOS update was provided by the Toshiba Service Station app as an optional update, so it should be the right one for my laptop. Any help would be appreciated.
My laptop is a Satellite S55-A5295 and is running Windows 8.1 with BIOS 1.60 and EC 1.20.

Thank you for your response. When I purchased the laptop, I also bought a 2-year repair plan with Geek Squad. I took the device to the tech and it was his opinion that there might be a bug in the BIOS I installed. I asked if we could retro the BIOS to a previous version and he told me he didn't recommend it as there are always risks when updating the BIOS. He said it wasn't worth it as the device was stable with no other known issues besides the keyboard lighting. He recommended I contact Toshiba support to document the problem. This I did. However, I was told by Toshiba I was beyond my complimentary support and would have to pay $49 to correct the issue. I agreed to purchase the support. The tech had me try various resets including the hardware reset button but to no avail. At this point the tech informed me that I can always press "Fn-z" to cycle the lights off after boot/restart, and that my support time was ending. I only hope that the problem is with the BIOS and not with hardware such as BIOS memory, and that a new firmware update will correct the problem. I appreciate this forum and the people that are trying to help others correct their problems. Please keep up the good work.

Keyboard Backlighting issue?

Hi all. I'm having an issue with my new MBP... (Don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if it's a flaw with the MBP)
This has only happened when I wake my MBP from sleep and it's on battery power (haven't tried it plugged in yet... I'm currently at work). If I try to adjust the backlight for the keyboard, it doesn't work. There is a small circle with a line through it when I try to raise/lower the light (kind of like a no smoking sign). Whats going on? Anyone have any ideas?
Thanks!

I just got back from the genius bar, feeling like a fool, because my keyboard backlight would not turn on, even after checking all the settings in system preferences and pressing f8 and f10 and covering the speaker grilles to no avail. The Genius put his hands over the speaker grilles and asked me to push f10. Nothing happened. then he said hold down f10, and the keyboard backlight turned on! I said thanks and assumed it was user error, then drove 45 minutes back home. Now I am at home and the keyboard backlight won't turn on! The HUD display now shows how bright it should be and the display reacts to the covering of the speakers just fine. I am so frustrated. I was on hold for 41 minutes and now am on hold for 43 minutes after talking to someone who was going to get the genius back on the line with me. I just got the MBP back from repair where they replaced the logic board, and I assumed the reason it didn't work was that something didn't get plugged in all the way upon reassembly, and now I wonder that again...
If there is anything else software related I can do to troubleshoot this, please let me know.

Keyboard backlight repair

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