Asus F17 new keyboard backlight, which remains off.
SolvedMr_Tintin Posted messages 63 Registration date Status Membre Last intervention -
Hello, my issue is summarized in the header of my question title; for a bit more detail: I recently purchased an Asus Tuf-Gaming F17 (not for gaming, but for standard, classic, and usual use). I chose it because I previously had another Asus Tuf-Gaming, the A17, which gave me complete satisfaction (and was running on W10); the F17 runs on W11. They look alike like two peas in a pod, and I only noticed that its keyboard remained off after completing all the initial setup routines, updates, synchronization, downloading my used apps, etc... (I only noticed it afterward - and I blame myself - because I was so excited and thrilled to have a new nice toy and jewel that I rushed to configure it as best and as quickly as possible). One thing raised my suspicion (but is it perhaps normal?), is that after having configured everything 'to perfection' (like its little brother A17, in fact), upon a restart, it presented me with a ~ full-screen BIOS window with a black background, with paragraphs of lines and especially the term "update" with 2 buttons to choose to click at the bottom "yes" or "no" (the other lines were in French); being a little intrigued and finding this somewhat anachronistic (I had just configured it, it was working well / and I don't remember my A17 presenting such a window at startup), at this first presentation, I clicked "no". During another restart the next day, the BIOS update window appeared again, and still intrigued I thought for a bit before clicking one of the 2 buttons, but barely 30 seconds had passed at most before I chose which button to press, that the BIOS update launched by itself. And it was the next day that I realized the keyboard remained off; also, just to clarify: it stays off, but its keyboard shortcuts for brightness intensity or lighting mode (key 'fn' + 'up or down arrows' for brightness intensity, and 'right and left' for lighting mode) "work" in the sense that they bring up their little overlay at the bottom of the screen (as they should), but nothing responds; keyboard off. Could someone see if I made a mistake, or how to recover this function (which I got used to on my A17)? Thank you.
9 réponses
Hello,
The fact that the action+FN keys are recognized eliminates a shortcut recognition problem, so it really seems to be centered on the failed activation of the backlighting.
I took a look in the F17 manual, on page 38 it indeed mentions your 4 keys and no others regarding keyboard backlighting.
Note that the manual specifies the use of Aura; it may be relevant to reinstall the software responsible for this solution ("Armoury Crate Control Interface" and "Armoury Crate & Aura Creator Installer"), you can find them on the F17 support page, here is an example.
Also, take a look in the BIOS & FIRMWARE section in case a newer BIOS has been released.
The MAANGs have no oil but they have data!
Do you feel my Big Data?
Sacrifice some freedoms for more security and you lose them ALL.
ALL YOUR DATABASE ARE BELONG TO US
Good evening, and thank you Lckydu43 for your reply and the information it contains. However, although I tried to take a look with good will, I believe I am not skilled enough in troubleshooting and computer tinkering, as I was unable to restore the backlighting of my keyboard. I would like to summarize the actions I have taken before and since your response: I went to the 'Device Manager' to the 'Keyboards' item, where when opened two related sub-items regarding the keyboard appear, for each I requested to update (by right-clicking), and it responded "The best drivers for your device are already installed." I did the same for 'Armoury Crate Control Interface' (still via the device manager): same response. Then, I directly launched the Armoury app (which I occasionally saw on my A17 via small windows for update requests / but I never used it, thinking it was an app dedicated to gamers; which I am not), and there, I made quite a few updates (almost all cartridges for the various elements it offered), downloads, installations, and reboots... with the keyboard still off... As for the BIOS: after successfully getting in ;), I navigated through it (a little) with great caution and prudence, but without really knowing what to do or what corresponded to what; I just saw at one point (I don't remember the menu title) a banner (among others) where it said a line 'Amoury', and to the right of this line 'enabled' (where my smartphone translation app tells me it means 'activated'), so I didn't touch anything; in this window, all the other banners were also set to 'enabled', except for one whose title consisted of 2 letters (from memory ~ "pr"??), which was 'disabled'; but not knowing what it corresponded to, I preferred not to touch it. That's where I stand at the moment, thank you.
Good evening
It will be a pleasure; if we can solve your problem, it could help others too :-)
- I went into the "Device Manager" under the "Keyboards" item, where when opened, 2 sub-items related to the keyboard open, and for each of them, I requested to update, and it replied "The best drivers for your device are already installed."
"Normal", these drivers are related to the functioning of the key matrix. Even the function keys are not managed here but by third-party software! But that's that.
- I did the same for "Armoury Crate Control Interface" via the device manager: same response
I expected to find it in the installed software and not in the drivers, it might be worth taking a look in the installed programs if it's not there. If it is, download Geek Uninstaller and uninstall it with this software. Reinstall the version found on the Asus support site and try again.
- Then, I launched the Armoury app and there I updated almost all the various elements it offered me: downloads, installations, and restarts, but the keyboard remains off
Arf.
- As for the BIOS: I just saw a line "Armoury: enabled", so I didn't touch anything; in this window, all other banners were set to 'enabled' except one whose title was made up of 2 letters (from memory ~ "pr" ??.), which was 'disabled': I preferred not to touch it.
That's the best thing to do; it's better to be able to go back and modify a parameter where you are sure that messing it up and having to fumble around to reactivate it is less desirable :-)
It might be helpful to post a photo of that screen and everything you can see on it; external views might notice parameters that need correction.
A hint, the keyboard backlight, in English, is called "keyboard backlight".
Hello,
Here is what ASUS recommends for this type of problem:
Hello,
Here is what ASUS recommends for this type of problem:
https://www.asus.com/fr/support/FAQ/1044851/
Very difficult to catch a black cat in a dark room.
Especially when it's not there...
Hello,
Another troubleshooting avenue:
Physically, the keyboard backlight is controlled by a ribbon cable separate from the other keyboard ribbons.
Since it continues to not illuminate, this ribbon may be unplugged/damaged/missing (strike out the irrelevant mentions)
If it is under warranty, return it. Otherwise, disassemble it.
The MAANGs don't have oil but they have data!
Can you feel my Big Data?
Sacrifice a few freedoms for more security and you'll lose them ALL.
ALL YOUR DATABASE ARE BELONG TO US
Good evening Luckydu43 and Baladur13, and thank you for your help in trying to solve this problem. Current status: the keyboard is still unfortunately off. Here’s what I've done (or rather started doing from your proposed solutions, when I have the time, which... doesn't last all day...): in the support link from Baladur13 which offers a list of 7 troubleshooting steps to attempt (and I intend to go through all of them), I've only done the 1st item (problem not solved); before starting on the 2nd item ("Restore BIOS settings"), I wanted to ask you if this operation completely resets my F17 to factory settings, thus stripping it of all the apps I've installed and synchronized, as I've put quite a few on it! (if that's the case, too bad, I'll have to go through it). Luckydu43, I want to clarify that 'Armoury Crate' is indeed present in the list of installed applications (yesterday it was only in the drivers / I hadn't thought about the app itself), under 2 distinct titles ("Armoury Crate" and "Armoury Crate Service") where it was only in the '3 points menu' of the first that I made a tweak (since only it offers 'Advanced options') namely 'Repair' and 'Reset', followed by a restart, still the same, keyboard remains off. It might be a cable issue as you mentioned, but in that case I’m not going to take apart the device, I’m rather thinking of returning it since it’s still under warranty. That's 'everything' I did today. Luckydu43 (or even Baladur13) would you like a screenshot of a specific window?
Thanks again.
Good evening
- before restoring the BIOS settings, I would like to ask you if this operation will completely reset my F17 to factory settings
Restoring the BIOS settings will not delete anything from the system. Go ahead and try it. If the boot is stuck after this operation (nothing serious, honestly), we will guide you.
Feel free to go through anything related to the keyboard. Recent BIOS versions also offer a translation in French, so don't hesitate to change the BIOS language setting in "Settings"
- "Armoury Crate" and "Armoury Crate Service" are indeed listed among the installed applications
Try uninstalling both with the Geek Uninstaller tool, which also removes the only data associated with these programs (registry, user profile)
Restart, download the 2 programs from the Asus support site, reinstall them.
- I'm not going to take apart the device, but I'm rather considering returning it since it is still under warranty
If none of this changes anything with what has already been done, YES.
Luckydu43, you are recommending that I absolutely uninstall the 2 "Armoury" with 'Geek Uninstaller', since both apps have a 3-dot menu with "Uninstall"?
Thank you.
Hello Luckydu43!
I'm happy and want to give a big thank you (as well as to Baladur13 for his kind participation) because the keyboard backlight is working again!!! Just like on my old A17, with the different color modes, as well as brightness adjustment (through the dedicated shortcuts mentioned in a previous post). But... it would have been too simple (as they say...) if there wasn't a little 'but', because having recovered this long-sought functionality, I thought another one would follow that I haven't mentioned, but which I thought was part of the 'cosmetic' settings of the computer, namely the choice and activation of a "screen mode" among 8 offered: "Default", "Racing", "Scenery", "RTS/RPG", "FPS", "Cinema", "Eye care" and "Vivid", selectable also via keyboard shortcut ('fn' + 'Windows' + 'V'), which worked on my A17; where I got used to working in "Eye care", and which should also be controlled by Armoury-Crate because the small gray overlay at the bottom of the screen indicating the selected mode is of the same nature as those indicating the backlight configuration.
So what have I continued to do to get the backlight back?
First, the day before yesterday, I created an account with Asus, to be able to provide all the characteristics that might be requested (serial number, model number, BIOS version, etc.) in anticipation of the list of 7 troubleshooting operations that Baladur13 suggested, as well as in order to download the Armoury-Crate apps, as you suggested.
Yesterday I opted to start uninstalling the Armoury apps with your link 'Geek Uninstaller'; after clicking it takes you to the homepage of the geekuninstaller site, where 2 downloadable programs are offered, one 'free' and one 'pro' (paid), I chose the free one. After downloading, installing, decompressing, and running it, its command interface is a window (not very large) that lists all the programs I have on the computer; spotting my 2 Armoury apps ("ARMOURY CRATE Service" & "Armoury Crate Service Core") on 2 lines, I started with the first one (right-click \ Uninstall \ which was followed by a series of small progress windows of uninstallation, with a restart afterwards); then going back into the interface to uninstall the 2nd Armoury app from the list, I noticed it was no longer there, and that the first uninstallation had removed both application lines. So to be sure that I no longer have any Armoury-Crate app on the computer, I go through the taskbar to "Installed Applications": I still see in the banner "Armoury-Crate"... I went back into the geekuninstaller interface to remove other programs that seemed (by their name) related to my problem, namely: "AURA lighting effect add-on (32-bit)", "AURA lighting effect add-on x64" and "AURA Service (32-bit)"; I then returned to "Installed Applications" via the taskbar to uninstall the "Armoury-Crate" banner via its 3-point menu (confirmed by checking in "Installed Applications"). Some program names, also, listed in the command interface of geekuninstaller made me question whether to delete them or not - I didn't do it - (the final result shows that it didn't have any impact on the recovery of my backlight / but maybe for the 'screen modes'??) which are: "ASUS Framework Service", "ASUS Hotplug Controller", "ASUS Monitor Control" and "ASUS Smart Display Control".
Next, I downloaded the 'Armoury-Crate' and 'Aura Creator Installer' drivers via my newly created Asus account (the 2 drivers are in the same ".exe"), which led to the recovery of my backlight. But, as for the choice of "screen mode," not yet recovered, I must specify that when I downloaded the 2 drivers yesterday ('Armoury-Crate' and 'Aura Creator Installer') from my Asus account to a driver and tool download page, there are other Armoury-Crate drivers (.exe) on this page (cf: 'Armoury Crate Full Installation Package', 'Armoury Crate SE Installer', 'Armoury Crate Uninstall Tool', 'Armoury Crate Lite Log Tool') that I did not download. I must specify that after downloading these 2 drivers, there was a phase where I entered the Armoury-Crate software (which is a small universe of settings and configurations in itself), where I tried to configure as best as possible (but without certainty, as not everything was very clear to me) among a multitude of dashboards and device and system configurations... (well, I recovered my backlight that's the main thing, but I'm not too sure if it comes from the downloaded '.exe', or from my fiddling around in the Armoury-Crate software...). So, to recover the choice of screen mode, I think I know the way to go. Anyway, thanks again, and I mark this as resolved because I have recovered my backlight!!!
Looking forward to it, glad we have a success! \o/
Let's move on to the screen part.
First, a situation update. Open services.msc, check:
- ASUS Framework Service
- ASUS Keyboard Hotkeys Service
- ASUS Monitor Control
If they are stopped, start them (with automatic startup)
If they are missing (some or all):
- Let me know which ones
- While waiting for a response, go to the support site (I haven't received confirmation of the exact F17 model so I'll leave that to you) and download the latest version from them (not necessarily the "heaviest"):
- ASUS System Control Interface v3
- ASUS Smart Display Control
Only after doing all that, if the keyboard shortcuts are still inactive:
This can be done from Armoury Crate, don't lose your good habits there!
In "Settings" or "Configuration" you should find the part for shortcuts or the screen. You'll need to navigate.
Hello Luckydu43,
Some news (after getting over my surprise regarding your silence, following your very appreciated and effective initial advice), concerning the last part of your post, which I have thus resolved to implement ‘like a grown-up’…
Well: I have downloaded the 2 drivers you mentioned (via my Asus customer account); just to clarify: the installation assistant informed me at one point that ‘The existing version of the ASUS System Control Interface driver for your device is up to date, the installation will finish’, only for this first driver, not for the second one (I continued to the end, normally). A restart was requested after installing the second one. Restart completed; drum roll: no, the keyboard shortcut that allowed me to select a screen mode on the A17 does not work on the F17 (and there are reasons to believe it’s the same since it’s also the case regarding the keyboard backlighting that works on both PCs). So, I went into Armoury-Crate… (where just like at Asus, I also created an account, filled out my profile, etc.); it’s not exactly a walk in the park (you must need to be a geek-gamer…). Anyway, after countless trials and searches (and almost as many obstacles and stumbles…), I finally found in Armoury-Crate, a window (through the ‘GameVisual’ menu) presenting 8 cartridges titled each after one of the 8 screen modes (which I had listed in my post from November 21), and simply clicking on one of these cartridges > instantly applies the screen mode on which you clicked (and without needing to log into your Armoury account; just by calling up the homepage of its interface). So, I’m good with that. (I looked in a few forums and FAQs, it seems to be the only way to change screen modes…). Thank you.
Hello,
Glad the answers work for you :-)
I had already started a reply but I must have been interrupted and thought I posted it.
Well, the features are there, I’d be tempted to suggest an update for the Armoury Crate Control Interface or even Armoury Crate itself, but as they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".
The ATK Package is no longer there like before, which was solely responsible for keyboard shortcuts; it’s integrated into the big software suite Armoury Crate.
From my point of view, that’s resolved too; it’s a pity we haven't fixed everything, but since you’re already doing well, "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".
Hello Luckydu43,
Thank you for your response (which I would have liked to reply to earlier, but I couldn't too much \ times are tumultuous…). So I’ll leave it at that with my 2 features restored (even though I would have preferred to have the same keyboard shortcut for the screen modes, but that's just 'greed'... \ to the point that on Sunday I went back to the store where I bought it [the one with a little bird in the first letter of its name] to see if I could find an F17 on display; there wasn't one, but another Asus model [which I don't remember the model number] that was the same with a backlit keyboard; and I asked the sales assistant if he could unlock the laptop so I could check a function on an Asus I bought from them - he kindly agreed - and there: no keyboard shortcuts were working!.. neither for backlighting nor for screen mode; and I took a look at its Armoury, and the 'Game Visual' menu sent me the window for screen mode cartridges, but they weren't responding… (Armoury must have been poorly configured). Well, that reassures me a bit and makes me think that shortcuts like on the A17 probably aren't common anymore. I'm really glad that in the end I still recovered my 2 features, and as you said: when it works, don’t touch it.
Thank you!
Good evening Luckydu43,
Thank you for your tips and wise advice, I will look into the latest ones as soon as possible and let you know. Thanks!
Hello Luckydu43,
So, following your very latest instructions, and wanting to follow them as closely as possible (that is to say 'step by step') to avoid skipping steps or... messing things up (I'm capable of that...), I am writing down here the results regarding the first part of your guidelines:
- I went into 'services.msc', and there are none of the 3 ASUS programs you mentioned; however, there are some others, which are as follows (in full): 'ASUS App Service' / 'ASUS AURA SYNC lighting service' / 'ASUS Optimization' / 'ASUS Software Manager' / 'ASUS Switch' / 'ASUS System Analysis' / 'ASUS System Diagnosis' / 'ASUS Update Service (asus)' / 'ASUS Update Service (asum)' / 'AsusCertService' and 'AsusROGLSLService Download ROGLSLoader'; I didn't touch anything here; however, for your information, I noticed: 'Armoury Crate Control Interface' and 'ARMOURY CRATE Service', as well as 'Aura Wallpaper Service', to mention Armoury and Aura (of which only the lines I am transcribing are present) which I believe are related to my sought functionality, whether directly or indirectly.
For the second part of your instructions, I went through my Asus account to their 'tools and drivers' section, where indeed the 2 you mentioned exist; I didn't want to download them before having your viewpoint on the first part (and to avoid short-circuiting anything).
Looking forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely.