How to Turn Keyboard Light on/off on MacBook

The MacBook keyboard is designed for the perfect fit for the user and looks great to boot. Yet many people just don’t get along with the backlight on the keyboard. I will show you how to turn the keyboard light on/off on MacBook.

One of the quickest ways to change the backlight on the keyboard is as followed.

  1. Click on Control Center in the MacBook taskbar
  2. On the control center click on Keyboard Brightness
  3. Adjust the keyboard brightness with the slider bar

It is not always easy following along with a how-to with a simple list. So I have the how-to with pictures and, if you look below, even video instructions.

How to Turn Keyboard Light on/off on MacBook

On the new MacBook Air M1, you no longer have the option to manually adjust the keyboard backlight with the F keys.

Yet with this said if you really want these keys back you will need some key-remapping software from the App store. The keys are still on the MacBook Pro as these have the Touch Bar.

Not all is lost and there are still two different ways to change your keyboard backlight on the MacBook Air. As with most things Apple they have made it easy to still achieve the ability to turn the backlight on/off.

Adjust Macbook Keyboard Light With Control Center

The first way to change the MacBook keyboard light is the quickest possible way. With that said, some people prefer to let Apple do the job for them manually and that is just below this first method.

Step 1. Click on Control Center in the MacBook taskbar

Step 2. On the control center click on Keyboard Brightness

MacBook Control Center
MacBook Control Center

Step 2. Adjust the keyboard brightness with the slider bar

Turning the slider all the way to the left will turn the keyboard light off.

Control Center > Keyboard Brightness
Control Center > Keyboard Brightness

Adjust Keyboard Backlighting Automatically

If you don’t want to deal with adjusting the backlight and just want Apple to take care of the job. Well, this is possible to allow Apple to sort out the adjustment of the backlight.

This method below will auto-adjust the backlight on the keyboard. so, when you are in a bright room the backlight will be on the highest setting. Then when you are in a dark room the backlight will be on a low setting.

Step 1. In the top left-hand corner click the Apple Menu ()

Mac Menu Bar
Mac Menu Bar

Step 2. From the Apple menu select Keyboard

System Preferences > Keyboard
System Preferences > Keyboard

Step 3. Now on the keyboard page select “Adjust keyboard brightness in low light

You can also select “Turn keyboard backlight off after” if you want the backlight to turn off if you are not using the keyboard.

System Preferences > Keyboard Box
System Preferences > Keyboard Box

Turn your Mac keyboard’s backlighting on or off Video

If you are someone who prefers video then I have you covered with this simple-to-follow video on how to Turn your Mac keyboard’s backlighting on or off in a few different ways.