Instructions on how to turn on the mechanical keyboard light in the simplest and most detailed way

To help users easily type or operate in the dark, many keyboard manufacturing brands have added modern LED lighting systems to their products. In addition to lighting capabilities, these keyboard LED lights can also change color to suit the user's preferences. So if you still don't know how to turn on a simple mechanical keyboard light at home, don't skip the article below with TipsMake.

Information about mechanical keyboard lights

Before learning about how to turn on the mechanical keyboard light, users need to understand the basic information about what is the mechanical keyboard light?

What is a mechanical keyboard light?

The mechanical keyboard light is a series of LED lights designed below the mechanical keyboard. The purpose is to help users easily identify keys and perform keyboard operations in low light conditions.

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Structure of LED lights on mechanical keyboard

LED lights used for mechanical keyboards are often designed with many different shapes such as round, square or flat. Round LED lights are the most popular type and have a lower price than the other types. 

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Meanwhile, square LED lights are a great choice for gamers and mechanical keyboard fans because the light is more beautiful and vivid. However, square LED lights are often more expensive than round LED lights and are quite difficult to find. Because this type of LED light is only sold in stores that provide specialized mechanical keyboard LED lights.

Finally, there are flat LED lights or sticker LED lights. This type of lamp is often used in industrial production. Because to create this type of lamp, the supplier must use high technology to solder the lamp, so flat LED lamps are quite expensive and very difficult to replace. In return, this type of light has the advantage of being extremely compact, convenient, and built into specialized mechanical keyboards.

Classification of mechanical keyboard lights

Currently, mechanical keyboard lights are divided into 3 main types:

RGB LEDs

RGB LEDs have three basic colors: red, green and blue. The special feature of this type of lamp is that it displays three colors in the same bulb. Thanks to that, users can freely adjust the lights according to their preferences and needs. 

On the other hand, because the RGB LED is a combination of 3 different LED bulbs, to install this type of light on a mechanical keyboard requires 4 power supply pins. In addition, the price of mechanical keyboards equipped with RGB LEDs is often much higher than regular monochrome LED keyboards.

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Monochrome LED

Unlike LEG RGB lights, monochrome LED lights only display one color and gamers can only adjust the brightness of the light. However, you can still change the color of your mechanical keyboard by combining multiple LED colors on your keyboard. The efficiency it brings is no worse than when you use RGB LEDs.

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RGB underbody LED

This type of LED light is preferred by custom mechanical keyboard players. Below each switch is a single LED. In particular, some RGB bulbs in this system can also be programmed according to the user's preferences.

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>> See more: Instructions on how to turn on/off Windows 10 firewall in the easiest way.

Instructions on how to turn on the mechanical keyboard light in detail and quickly

To turn on the LED light on the mechanical keyboard, users can apply one of the two methods below:

Instructions on how to turn on the mechanical keyboard light using hard keys

One of the simplest ways to help activate the LED light effect on a mechanical keyboard is to use the following hard key combinations:

1. Fn+1 : Display monochrome LED effect. If you want to change the color of the light, just press Fn+1 multiple times.
2. Fn+2: The LED light will automatically change colors continuously (usually 7 colors) at a slow speed in a loop.
3. Fn+3: This key combination will help you change the color to your preference, but there are very few mechanical keyboards on the market that can do this.
4. Fn+4: All 7 colors will light up in order and then fade.
5. Fn+5: Allows users to choose their favorite color, because only when you press a button will that button flash.
6. Fn+6: Displays a sparkling and extremely beautiful starlight effect. If you want to change the color, just press Fn + 6 again.
7. Fn+7: A gentle wave effect will appear on the keyboard, creating a new and unique feeling for the user.
8. Fn+8: The colors will create the effect of small waves drifting to the sides.

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Currently on the market, users can find a number of mechanical keyboards designed with a set of hard keys used to adjust the backlight LEDs, which are arrows. Not only do they help users easily turn on and off the backlight, but these keys also have the function of helping to adjust the jumping speed or light intensity of the LED light, etc.

How to change the color of the mechanical keyboard using software

Besides turning on the basic mechanical keyboard light with a hard key combination, users can also change the color of the LED light using Corsair iCUE software. However, this method only applies to the Corsair K68 RGB Mechanical Gaming keyboard line. The steps are as follows:

1. Step 1 : First, visit https://www.corsair.com/us/en/downloads to download Corsair iCUE software. After downloading and setting up, open the application and click on Devices and select the icon. keyboard.

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1. Step 2: Click on Onboard Profiles and delete all the default slots in this section one by one.
2. Step 3: Select the Profiles section and click on the file with the word HW in the name (note that profiles without the word HW are files that only work when the software is open). Next, select Hardware Lighting and select the default settings for the app. Then click the Delete Effect icon .
3. Step 4 : Click on the plus icon to create a new profile. In this section, you can freely adjust the mechanical keyboard lighting according to your preferences by clicking on the available effects placed inside the Custom column such as Rainbow wave, Color Shift, Color Wave, etc.
4. Step 5: Finally, click on Profiles to select the profile name you just edited. Then click on Onboard Profiles , select Empty and save the newly created file by clicking the Save button .

Notes before changing and adjusting lights

Before starting to replace and adjust the mechanical keyboard lighting, users should check whether your keyboard is monochrome LED or RGB LED. To do that, you can open the light circuit to see, if the light has 2 pins, it is monochrome and if it has 4 pins, it is an RGB LED.

When replacing LED lights, you need to pay attention to the firmware. This is a special software used to control LED lights on mechanical keyboards or other electronic devices. If after replacing the lamp the LED does not light up, it may be because you have not installed the firmware software in your computer.

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Epilogue

Above are detailed instructions on how to turn on the mechanical keyboard light in the simplest and fastest way at home. Hopefully, through the sharing from this article, users will be able to know how to adjust the mechanical keyboard lighting to suit their needs and preferences. Good luck.

Lesley Montoya

Update 10 October 2023