How to Turn on and Adjust the Keyboard Backlight on a Dell XPS 13

On a Dell XPS 13, press the keyboard-illumination key — F10, F5, or Right Arrow by model — and press again to cycle off, dim, and bright.

One press should bring the light back. When nothing happens, the function row is probably set to media mode and that press fires a brightness slider instead, or the laptop never shipped with a backlit keyboard. Two things decide how to turn on and adjust the keyboard backlight on a Dell XPS 13: the key your generation uses, and one BIOS setting that overrides every shortcut.

Which Key Turns On The XPS 13 Keyboard Backlight?

The key changes with the generation; the cycle never does. Off, dim, bright, off again — Dell’s support guidance describes that low-then-high sequence, so a second or third press is normal, not a fault.

Find the key by its icon, a keyboard shape with rays or dots, and press it alone first. If the function row is set to standard F1–F12 behavior, hold Fn while pressing. Trying both rules out the most common cause before you touch BIOS.

Backlighting is an option on XPS 13 laptops, not a default. Dell’s Setup and Specifications guide for each model states whether the keyboard is illuminated, and most configurations offer just two lit levels.

Dell publishes the shortcut set for each family, and the XPS 13 9310 reference guide details the function-row layout when a worn keycap hides the icon.

Settings That Override The Key

BIOS can hold the light off no matter which key you press. Shut down completely, power on, and tap F2 at the Dell logo. Under Keyboard, open Keyboard Illumination, choose Dim or Bright in place of Disabled, then Apply Changes and Exit. The keys light up on the next boot.

That same screen holds Function Key Behavior, which decides whether F1–F12 act as function or media keys — why a bare press works on one XPS 13 and needs Fn on another.

Windows settings and Dell utilities can add controls on supported systems, but the function row and BIOS decide whether the light works at all. Choosing a machine with the light built in beats troubleshooting later — our tested XPS 13 backlit keyboard picks cover those configurations.

Ambient light adds a second controller on some models. Dell’s XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 documentation notes the sensor can adjust keyboard backlighting and display brightness itself; disabling the Keyboard Illumination with ALS or Ambient Light Sensor entry returns manual control to the keys.

What To Check When The Keys Still Do Nothing

A missing BIOS entry means the hardware isn’t there. If Keyboard Illumination does not appear in BIOS Setup, that configuration has no backlit keyboard, and no key combination will change that.

The XPS 13 Plus 9320 has a documented defect. BIOS 2.15.0 and 2.16.1 could drop the Bright state, leaving only Off and Dim; BIOS 2.17.0 or later restores it. Install only the package built for your exact model.

Light that fades after a few idle seconds is a timeout, not a failure. A keyboard dark after a spill, or a chassis running hot and loud, points at hardware, and Dell recommends diagnostics or qualified service over opening the case.

Two habits waste the most time: trusting a spec-sheet photo instead of the Setup and Specifications guide, and pulling the bottom panel before the BIOS test — missing illumination entries point to detection faults, which Dell routes to diagnostics or service.

Work down the list in order:

1. Press the icon key alone, then with Fn, three or four times.
2. Match your model to the table above — F10, Right Arrow, and F5 all appear across generations.
3. Open BIOS with F2 and set Keyboard Illumination to Dim or Bright.
4. Flip Function Key Behavior when bare presses do nothing.
5. Update BIOS to the current build for your exact model.