How to the Change the Keyboard Color on a PC: Shortcuts & More

An easy-to-follow guide to change the backlight color of your RGB keyboard

Co-authored by Darlene Antonelli, MA

Last Updated: January 31, 2023

Using a Keyboard Shortcut

|

Dell Laptops

|

Lenovo Legion Laptops

|

MSI Laptops

|

Tips

Does your desktop or laptop computer have an RGB backlit keyboard? Whether you have a gaming laptop or standalone RGB keyboard, it's easy to change the color of the LEDs that illuminate your keys. Depending on your model, you may even be able to cycle through colors automatically. This wikiHow tutorial will walk you through changing your keyboard color on any Windows PC.

Things You Should Know

Most Windows 10 and 11 computers respond to FN + C, Fn + Alt, or Fn + Ins to change the keyboard color.
If you have a Dell laptop with an RGB keyboard, you can add up two additional custom colors in the BIOS.
Most gaming laptops and gaming keyboards come with a software utility that makes it easy to change RGB lighting for your keyboard and other components.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Using a Keyboard Shortcut

1
Depending on your keyboard, you may be able to change with a keyboard shortcut. On most systems, the keyboard shortcut involves the Fn key. Try any of these keyboard shortcuts to cycle through all available RGB keyboard colors. This isn't possible on all backlit keyboards.
- Fn + C
- Fn + Alt (the one on the right)
- Fn + Ins
- Fn + - or +
- Fn + 1, Fn + 2, through Fn + 0.
- Fn + Spacebar
- If there is no keyboard shortcut for your model, you can use your RGB customization panel to change your keyboard and other colors.
- You'll see a color wheel where the default colors are white, red, green, and blue. If there are other colors that you'd like to add, you can do so in BIOS, but you can only add two colors.
2
If you see a pop-up when pressing the key combination, select Lighting. Sometimes pressing the shortcut will simply change the color of the keyboard. Other times, it will open a panel that prompts you to customize your RGB scheme.
- Click Keyboard if you have more than one device option.
Advertisement
3
Select a color mode. You can pick to have the color appear static, animated, or off.
- Pick Static if you want to pick a solid color from the color wheel.
4
Pick your color. Once you've picked Static, you're able to select a color from the color wheel instead of pre-selected colors.
- If you chose something other than Static, you can only choose a color from the offered selection.
- You can also change the colors in Settings > Set Keyboard Theme or, if you're using Windows 11, search for "Keyboard Theme" and make your color selections.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Dell Laptops

1
Press Fn+C. If your Dell laptop has a backlit keyboard with the ability to change LED colors, you can instantly switch between colors with this keyboard shortcut. On most Dell laptops, white, red, green, and blue are the default active colors.
- If you have a Dell Latitude laptop with an RGB backlight keyboard, you can add two more colors in BIOS.^{[1]
  X
  Research source} Other models may have more or fewer colors to choose from.
2
Open the BIOS to add more colors. To get into BIOS, reboot your laptop, and then press F2 repeatedly as soon as it turns back on to open the system menu.
- Choose BIOS if prompted.
3
Go to System Configuration. Since your mouse won't work, use the arrow keys on your keyboard and press Enter when the right option is selected.
4
Select RGB Keyboard Backlight. The right side of the window will change to let you make changes.
5
Use the input boxes to add your color. On the right, you can use the boxes to set your color and use it.
- Keep in mind that you can only add 2 colors.
6
Click Apply and then Exit. Your laptop will restart with your new colors added. You can now use Fn + C to switch keyboard colors.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Lenovo Legion Laptops

1
Press Fn+Spacebar to turn on your keyboard backlight. If your keyboard is not lit up, this will turn on the default color.
2
Open iCue and select your laptop or profile. You can use the free software that came with your Lenovo Legion laptop to change the colors of your keyboard depending on what you're doing.
- If you haven't installed iCue, you can download it from http://corsair.com/downloads.
- Select a profile to edit its colors. In the Edit Profile box, you'll see menus that allow you to link the profile to actions, and change menu icons and colors.
3
Select the Instant Lighting tab in iCue. This is the fastest way to select new static colors for your keyboard.^{[2]
X
Research source}

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

MSI Laptops

1
Open SteelSeries Engine. You should see the SteelSeries icon in your taskbar. Right-click it and select Open SteelSeries GG.
2
Click Engine. It's in the menu on the left side of the window.
3
Click MSI 3 Zone RGB Keyboard. Depending on your model, the number of zones may be different.
4
Select your colors. On the keyboard that's on the screen, you'll see a tile below a section with a color in it. Click that tile to see a color slider.
- Once you click the section tile, you have the option to change the lighting type, like steady, ColorShift, Multi Color Breathe, and Disable Illumination. For each type, there's a different color selection slider.
- After you've picked a lighting type, use the color slider to pick your color. If you have something like Multi Color Breathe selected, you'll need to click the slider pins under "Breathe Pattern" and choose multiple colors for the lights to change between.
5
Click Close and Save when you're done. You can also click the X in the top right corner of the window to close the program.
- You can also create presets that you can change throughout the day. Press FN + 1-0 to cycle through the presets.^{[3]
  X
  Research source}