On my laptop I have keyboard light.
I am not able to adjust it because I turned off Powarrmanagement. I cant turn it on or turn it off.
How is it possible to make it work?
I don’t have an answer, but I can say it’s not related to power management.
Maybe someone else has more experience with keyboard backlighting.
If the PM works (has a tick at the autostart gui) I can turn my keyboard backlights on with FN+UP or DOWN.
If the PM doesnt work (no tick at the autostart), than I am not able to turn it on.
Check if Your Function Keys Work Without a Power Manager
Follow these steps to test if your Fn+Up / Fn+Down keys work for keyboard backlight without using a Power Manager.
Start the ACPID Service
ACPID listens for special key events (like Fn keys). First, start it manually:
sudo systemctl start acpid
Then, enable it so it runs automatically on startup:
sudo systemctl enable acpid
Test If ACPID Detects Key Presses
Run this command:
acpi_listen
Now, press Fn+Up and Fn+Down on your keyboard.
- If you see output, your function keys are recognized, and we can create a custom action.
- If there is no output, your keyboard backlight might be controlled by another system process.
Let me know what happens! 
1 Like
Maybe you can leave PM ON and see if all other stuff are still working.
1 Like
Try this too
To turn on keyboard LED backlighting.
xset led on
and to turn off keyboard backlighting LEDs:
xset led off
Does this do something?
1 Like
I know I am a problem child…
sudo systemctl status acpid
â—Ź acpid.service - ACPI event daemon
Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/acpid.service; enabled; preset: di>
Active: active (running) since Tue 2025-03-18 19:20:55 CET; 15min ago
Invocation: 654035f1359e414cb541022d8dbab784
Docs: man:acpid(8)
Main PID: 551 (acpid)
Tasks: 1 (limit: 38300)
Memory: 388K (peak: 2.4M)
CPU: 8.975s
CGroup: /system.slice/acpid.service
└─551 /usr/bin/acpid --foreground --netlink
márc 18 19:35:48 joe-Asusgx502gw root[8392]: ACPI action undefined: ACPI0003:00
márc 18 19:35:50 joe-Asusgx502gw root[8395]: ACPI action undefined: PNP0C0A:03
márc 18 19:35:50 joe-Asusgx502gw root[8397]: ACPI action undefined: ACPI0003:00
márc 18 19:35:51 joe-Asusgx502gw root[8399]: ACPI action undefined: PNP0C0A:03
márc 18 19:35:51 joe-Asusgx502gw root[8401]: ACPI action undefined: ACPI0003:00
márc 18 19:35:54 joe-Asusgx502gw root[8427]: ACPI action undefined: ACPI0003:00
márc 18 19:35:56 joe-Asusgx502gw root[8444]: ACPI action undefined: PNP0C0A:03
márc 18 19:35:57 joe-Asusgx502gw root[8459]: ACPI action undefined: PNP0C0A:03
márc 18 19:35:57 joe-Asusgx502gw root[8461]: ACPI action undefined: ACPI0003:00
márc 18 19:35:59 joe-Asusgx502gw root[8465]: ACPI action undefined: ACPI0003:00
acpi_listen
button/kbdillumup KBILLUMUP 00000080 00000000 K
button/kbdillumup KBILLUMUP 00000080 00000000 K
button/kbdillumdown KBILLUMDOWN 00000080 00000000 K
button/kbdillumdown KBILLUMDOWN 00000080 00000000 K
xset wont do anything.
You could try enabling the power manager and adjusting its settings in the GUI as needed. This way, you can check if blanking, locking, and lid close behavior work fine with the power manager enabled.
In the README, I mention disabling or uninstalling xfce4-power-manager, but it might not be a big issue after all. So, it’s worth testing if things run smoothly with it enabled.
This Arch wiki is quite relevant and might help. 
2 Likes
I read through Arch wiki, and tried a search on Manjaro forum. As far as I understood its hardware specific and should install xev (from xorg-xev) or wev.
But first I will try turn on (on the gui) PM. I will make a check.
I will go through on readme.Write soon.
1 Like
I forgot to give reaction on this output.
The output below shows that there is a response from acpid when pressing the Fn key with the brightness up/down keys:
button/kbdillumup KBILLUMUP 00000080 00000000 K
button/kbdillumup KBILLUMUP 00000080 00000000 K
button/kbdillumdown KBILLUMDOWN 00000080 00000000 K
button/kbdillumdown KBILLUMDOWN 00000080 00000000 K
This means the system recognizes the key presses, but the brightness might not be changing as expected.
For hardware-specific issues like this, it’s best to search for solutions on the Arch Wiki or Manjaro Forum, as it covers a wider range of hardware compatibility topics.
The Mabox Forum mainly focuses on Mabox-specific issues.
However, we’re happy to help and will try to point you in the right direction first!
1 Like
-
I have edited my yesterday post. Please read.
-
I tried to enable PM from the GUI. I can adjust the keyboard light - but screen lock doesn’t work (None of the screenlocker is running).
-
I cant find the Readme doc. I searched in the manual. Getting started. I found many things but they are none related with the PM. Can you show me this part?
-
I think I should turn off PM GUI, and if you can help me find the way.
To get detailed information about your laptop’s keyboard,
including backlight support, you can use the following shell commands:
1. Get General Laptop Information
sudo dmidecode -t system
2. Get Keyboard Device Information
sudo libinput list-devices | grep -i keyboard
3. Check Available LED Devices (Including Keyboard Backlight)
ls /sys/class/leds/
4. Identify the Keyboard Backlight Vendor
brightnessctl --list | grep kbd
Answers:
- Get General Laptop Information
# dmidecode 3.6
Getting SMBIOS data from sysfs.
SMBIOS 3.2.1 present.
Handle 0x0001, DMI type 1, 27 bytes
System Information
Manufacturer: ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
Product Name: Zephyrus S GX502GW_GX502GW
Version: 1.0
Serial Number: K7NRCV013100270
UUID: 43a1b0b5-4511-ae4a-8e6e-d506aa3506e1
Wake-up Type: Power Switch
SKU Number:
Family: Zephyrus S
Handle 0x0007, DMI type 32, 20 bytes
System Boot Information
Status: No errors detected
Handle 0x002C, DMI type 12, 5 bytes
System Configuration Options
Option 1: SMI:00B26C
Option 2: DSN:
Option 3: DSN:
Option 4: DSN:
- Get Keyboard Device Information
Capabilities: keyboard
Capabilities: keyboard
Capabilities: keyboard
Capabilities: keyboard
Capabilities: keyboard
Capabilities: keyboard
Device: Asus Keyboard
Capabilities: keyboard
Device: Asus Keyboard
Capabilities: keyboard
Device: Asus Keyboard
Capabilities: keyboard pointer
Capabilities: keyboard
Capabilities: keyboard pointer
Capabilities: keyboard
Capabilities: keyboard
Device: AT Translated Set 2 keyboard
Capabilities: keyboard
- Check Available LED Devices (Including Keyboard Backlight)
asus::kbd_backlight input19::capslock input4::scrolllock
asus-wireless::airplane input19::compose input9::capslock
input18::capslock input19::kana input9::compose
input18::compose input19::numlock input9::kana
input18::kana input19::scrolllock input9::numlock
input18::numlock input4::capslock input9::scrolllock
input18::scrolllock input4::numlock phy0-led
- Identify the Keyboard Backlight Vendor
bash: brightnessctl: command not found
Thanks for the outputs.
just one more
Install
sudo pacman -S brightnessctl
and do again
brightnessctl --list | grep kbd
4.Identify the Keyboard Backlight Vendor
Device 'asus::kbd_backlight' of class 'leds':
Thank you
Try first if this works
Increase brightness:
brightnessctl --device='asus::kbd_backlight' set +10%
Decrease brightness:
brightnessctl --device='asus::kbd_backlight' set 10%-
Set a specific level (e.g., 50%):
brightnessctl --device='asus::kbd_backlight' set 50%
Does this do something?
Yes - all of these works.
brightnessctl --device='asus::kbd_backlight' set +10%
Updated device 'asus::kbd_backlight':
Device 'asus::kbd_backlight' of class 'leds':
Current brightness: 2 (67%)
Max brightness: 3
brightnessctl --device='asus::kbd_backlight' set 10%-
Updated device 'asus::kbd_backlight':
Device 'asus::kbd_backlight' of class 'leds':
Current brightness: 0 (0%)
Max brightness: 3
brightnessctl --device='asus::kbd_backlight' set 50%
Updated device 'asus::kbd_backlight':
Device 'asus::kbd_backlight' of class 'leds':
Current brightness: 2 (67%)
Max brightness: 3
That is good news. How to add keybindings and command to rc.xml.
Checking Key Codes for Brightness Control and Adding Keybindings in Openbox
1. Install xev (if not already installed)
Run the following command to install xev:
sudo pacman -S xorg-xev
2. Run xev to Find Key Codes
Start xev:
xev
A small white window will open.
Press the brightness control keys (e.g., brightness up/down).
In the terminal, you’ll see output showing the keycode and keysym for each key press.
Take note of the keysyms, such asXF86KbdBrightnessUpandXF86KbdBrightnessDown.
3. Edit Openbox Keybindings
Open the Openbox configuration file:
geany ~/.config/openbox/rc.xml
Add the following keybindings for brightness control inside the <keyboard> section:
<keybind key="XF86KbdBrightnessUp">
<action name="Execute">
<command>brightnessctl --device='asus::kbd_backlight' set +10%</command>
</action>
</keybind>
<keybind key="XF86KbdBrightnessDown">
<action name="Execute">
<command>brightnessctl --device='asus::kbd_backlight' set 10%-</command>
</action>
</keybind>
4. Save and Reload Openbox
After saving your changes, reload Openbox to apply them:
openbox --reconfigure
You should now be able to control the keyboard backlight using the assigned keys.
Yesss!! Its working.
Thank you.
ps.: I havent found the Readme to uninstall PM GUI. And have audio problem, but its another topic.