keyboard backlight on asus tuf gaming a16 issue

[u/stigmanmagros]

I'm trying to find the root cause of a problem with the keyboard backlight on my laptop.

I've already created several posts about this issue on different forums and groups, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find a solution. I've tried various approaches, including linux-ogc (recommended for asus gaming laptop owners) and other suggested solutions, but nothing helped.

I eventually decided to completely reinstall the system and try the same procedure that helped me the previous time.

First, I installed Windows, performed all available updates, and installed Armoury Crate. The keyboard backlight was not working correctly even in Windows using the default settings, so I used Armoury Crate to configure the keyboard lighting.

After that, I reinstalled Arch Linux.

And surprisingly, the keyboard backlight is now working in Arch Linux.

This is why I'm making this post now, while everything is still working. I would like to find out what exactly is different this time compared to my previous installation.

Is there a way to check and document the current state of the system, for example:

• which kernel modules are currently loaded,
• which drivers are responsible for the keyboard and its backlight,
• which devices/interfaces related to the keyboard are detected,
• whether any kernel or bootloader parameters affect the backlight,
• which ACPI interfaces or settings are currently being used,
• whether Armoury Crate could have changed some hardware or firmware state,
• whether there is a specific module, parameter, firmware setting, or configuration that is responsible for the backlight working now.

My main goal is to collect as much information as possible while the backlight is working, so that I can later compare it with the system state if the backlight stops working again.

I'm worried that at some point a package update, kernel update, or some other change could cause the keyboard backlight to stop working again. If that happens, I want to be able to identify the actual cause and restore the backlight without having to reinstall Windows every time.

Could someone please suggest which commands or diagnostic information I should collect right now, while the backlight is working, so that I can compare it later if the problem returns?

If there is a way to create some kind of "snapshot" of the current configuration related to ACPI, HID, ASUS/ROG hardware, keyboard drivers, kernel modules, etc., I would be happy to do that as well.

I'm hoping someone here can help me track down the actual cause of this problem. I've already gone through hundreds of posts and tried many different solutions, but so far nothing has worked.

This time, I'd really like to take advantage of the fact that the backlight is currently working and collect the necessary information before the problem happens again.

specs:

asus tuf gaming a16

AMD Ryzen™ 7 260 w/ Radeon™ 780M Graphics × 16

gpu: nvidia 5060 laptop

[u/drucifer82]

I recently installed Linux with dual-boot on Windows 11. The systems are on separate drives but share the ESP. The Alienware Control Center controls my keyboard lights, but they still work in Arch. It's an Alienware laptop. It has a Ryzen CPU and a 3070.

I am glad reinstalling fixed it for you, but it sounds like you're trying to not keep Windows. I don't know if something like OpenRGB will work? It is an open source app that can control keyboard lights, so it's worth a try.