If your keyboard has RGB backlighting, you can change its color in Windows 11, either with the built-in Dynamic Lighting feature or with your laptop or keyboard maker’s app. If your keyboard has a single-color backlight (usually white), you can adjust its brightness but not its color. This guide helps you figure out which you have and walks through both methods.
Quick Answer
Go to Settings > Personalization > Dynamic Lighting. If your keyboard appears there, turn on Use Dynamic Lighting on my devices, choose an Effect such as Solid color, and pick a color (or turn on Match my Windows accent color). If your keyboard isn’t listed, use the manufacturer’s app, such as Armoury Crate (ASUS), Alienware Command Center, OMEN Gaming Hub (HP), Lenovo Vantage or Legion Space, Razer Synapse, Logitech G HUB, or Corsair iCUE.
Does Your Keyboard Support Color Changes?
- RGB or “per-key RGB” lighting: Common on gaming laptops and gaming keyboards. You can change colors and effects.
- Single-color backlight: Most office and everyday laptops. You can turn it on, off, or change brightness, usually with a key combination, but not the color.
- Zone RGB: Some laptops have 3 or 4 lighting zones that can each be a different color.
Check your laptop’s specifications on the manufacturer’s website if you’re not sure.
Method 1: Dynamic Lighting (Built Into Windows 11)
Dynamic Lighting arrived in Windows 11 version 23H2 and works with devices that support Microsoft’s open lighting standard.
- Open Settings > Personalization > Dynamic Lighting.
- Select your keyboard at the top (compatible devices appear automatically).
- Turn on Use Dynamic Lighting on my devices.
- Adjust Brightness.
- Under Effects, pick Solid color, Breathing, Rainbow, Wave, Wheel, or Gradient, and choose colors and speed.
- Optionally turn on Match my Windows accent color so the keyboard follows your theme.
If both Dynamic Lighting and a manufacturer app try to control the lights, they can conflict. Turn on Compatible apps in the foreground always control lighting in Dynamic Lighting settings, or turn off one of them.
Method 2: The Manufacturer’s App
| Brand | App (typical) |
|---|---|
| ASUS / ROG | Armoury Crate or MyASUS (Aura Sync) |
| Dell / Alienware | Alienware Command Center |
| HP OMEN / Victus | OMEN Gaming Hub |
| Lenovo Legion / LOQ | Lenovo Vantage or Legion Space |
| MSI | MSI Center (Mystic Light) |
| Acer Predator / Nitro | PredatorSense or NitroSense |
| Razer | Razer Synapse |
| Logitech G | Logitech G HUB |
| Corsair | iCUE |
- Install the app from the Microsoft Store or the manufacturer’s support site if it isn’t already installed.
- Open the lighting section (often called Lighting, RGB, Aura, or Keyboard).
- Choose a static color or an effect, and apply it. Many apps let you save profiles and set per-key colors.
Change Brightness on Single-Color Backlights
Look for a key with a keyboard-and-light icon, often F5, F9, F10, or the spacebar, and press it together with Fn. Each press typically cycles through off, low, and high. Some laptops also have a backlight timeout setting in the manufacturer’s app or BIOS.
Troubleshooting
- Keyboard not in Dynamic Lighting: Your device may not support it yet. Update the keyboard firmware and Windows, or use the maker’s app.
- Colors reset after restart: Another lighting app may be overriding your settings at startup. Use only one lighting app, or set the same colors in both.
- Lights don’t turn on at all: Check the Fn backlight key, update drivers, and look for a lighting toggle in BIOS.
Summary
- Check whether your keyboard is RGB or single-color.
- For compatible RGB devices, use Settings > Personalization > Dynamic Lighting.
- Otherwise, use your manufacturer’s lighting app.
- For single-color backlights, adjust brightness with the Fn key combination.
Kermit Matthews is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with more than a decade of experience writing technology guides. He has a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science and has spent much of his professional career in IT management.
He specializes in writing content about iPhones, Android devices, Microsoft Office, and many other popular applications and devices.