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Nimrodman
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: What happened to the backlight on the keyboard on startup? I can't see the keyboard to type my password because the keyboard does not light up until after you sign in! Yosemite 10.10.3

What happened to the backlight on the keyboard on startup? I can't see the keyboard to type in my password because the keyboard does not light up until after you sign in!

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on Jun 10, 2015 7:39 PM

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Nimrodman

Q: What happened to the backlight on the keyboard on startup? I can't see the keyboard to type my password because the keyboard does ... more

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  • by K Shaffer,Helpful

    K Shaffer K Shaffer Jun 11, 2015 12:33 AM in response to Nimrodman
    Level 6 (14,249 points)
    Desktops
    Jun 11, 2015 12:33 AM in response to Nimrodman

    You could try & use the keyboard to initiate a reset such as this:

    • Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) on your Mac - Apple Support

     

    This SMC reset may help because one of the items said to be correctable by use of it

    includes backlighted keyboards in portable Apple computers. The other option if that

    does not seem to work (try several times, follow instructions for your build portable)

    then an appointment to visit to an Apple Store with Genius, for some inspection & or

    basic test diagnostic, may be helpful to discover if there is a hardware problem or not.

     

    If you have access to a USB keyboard, even one from a generic PC, that could work.

     

    Only a few keys are mapped different enough to be a problem, & of course Mac users

    that installed BootCamp partitions to run Windows, can use either Mac or PC keyboard.

     

    •Keyboard mappings: Using PC keyboards on a Macintosh - Microsoft Support:

    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/970299

     

    • Boot Camp: About keyboards and key assignment for Microsoft Windows - Apple Support

     

    Should you end up with a wired USB non-Mac keyboard, check these two articles on

    how to use the PC & Apple keyboards interchangeably & to identify model differences.

    An external wired USB keyboard and mouse are helpful in troubleshooting several kind

    of issues with any model of Mac, especially for those desktops with only BT peripherals.

     

    In any event...

    Good luck & happy computing!

  • by Nimrodman,

    Nimrodman Nimrodman Jun 11, 2015 5:16 PM in response to K Shaffer
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 11, 2015 5:16 PM in response to K Shaffer

    After reading the descriptive on the SMC I thought for sure the SMC reset would cure the problem, unfortunately it has not. I may need to throw it into the Genius hands to decipher. I read that there were some wonky issues with the new Yosemite 10.10.3 system and initially held off on updating but when I updated the operating system on my iPhone 6plus I needed to update my macbook to make the two devices work together, and after 3 days of using it I can see some of the issues, hopefully a update to fix the issues will be sent out.