iPad Magic Keyboard backlight not turning off. Draining battery when iPad is not being used.

Oh yea and in Australia we pay $500 for this keyboard!!!! It’s a hefty price for any keyboard. It does make the iPad so much more productive though so fix this issue and it’s a great keyboard.

I use both for different functions. The keyboard staying lit happens under both browsers (Safari and Chrome)

It’s only been a day or so, but my Magic Keyboard, iPad Pro 12.9 using iPad OS 13.6 is working correctly. Anyone else use this update and have positive results?

We own two 2018 iPad Pro 12.9s with magic keyboards--and BOTH are having the backlight issue. Adjusting the backlight slider has no effect when it's stuck in this buggy mode. We can get the keyboard light to work normally again ONLY if we take the ipads off the keyboard and re-attach. The biggest problem is--this light gets stuck sometimes after it's been sitting there for awhile and we dont know its flipped on. So it drains the battery. We also have 2 11" iPad Pros with magic keyboards, and we have not encountered this problem so far (one of the 11" ipad pros is the latest one just released). So... this is a clear bug. We've contacted Apple customer support, and they claim to have no info on this problem. They finally agreed to send out a new keyboard... hopefully it's a hardware defect as opposed to a software-related bug. But it is a major nuisance. We have the latest iOS updates installed.

How bright is the room you're in? Remember, the backlights are tied to the ambient light sensor on your iPad, so if the room is bright, the lights shouldn't come on. See what happens in a room dimly lit. Also check to see that you haven't turned the backlit setting down or off in Settings > General > Keyboard > Hardware Keyboard > Keyboard Brightness

Hi Charles,

I am having this issue with the keyboard backlight being on while its closed as well. I first noticed this because I put my ipad on my bedside table when I go to sleep. It’s right at eye level so when I wake early I can see the keyboard backlight is on glowing in the dark.b This behaviour is only while not plugged in charging. I have woken and seen it and thinking it would be draining the battery plugged the charging cable in and the backlight turns off.

It’s very hard to see that the backlight is on when the ipad is closed onto the keyboard unless it is dark.

This is annoying as I have found my iPad battery drains faster since I’ve had the new keyboard and now I think I know why. i was putting it down to more running off the iPad battery but if the keyboard backlight is staying on when its closed then this will explain my battery drain.

By the same token I’ve not noticed the keyboard staying on when I have the ipad open.

iPad Pro 11” latest gen fully updated.

Today is July 10, 2020. The keyboard that Apple provided as a replacement works properly 90% of the time. Before it was only about 50% of the time. The lights do shut off much more often when I close the iPad against the keyboard.

The cursor, which was somewhat intermittent on the prior keyboard is working perfectly.

The only thing that is still bugging me is is that the keyboard backlight should adjust when going from a bright room to a dark room, or back to a bright room. The response seems somewhat spotty at best.

I hope this is a software issue that Apple can respond to and fix.

How’s everyone else’s “Magic” keyboard doing??

I didn't say it's imaginary or not real. It's just NOT an issue I'm facing and I've been using the keyboard now well over a month, with no back light issues at all. In the 6 weeks I've had the keyboard, it's been absolutely flawless in operation in all regards. And it's used every single days for multiple hours a day.

Makes total sense. Except in coming here, you are not addressing Apple. Cognizant Apple employees do NOT participate on this user to user only forum, with the exception of Forum Hosts who monitor the forum for violation of terms of use. If you think you're getting the attention here, you're not. Apple is not going to investigate or debug or fix anything because you posted anything here. You need to let Apple know you're having an issue by either contacting Apple Support or using this link to provide feedback directly to Apple --> Feedback - iPad - Apple

In fact anyone who is having this issue should contact Apple directly AND provide feedback using the link I put above.

Now, since this is not a universal issue effecting all Magic Keyboard owners, I'd say it's not a software issue. If it was, just about every user would have the same problem because we all are using the same iPadOS. So, that leaves environmental or accessory caused issues or an actual hardware issue with some keyboards. This is why I asked if anyone is using a full screen protector, which no one has answered. You have to remember the Back Lights are controlled by the Ambient Light Sensor built into the iPad Screen. If the sensor is blocked, it will communicate to the keyboard it's dark and the lights should be on.

If you lock your iPad screen, the back lights should go out regardless. Do they on your keyboard if you actually lock your screen?

I understand you'd like Apple to acknowledge this, but unless this was a rampant issue (it's not) Apple doesn't publicly do that. That doesn't mean they're not looking into it. They have a storied reputation for working on things behind the scenes and given the Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro is so new, I'm confident someone in Apple-Land is looking into it. You'll just not hear they are.

I do get your frustration. I would have your frustration if my Keyboard acted as yours does. Since yours does this, I would suggest if you're not going to use your iPad for any extended period of time, you power it off to avoid having your battery drained.

Another suggestion I would make is to backup your iPad and restore it from backup, but not using iCloud. Use your home computer with iTunes. When you restore using iTunes on a computer, iOS is wiped and a fresh copy downloaded. There could be a little glitch in the iPadOS version on your iPad.

This link explains how to restore from backup --> Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup - Apple Support

I too have this issue with my 11” 1st gen iPad.

I eventually resorted to restoring my iPad in a bid to fit it and I believed it had resolved the problem. But it was short lived and the problem persists.

I have no screen protector on my iPad, nor is it jailbroken.

The problem has existed over multiple OS, including iOS 14 beta’s 1 & 2.

For a shockingly expensive piece of hardware, I would expect Apple to have found a solution by now.

Follow Up; iPadOS 14 Public Beta 1 doesn't fix the keyboard backlight issue still. I literally opened my 2020 IPP for two minutes to adjust a system setting, closed it, and the light stayed on. I contacted Apple and there will most likely be a 4th replacement in my future but I honestly don't think there's a point anymore. What a piece of junk.

just look at macrumors forums and you find quite some people with the problem, i have send 6 or 7 links to apple regarding the problem! PS no answer yet from apple