Apple, please fix. On a brand new 2016 MB Pro, the backlit keyboard is off during the intial login when you restart the computer. In a dark enviroment, you can't see the keys to enter your password, and Touch ID doesn't yet work.
Please enable the backlit keyboard during initial sign in.
I'm going to give you the best advice you will ever get about these 'support' forums. When someone says reset your SMC or your NVRAM just say, "LOL!" Then move on to someone who has actual knowledge about your question, such as myself.....
Given your 'issue' I can 100% say that you have FileVault enabled. When FileVault is enabled it encrypts EVERYTHING on the SSD and doesn't allow even the computer to have access to that data until you enter your password. That includes the software that loads during startup which would normally activate such things as the backlighting on your keyboard and the touch-bar. Which is why, with FileVault enabled, the login screen you get at startup is stored on Apple's version of their BIOS chipset, NOT on the SSD. After you enter your password on startup the decryption process begins and all of those necessary pieces of software start to load. Making your keyboard backlight turn on and your touch-bar activate. This is not a flaw or an oversight. It is how FileVault was built and how it protects against ALL AVENUES of data breech/intrusion. You'll be amazed at how hackers can devise code to use the backlight of the keyboard to hack into data on the storage device. So, now that you know why. Here are are your choices.....
1) IF YOU WANT TO MAINTAIN FILEVAULT'S SUPERIOR ENCRYPTION(RECOMMENDED BY ME)
STEP 1- DO NOTHING
2) IF YOU WANT TO HAVE KEYBOARD BACKLIGHT & TOUCHBAR FUNCTIONALITY
STEP 1- OPEN 'SYSTEM PREFERENCES'
STEP 2- CLICK 'SECURITY AND PRIVACY'
STEP 3- CLICK 'FILEVAULT' TAB
STEP 4- CLICK PICTURE OF LOCK (Located on lower lefthand side of current window)
STEP 5- ENTER 'PASSWORD'
STEP 6- CLICK 'TURN OFF FILEVAULT'
STEP 7- CLICK 'RESTART & TURN OFF ENCRYPTION'
STEP 8- YOUR BACKLIGHT AND TOUCH BAR SHOULD WORK ON STARTUP FROM NOW ON.
STEP 9- IF IT DIDN'T WORK BRING YOUR COMPUTER INTO APPLE. PROBLEM IS NOT FIXABLE.
I'm going to give you the best advice you will ever get about these 'support' forums. When someone says reset your SMC or your NVRAM just say, "LOL!" Then move on to someone who has actual knowledge about your question, such as myself.....
Given your 'issue' I can 100% say that you have FileVault enabled. When FileVault is enabled it encrypts EVERYTHING on the SSD and doesn't allow even the computer to have access to that data until you enter your password. That includes the software that loads during startup which would normally activate such things as the backlighting on your keyboard and the touch-bar. Which is why, with FileVault enabled, the login screen you get at startup is stored on Apple's version of their BIOS chipset, NOT on the SSD. After you enter your password on startup the decryption process begins and all of those necessary pieces of software start to load. Making your keyboard backlight turn on and your touch-bar activate. This is not a flaw or an oversight. It is how FileVault was built and how it protects against ALL AVENUES of data breech/intrusion. You'll be amazed at how hackers can devise code to use the backlight of the keyboard to hack into data on the storage device. So, now that you know why. Here are are your choices.....
1) IF YOU WANT TO MAINTAIN FILEVAULT'S SUPERIOR ENCRYPTION(RECOMMENDED BY ME)
STEP 1- DO NOTHING
2) IF YOU WANT TO HAVE KEYBOARD BACKLIGHT & TOUCHBAR FUNCTIONALITY
STEP 1- OPEN 'SYSTEM PREFERENCES'
STEP 2- CLICK 'SECURITY AND PRIVACY'
STEP 3- CLICK 'FILEVAULT' TAB
STEP 4- CLICK PICTURE OF LOCK (Located on lower lefthand side of current window)
STEP 5- ENTER 'PASSWORD'
STEP 6- CLICK 'TURN OFF FILEVAULT'
STEP 7- CLICK 'RESTART & TURN OFF ENCRYPTION'
STEP 8- YOUR BACKLIGHT AND TOUCH BAR SHOULD WORK ON STARTUP FROM NOW ON.
STEP 9- IF IT DIDN'T WORK BRING YOUR COMPUTER INTO APPLE. PROBLEM IS NOT FIXABLE.
Thanks Sonicray, but neither work.
This incident is for the most recent Macbook Pro with touch bar. The keyboard backlight is off by default on initial login. The backlight only turns on when you enter your password successfully.
It's terrible when you restart your Macbook in the dark. You can't see the keys until you enter your password correctly. TouchID is also disabled until you manually enter your password for the first time.
Once your user profile starts loading, you can see the keyboard light up about 40% of the way through the boot sequence.
To not have the keyboard light functional, initially, is just a bad design.
I spent an hour with two live chat specialists last night trying to fix this problem. They too suggested to reset the SMC and PRAM, which did nothing. I turned off FileVault and lo and behold, the problem fixed itself. I really want to continue using FileVault, however. The second chat specialist I spoke to said that this should not be happening, and I'm scheduled for a phone call with a "Senior Adviser" later today. I'll report back if they have any fixes that'll fix this.
Thank you bobeides for this information. I have a MacBook Pro 2016 w/ Touch Bar used for work (secure environment) and your explanation regarding FILEVAULT makes sense. While I do not have rights to change these settings (nor would I want to), it's nice to know WHY this issue exists and that (in my situation) there isn't a solution - so I can stop researching. Thanks again bobeides for helping save me time. Most appreciated!
Hi shark1309, did the Apple Senior Adviser ever tell you if the issue with the keyboard light off until login could be solved without disabling FileVault, as they thought, or have you still not found a solution? Can't believe this would not happen to thousands of users (including Apple engineers) and that it cannot be solved.
Many thanks
Were you able to get this resolved?
New 2016 MB Pro - Backlit Keyboard light off during first login
