Illuminated keyboard: how long does it last?

I'd have thought it'd outlast the LCD backlight. It's powered by some sort of lightsource (I imagine to be LED for space reasons which will be very long life) with individual fibre optic connections to the back of each key.

 

well my 2 year old Powerbook's keyboard no longer works. It's not even recognised as a back lit one by the OS.

 

That sounds more like controller failure than backlight failure. If the lightsource failed I'd expect it to not work but for the computer to think that it worked. Still not good

 

I only ever used the illumination 4 times for about 10 minutes each time.

EDIT: I've just been looking on the Apple discussion pages. The Backlight for the keyboard is linked to the ambient light sensor. I had a look at my sys prefs for the settings and they've gone too!

 

Ok.

Over three years heavy use (I'm a film major - lots of notes in the dark) and still going as strong as day one. I don't think this is something to worry about - as long as your controller dosn't pack up like other have noted. I've never heard of that before.

Best user interface upgrade in a long time. I wont be going MB just so I can keep the backlight keys. For me its that good.

 

Use LabTick to keep light on allways

http://labtick.proculo.de/

 

The backlit keyboard on my 15" PB (purchased in September 2005) still works - which is a good thing, because I need it for Lab Tick development.

Cheers,
Alex

 

Sounds like you need to replace the top case.

The backlight is something that is not user replaceable (like a light bulb) short of replacing either the top case, keyboard, or both.

I would imagine the illumination would last the life of the computer (whenever it is on)

 

12' Powerbooks dont come equipped with back-lit keyboards.

 

I almost thought he had one but he says he's used illumination before.

 

My 3 year old PB G4 15" still has a working illuminated keyboard. It's as bright as it ever was and I've used it quite often. I don't know how much, but I actually like working in low light environments, so the keyboard light gets more use.

 

There are no actual fibre-optics in there. Essentially, the keyboard backlight is powered by four surface mounted LED's which live behind a thin clear plastic sheet. I'd imagine since a LED is basically a quartz crystal encased in a clear epoxy, it'll continue to emit light for at least 50-60,000hrs (2083 ~ 2500days) - it'll probably outlast the life of a keyboard and the first user's ownership.... so don't worry.

 

Still works perfectly on my 2005 15" PB.

Cheers,

R

 

Feb. 2006 15" MBP, used everyday, backlight several hours a day -- still works
Mar. 2004 15" PB, used much less often -- still works

(April 2008 Penryn MBP -- still works )

The backlight is a network of LEDs. Unless you have a failure of the controller or the ambient light sensor, you can expect it to last as long as the computer.

 

My 3 years old 15" pb shows exactly the same symptoms. The illumination lastet 1,5 years on my machine.