Thanks for the help. I wanted to post a fix for this in case someone has the same problem and stumbles on this post. First - MAKE CERTAIN that you have the latest version of BIOS and Quickset installed - there is a mention of the ALS issue under one or more of the Quickset updates.
Next:
1) Go under "Services" and make sure that Adaptive Brightness is started. If it isn't - start it and also set it to automatically start. This was one of problems - maybe the main one.
2) Go to Power Options>Change Plan Settings>Change Advanced Power Settings>Display>Enable Adaptive Brightness and then set it to "on" for battery and plugged-in. If the service is running, this option will be present.
3) Open Windows Mobility Center and go to the Keyboard Backlight, hit the little icon to bring up the settings for this.
4) Click "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting"
5) Under Settings for Keyboard Lighting - select "Never Off"
6) Close out the window and it should (hopefully) work. Shine a flashlight at the sensor to test it.
As PudgyOne states above - ANY manual change made to the backlight setting will disable the automatic function completely - no matter what is checked or selected. I leave everything off - and then enable it if I want.
It's actually quite confusing how Dell configured the settings for this function, as this is not clear IMO. Anyway I hope this helps someone if they have the same problem.
Yes thanks, though I think there is a newer version of Quickset that I have on my unit. I received it new directly from Dell on 4/18/12. On my Keyboard Brightness Button - it looks different than your screenshot, and has a checkbox that states "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting".
I have read a couple of commercial reviews that reference this "automatic keyboard backlight" function. BUT I have seen very few reviews that note this feature and how it works.
Also - as a P.S. to the above - there are no sensors detected/installed under my "Location and Other Sensors" settings in Windows. I suspect that the ALS is managed by the Quickset software, running underneath the Mobility Center, rather than as a straight-out installed sensor, even though it may behave in the same way.
XPS14z - Ambient Sensor - Backlit Keyboard Control Setup
A. To configure the Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting
Make sure you have the latest BIOS, Dell Mobil Intel Chipset drivers and Dell Quickset drivers are installed.
Go under "Services" and make sure that Adaptive Brightness is started. If it isn't - start it and also set it to automatically start. This was one of problems - maybe the main one.
Go to Power Options > Change Plan Settings > Change Advanced Power Settings > Display > Enable Adaptive Brightness and then set it to "on" for battery and plugged-in. If the service is running, this option will be present.
Hit the Windows Key and the x key to bring up the Windows Mobility Center or go to Start > Control Panel > Windows Mobility Center
Click the keyboard icon above the Keyboard Backlighting quick set
Click "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting"
Under Settings for Keyboard Lighting - select "Never Off"
Close out the window
Credit goes to Floater1 for the steps in section A!
B. To re-enable the Ambient Light Sensor Control for the Backlit Keyboard do the following steps:
Hit the Windows Key and the x key to bring up the Windows Mobility Center or go to Start > Control Panel > Windows Mobility Center
Click the keyboard icon above the Keyboard Backlighting quick set
Uncheck the box for "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting"
Click OK
Click the keyboard icon above the Keyboard Backlighting quick set
Select either Dim or Bright depending on your preference and make sure Keyboard Lighting is set to "Never Off"
Check the box for "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting"
Click OK
Close the Mobility Center
NOTE: ANY manual change made to the backlight setting will disable the automatic function completely - no matter what is checked or selected. For example if you hit the FN and F6 keys to adjust the keyboard backlight brightness this will disable the “Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting” even though the box will remain checked for "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting" it will still be disabled. If you make any changes to the keyboard backlighting and want to re-enable the automatic feature follow the steps in section B.
I spent 2 hours on the phone with Dell Support and they could not figure this out. Thanks to this thread and a little testing I came up with the following steps necessary to configure and re-enable the ambient light sensor for the backlit keyboard.
XPS14z - Ambient Sensor - Backlit Keyboard Control Setup
A. To configure the Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting
Make sure you have the latest BIOS, Dell Mobil Intel Chipset drivers and Dell Quickset drivers are installed.
Go under "Services" and make sure that Adaptive Brightness is started. If it isn't - start it and also set it to automatically start. This was one of problems - maybe the main one.
Go to Power Options > Change Plan Settings > Change Advanced Power Settings > Display > Enable Adaptive Brightness and then set it to "on" for battery and plugged-in. If the service is running, this option will be present.
Hit the Windows Key and the x key to bring up the Windows Mobility Center or go to Start > Control Panel > Windows Mobility Center
Click the keyboard icon above the Keyboard Backlighting quick set
Click "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting"
Under Settings for Keyboard Lighting - select "Never Off"
Close out the window
Credit goes to Floater1 for the steps in section A!
B. To re-enable the Ambient Light Sensor Control for the Backlit Keyboard do the following steps:
Hit the Windows Key and the x key to bring up the Windows Mobility Center or go to Start > Control Panel > Windows Mobility Center
Click the keyboard icon above the Keyboard Backlighting quick set
Uncheck the box for "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting"
Click OK
Click the keyboard icon above the Keyboard Backlighting quick set
Select either Dim or Bright depending on your preference
Check the box for "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting"
Click OK
Close the Mobility Center
NOTE: ANY manual change made to the backlight setting will disable the automatic function completely - no matter what is checked or selected. For example if you hit the FN and F6 keys to adjust the keyboard backlight brightness this will disable the “Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting” even though the box will remain checked for "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting" it will still be disabled. If you make any changes to the keyboard backlighting and want to re-enable the automatic feature follow the steps in section B.
It's below the screen, within the black bezel, left side. It blends in pretty well, but you can see it. It's a small black window for the optical sensor.
Floater1
6 Posts
2
April 30th, 2012 17:00
Thanks for the help. I wanted to post a fix for this in case someone has the same problem and stumbles on this post. First - MAKE CERTAIN that you have the latest version of BIOS and Quickset installed - there is a mention of the ALS issue under one or more of the Quickset updates.
Next:
1) Go under "Services" and make sure that Adaptive Brightness is started. If it isn't - start it and also set it to automatically start. This was one of problems - maybe the main one.
2) Go to Power Options>Change Plan Settings>Change Advanced Power Settings>Display>Enable Adaptive Brightness and then set it to "on" for battery and plugged-in. If the service is running, this option will be present.
3) Open Windows Mobility Center and go to the Keyboard Backlight, hit the little icon to bring up the settings for this.
4) Click "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting"
5) Under Settings for Keyboard Lighting - select "Never Off"
6) Close out the window and it should (hopefully) work. Shine a flashlight at the sensor to test it.
As PudgyOne states above - ANY manual change made to the backlight setting will disable the automatic function completely - no matter what is checked or selected. I leave everything off - and then enable it if I want.
It's actually quite confusing how Dell configured the settings for this function, as this is not clear IMO. Anyway I hope this helps someone if they have the same problem.
PudgyOne
9 Legend
•
30.3K Posts
0
April 26th, 2012 18:00
Floater1,
The backlit keyboard has 3 settings, Bright, dim and off.
You can control how long the backlit keyboard stays on.
Start, control panel, windows mobility center
Click on the little keyboard in the keyboard brightness section. You'll see...
There you can control how long the backlit keyboard stay on for.
The other item, about Ambient Light Sensor Settings is for the screen.
Rick
Floater1
6 Posts
0
April 26th, 2012 19:00
Yes thanks, though I think there is a newer version of Quickset that I have on my unit. I received it new directly from Dell on 4/18/12. On my Keyboard Brightness Button - it looks different than your screenshot, and has a checkbox that states "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting".
I have read a couple of commercial reviews that reference this "automatic keyboard backlight" function. BUT I have seen very few reviews that note this feature and how it works.
Also - here is a post from a user forum, Dec. 2011, that mentions this operating: forum.notebookreview.com/.../628323-official-dell-xps-14z-thread-2.html The first review from 12/08/11 talks about this.
If I could post a pic/screenshot to show my controls, I would. I would really like for this to work.
PudgyOne
9 Legend
•
30.3K Posts
0
April 27th, 2012 11:00
Floater1,
See if this works.
Start, in search type
sensors
click on Locations and other sensors
Make sure this is enabled.
Close the window.
Right click on the battery icon, then left click on Dell Battery meter.
Make sure that Del Battery Life is enabled.
Hit the Windows and the X keys at the same time.
Click on display brightness. Change advanced power settings.
Go down to display and expand it. Look for Enable adaptive brightness.
Make sure on battery is on and then the ALS is enabled.
If you manually adjust the screen brightness, it will disable ALS until you go through the above steps to re-enable.
Rick
Floater1
6 Posts
0
April 30th, 2012 17:00
Also - as a P.S. to the above - there are no sensors detected/installed under my "Location and Other Sensors" settings in Windows. I suspect that the ALS is managed by the Quickset software, running underneath the Mobility Center, rather than as a straight-out installed sensor, even though it may behave in the same way.
PudgyOne
9 Legend
•
30.3K Posts
0
April 30th, 2012 17:00
Floater1,
Thank you for posting the solution. I'm sure this will help others.
Take care,
Rick
12th Man
2 Posts
0
June 14th, 2012 06:00
I added one more thing to the steps below.
XPS14z - Ambient Sensor - Backlit Keyboard Control Setup
A. To configure the Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting
Make sure you have the latest BIOS, Dell Mobil Intel Chipset drivers and Dell Quickset drivers are installed.
Credit goes to Floater1 for the steps in section A!
B. To re-enable the Ambient Light Sensor Control for the Backlit Keyboard do the following steps:
NOTE: ANY manual change made to the backlight setting will disable the automatic function completely - no matter what is checked or selected. For example if you hit the FN and F6 keys to adjust the keyboard backlight brightness this will disable the “Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting” even though the box will remain checked for "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting" it will still be disabled. If you make any changes to the keyboard backlighting and want to re-enable the automatic feature follow the steps in section B.
12th Man
2 Posts
0
June 14th, 2012 06:00
I spent 2 hours on the phone with Dell Support and they could not figure this out. Thanks to this thread and a little testing I came up with the following steps necessary to configure and re-enable the ambient light sensor for the backlit keyboard.
XPS14z - Ambient Sensor - Backlit Keyboard Control Setup
A. To configure the Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting
Make sure you have the latest BIOS, Dell Mobil Intel Chipset drivers and Dell Quickset drivers are installed.
Credit goes to Floater1 for the steps in section A!
B. To re-enable the Ambient Light Sensor Control for the Backlit Keyboard do the following steps:
NOTE: ANY manual change made to the backlight setting will disable the automatic function completely - no matter what is checked or selected. For example if you hit the FN and F6 keys to adjust the keyboard backlight brightness this will disable the “Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting” even though the box will remain checked for "Enable Ambient Light Sensor Control for Keyboard Backlighting" it will still be disabled. If you make any changes to the keyboard backlighting and want to re-enable the automatic feature follow the steps in section B.
vevola
12 Posts
0
November 19th, 2013 05:00
Where is the Ambient Light Sensor Control sensor physically located on the laptop?
Floater1
6 Posts
0
November 19th, 2013 06:00
It's below the screen, within the black bezel, left side. It blends in pretty well, but you can see it. It's a small black window for the optical sensor.