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emmanuel_f

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emmanuel_f

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January 19th, 2020 05:00

KM717, Caps Lock & Num Lock LED problem

I really like the KM717 Dell Premier Wireless Keyboard and Mouse combo but I do have just 1 problem. I use it in USB mode (as opposed to Bluetooth mode) on Win10 Desktop PC and tried it on Win7 on a laptop too.

But the Caps Lock Light and the Num Lock light go to sleep after about 7 SECONDS. Very annoying because you can't tell whether the Caps &/or Num lock is on or off.

Has anyone seen this issue or know a solution, please? I rang Dell about this and they had no workable answer. But I did find something about a setting in control panel in HID devices to disable the power saving mode on the device... but it made no difference. Any tips greatly appreciated.

  • RoHe

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    Posted January 19th, 2020 13:00

    I suspect those go off to save power.

    Have you tried setting notifications for those features in Windows?  When you press CAP LOCK, the system beeps a high note when it's turning CAP LOCK on, and a lower note when the key press is turning CAP LOCK off.

    And same thing for NUM LOCK.

    Look for the option to "Use Toggle Keys" on the Keyboard settings screen in Win 10. 

  • DJArcus

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    Posted February 18th, 2020 05:00

    I am getting this exact same problem since updating the firmware 

    It is incredibly annoying.

  • RoHe

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    Posted February 18th, 2020 11:00

    @DJArcus  -  Well, the firmware update page you linked does say: "Improved power optimization..." which might mean that those LEDs will now be set to go off after a few seconds.

    Did you try making the changes I suggested above using Toggle Keys in Win 10?

  • DJArcus

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    Posted February 18th, 2020 14:00

    It would be very odd if turning those lights off is a power saving thing - considering it happens when I’m using the keyboard. It’s not like it only happens if I leave the keyboard for some time. I also don’t imagine the lights use much power, in fact I didn’t have any power issues prior to the firmware upgrade.

    Tried the on screen display but it’s frankly rubbish and I turned that off.

    Would much prefer if the lights on the keyboard behaved as they used to, certainly feels like a glitch in the firmware update.

  • RoHe

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    Posted February 18th, 2020 17:00

    @DJArcus  - I don't think it's that odd.  My previous wireless Logitech mouse had 3 tiny green LEDs on the side that went off, one by one, until the last one turned red and mouse had to be recharged. I recently replaced it with a new Logitech mouse with the same 3 LEDs, except these turn on for a few seconds to show the battery level when the mouse is first turned on and then go off, according to the instructions "to save power".

    There are a number of apps that put a cap and number lock indicator on the taskbar, like TrayStatus (free) and Keyboard Indicator (free) which you could try. There are probably other ones too.

    Post back and let us know if you try either and how they work...

    CAVEAT: I've never used these apps and know nothing about them. So using them is your own decision.

  • DJArcus

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    Posted February 19th, 2020 02:00

    I think I'll pass on the apps, I don't get on with on screen displays when I am so used to checking the lights.

    I paired the keyboard to a spare receiver running 0.0.0.9 and the lights work fine, so it is something with the 0.0.1.2 update on the receiver.

    I'll be honest I don't know why you don't think this is odd? There's zero point in the light if it turns itself off after such a short period of time. It's also clearly a change in behavior driven by the version of firmware on the receiver.

    EDIT: It works completely fine on Bluetooth so is some oddity with the receiver.

  • RoHe

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    Posted February 19th, 2020 12:00

    Didn't say I liked having those LEDs turn off, just that the OEMs are doing that now.

  • RoHe

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    Posted February 19th, 2020 18:00

    I pinged by Dell tech contact...

  • Atan01

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    Posted March 12th, 2020 05:00

    Do you mean that before updating that firmware you didn't have this problem ? Did your LED light stayed on when caps lock was active ?

    I start to use the KM717 keyboard since 2 weeks on Dell Precision Tower 5820 that has been updated on 15/02/2020 and I have this problem since the beginning of use. I hope it's just a metter of new update to solve this problem, because it is a big mistake for such a good product.

  • RoHe

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    Posted March 12th, 2020 10:00

    I pinged my Dell tech contact again today...