And Dell won't help me without a warranty. 

Hi @Apollion93  welcome to this user to user discussion forum. This is not Dell Support. 

Hopefully, holding down the FN key and then press the F12 key will toggle the AlienFX Lights off or on. 

Not sure why AWCC FX tab and then the AlienFX window is not giving you control over keyboard back lights. Dell has Solution for common Alienware FX Light issues in Article Number: 000141237.

Guess you have the Windows 10, 64-bit operating system installed and are using the Alienware 17 R4 Drivers & Downloads. Getting the appropriate legacy .Net applications is required to support AWCC, so when AWCC installed run Windows Update and visit the Dell Drivers webpage. 

If the AWCC gets stuck on loading, try downloading the full versions of visual C++ starting from 2010 till the last version from TechPowerUp Here. 

When AWCC is installed, Revo Uninstaller Free will remove all of its files, so that AWCC can be installed as if for the first time. This has a high success rate, so hopefully it will work for you. 

Please click on Kudos to say thank you for response from another user. Please share an update on progress, so that other users derive benefit from your experience. Thank you. 

The provided solutions sadly did not work. You put more effort in to help me than Dell Support lol. Thank you anyway, I appreciate your reply.

Hi @Apollion93  thank you for sharing update. The OP stated that you have tried all the fixes and did not find your solution. There is a radical solution, which is to disconnect the Keyboard Backlight (KB-BL) cable that is on the left of the three cable connections, beneath the lower RAM card slot (see image). The following text and images will assist, if you decide to adopt this option. 

Disconnect the main battery and be careful not to damage anything, a replacement system board is very expensive. 

I have attached a further four images so that you can see how the system board's KB-BL connector works. These images are taken from different angles, so their part's orientation changes. (1) On this system board the connector body is black and the cable retainer is white. Please note that the white cable retainer is captivated in the body, if it becomes detached, the connector is broken. (2 & 3) To release the cable, move the white cable retainer upwards about 2 mm, see images. Do not use excessive force. (4) The KB-BL cable will sit over the connector, and you should decide how to protect it from damage.

(I did not look for the Macro Keyboard (MK) Backlight cable.) 

Hopefully, a different fix will be posted and AlienFX functions reinstated, so that your keyboard lighting can be customised or toggled off or on. 

I have zero experience with hardware, so if I ever try this, I will keep it bookmarked.

Thank you again, friend.

Does this work? I have a 17 R5 that is dark, and am tearing my hair out to try and fix. I’ve followed some of your threads...does this restore backlighting?

So I’m 100% convinced that AWCC bricked the EEPROM chip, as I’ve tried every software solution on the internet in the past few months - with no success. 

2 things:

1)I saw you tell the guy to unplug his KB cable, and I wondered if that at least provided backlight - don’t really care about RGB and the stupid FX stuff, But the laptop is dark which seriously hinders my ability to use it in the environment I like to use it in.

2) Is there somewhere to get the file that needs to be written onto the chip? I actually made an appointment with a computer engineer here locally tomorrow, and I’m pretty certain he has the knowledge & equipment to flash the chip if I had the proper firmware to make the lights come back on.

this problem is maddening. 

Hi @CommonManDZ  welcome to this user to user discussion forum. Guess that you are asking me that question.

The Alienware 17 R5 is in the New AWCC AlienFX 2.0 compatibility group, which is their flagship offering for new and existing customers. Dell has not fixed their old AWCC AlienFX 1.0 update applications. Windows 10 has been updated to version 20H2, and 21H1 beta was released on 17 February 2021. Unfortunately, the Dell AWCC applications are not standalone, and there is speculation that the AWCC update application soft-bricks the system board's eeprom. 

Getting back to your question, if the root cause of this problem is:-  
a) corrupt software installation, find one of the fixes to provide your solution, or
b) the eeprom has been soft-bricked, a few users have re-flashed their eeprom, but Dell does not provide this option. Dell just keeps replacing the system board, until the Dell warranty expires. Then, the customer needs to decide if the AlienFX 2.0 feature is wanted, and if yes, pay for one or more system boards during the lifetime of their system.

When will Dell provide the re-flash, or plug in a new eeprom chip option. Perhaps never. When will Dell remove the detect AlienFX devices from the AWCC update application code so that all AlienFX applications are installed by default. Perhaps never.

Hi @CommonManDZ 

1) the OP is all about the 17 R4 keyboard backlighting problem of always stuck on the same colour. Disconnecting the BK-BL cable is not a fix for your 17 R5 no AlienFX lights problem. Did your F12 ePSA Diagnostics test say all cables connected. 

2) Dell does not provide the re-flash SiLabs eeprom chip's computer code. Searching the internet will find this computer code, but this code has to be an exact match for your system and its firmware, or it will not work. The specialized re-flash equipment shall include getting a copy of the installed eeprom computer code, so that it can be re-installed if the re-flash does not take, or is the wrong code. The re-flash eeprom process has high risk of failure. 

If Dell got their act together this would be a simple flash of, remove old code and install new code, using the windows operating system. The insertable eeprom chip on my old MESH Workstation's motherboard and it's flash application is very much appreciated. However, Dell have evolved to solder everything directly onto the system board, which is an expensive user replacement. 

I must not be using the correct search terms, lol. I’ll keep looking.

It is completely unacceptable that Dell software broke our machines, but won’t offer a fix. I’m out of warranty about a year now, but this isn’t a defect with the computer, this is a defect that Dell created by telling me to download an update. I’m not going to pay $800+ to correct a problem with a critical system of the computer (backlit keys) that was caused by garbage-fire software that the manufacturer told me to download and install. I’m so mad about this I can’t even see straight. 

all this is doing is pushing me away from Dell products in the future. Dell broke our systems, Dell should make this right either by a software update, or by physical repair of the component. 

Until then, I will continue to search for this firmware, so I can actually use my perfectly good and super-expensive laptop in the dark. Thank you for your reply @crimsom . This is 100% unacceptable.

I have solved this problem, and the following steps may be helpful for you:

1. Frist, copy the entire folder "C:\Program Files\Alienware\Command Center" to the desktop.

2. Uninstall the Alienware Command Center.

3. Open the "Command Center " folder that was previously copied to the desktop.

4. Double-click on "AlienwareAlienFXController.exe" to run it (NO GUI).

5. Double-click on "AlienwareAlienFXEditor.exe" to change the FX theme normally (Has GUI).