I just received an XPS14Z  (i5-2450, 6GB, 500GB HDD). It's the base model in this lineup, but I'm very happy with it as far as functionality, build quality, etc. I'm not a gamer, so it meets my needs very well.

The keyboard backlight functions fine, but for some reason, the Ambient Light Sensor Control for the keyboard backlight does not seem to work. It is enabled through Windows Mobility Center - but it seems to have absolutely NO effect, no matter the room lighting. The keyboard backilight is enabled, and is not set to "Off". As far as I can tell, I have the latest version of Quickset.

I have downloaded the latest drivers from http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/04 , but absolutely nothing seems to make this work. The system did get buggy right after first startup, so I reinstalled the factory image. I don't know if the Ambient Light Sensor Control worked before that or not.

Isn't this sensor supposed to automatically turn on the keyboard backlighting when enabled (in low light)? Any clues out there? There are not many hits on this from Google or Bing, so I'm close to being stumped.

Any and all suggestions are appreciated!