Lit keyboards are cool.
Watching your fingers dancing on lit keys as you type is fun.
And fun aside, lit keys make it easier for you to see the letters in the dark, so you can get your work done regardless of the time of day.
A lot of lit keyboard owners have the same concern: do keyboard lights burn out?
I mean, if you spend your entire day working on your laptop or desktop…surely those keyboard backlights eventually burn out.
Right?
Let’s see about that
Do Keyboard Lights Burn Out?
Well, anything that lights up can burn out, so the technical answer to your question is “Yes, the lights in your keyboard will eventually burn out”.
However, keyboard lights use LED (Light Emitting Diodes), and these have exceptionally long life spans—longer than most light types on the market.
Chances are, you’ll replace your keyboard long before its keys burn out.
LED keys will take an average of 50k–100k (up to 100,000) hours of operation before they burn or go out.
So, even if you leave your keyboard lit for the whole day – non-stop 24/7 – each LED will last at least 5.7 years.
Do RGB Keyboard Lights Burn Out?
RGB LED keys are widely sought-after because they outlast most other types.
On average, they run at 80% of their initial brightness at 30k hours, and around 70% of it at 50k hours.
By doing some simple math, you can conclude that 50k hours of working with a lit keyboard are equal to around 2080 days. That’s nearly eight years of 24/7 usage!
Unless you’re planning to keep your keyboard lit for the next eight years, you’re covered; the LED will likely not burn out.
If you turn the RGB keyboard on and keep it lit for 12 hours a day, the lights won’t burn out for more than a decade.
So you’ll definitely replace the keyboard before that, so there’s no need to worry.
In fact, in 12 years we might not even be using keyboards as the primary human interface device (HID) between us and electronic devices.
Not if programs like Neuralink become more widely available and affordable.
Why Are RGB LED Lights Longer Lasting?
RGB LEDs have a lower operating temperature than regular LEDs.
As a result, they run for longer without burning out.
Generally, the higher the temperature gets, the lower the light output gets. So the light ends up burning out long before it should.
RGB LEDs are designed to produce minimum temperature, so the lights keep working for longer. They have longer lifespans than most other types.
Do Keyboard Lights Drain the Battery of Your Laptop?
Yes, keyboard lights do drain the battery for your laptop.
In the end, they get the power they use for lighting up from the battery, so they end up draining it faster. If you’re using a gaming laptop, keeping the lights off can save you a few hours of battery life.
All that said, it’s worth noting that keyboard lights only affect your overall battery life by 2% – 3%. There are multiple other factors that’ll drain it, so you don’t need to worry much about your lit keyboard.
If you want to prevent the lit keys from draining your battery, you can only light them when the laptop is plugged into the charger.
All laptops have buttons that turn the lights on and off, contrary to gaming keyboards. So you can turn the keyboard off instantly when you remove the laptop from the wall outlet.
Can Keyboard Lights Be Replaced?
Yes, most keyboard lights can be replaced.
However, it depends on the type of your keyboard. Some brands will need you to replace the whole keyboard if you want to replace the lighting, and some of them will offer LED replacements in case yours gets damaged.
Mechanical keyboards tend to be more customizable than membrane keyboards because their key caps and switches are designed to be replaced or upgraded depending on user preferences.
Replacing light arrays can be a bit more tricky though, so bear that in mind before you begin dismantling an expensive mechanical keyboard.
Bear in mind that LED lights mostly don’t burn out, but that doesn’t mean they don’t get damaged. If you spill a drink on the laptop, the LEDs will likely be ruined.
If you want to replace the keyboard lights of a laptop, there’s a high chance the technician will replace the whole keyboard altogether.
Wrapping it up
To answer your question, keyboard lights do burn out, but they don’t do that for a pretty long time.
Most of the time, you’ll replace the keyboard or laptop before the lights wear out, so you won’t need to replace them at all.
