How to Change Color on a Gaming Keyboard

If you’re starting to feel tired of the keyboard colors of your RGB keyboard, it might be time to change color. However, it might be confusing to know what keys to press.

This guide will show you ways to change the colors of your keyboards, both with and without software. We’ll also show you how to adjust the keyboard brightness, ways to change it to a single color, and will guide you through some of the most common backlighting modes. 

So, without further ado, here’s the short answer to your question:

How to Change Color on Gaming Keyboard [Quick Answer]

To change the color on a gaming keyboard, press the FN key and one of the function keys (i.e., F1-F12) simultaneously. Some keyboards use the FN key together with number keys or the INS and DEL keys to change the keyboard’s color settings.

Changing Keyboard Color Without Software

Some keyboards have a dedicated button for changing colors. On those keyboards, just press that button down until you’re happy with the keyboard backlight. However, if there are no dedicated buttons, it can be a bit more challenging.

To change the keyboard color without software, you’ll then need to use the right combination of keys. What keys to use will depend on the brand and model of the keyboard. As already mentioned, it’s often the FN keys and one of the function keys (i.e., F1-F12) at the same time. The buttons to press can vary between brands and can sometimes be everything from the number keys to the INS and DEL keys together with the FN key. For example, to change color on aula led backlit gaming keyboard press FN + 5, on a Redragon keyboard press FN and Tilde (~) and to change color on a Pictek keyboard press Fn + Home.

For those with an iBUYPOWER keyboard, you’re in luck. Customizing your keyboard’s colors is straightforward and can significantly enhance your gaming environment. With simple key combinations like FN + PrtSc for backlight toggling and FN + Ins for color changes, you can personalize your setup in no time. If you’re interested in diving deeper into the customization process or need to troubleshoot, here’s a detailed guide on changing colors on your iBUYPOWER keyboard.

Look at your keyboard’s manual to find out what key combination to use.

If your keyboard has some type of software that might also be a great way to change the color of the RGB keyboard:

Changing Keyboard Color With Software

On many budget gaming keyboards, the only way to change background color is by using one of the keyboard shortcuts described above. However, if you have a mid-range to high-end gaming keyboard, chances are that it has dedicated software that will allow you to change colors directly via software.

If your mechanical keyboard is made from one of the big brands such as Razer, Alienware, Logitech, HP, or MSI, you’re most likely to have some software to change to color. Depending on your keyboard, you need to use a different program. For example:

Most of the software has a similar interface. Generally, changing the light on the dedicated software is fairly straightforward:

  1. Open up the RGB software and navigate to the “Lightning” section
  2. If there are both mouse and keyboard listed, select “Keyboard.”
  3. You should now see a button for editing the colors and animations
  4. Change the LED settings to your liking and save the settings
  5. You should now have successfully changed the color of the keyboard backlighting

For those with a Roccat Vulcan, the process involves the AIMO lighting system and can be managed through the Swarm software for a dynamic and personalized backlighting experience. Learn more about changing colors on a Roccat Vulcan keyboard. And for those with a CyberPowerPC keyboard, you can easily personalize your gaming setup by changing the keyboard colors and patterns directly through the CyberPowerPC Control Center or using the keyboard shortcuts provided. The Skorpion K1 RGB, for instance, allows for quick color changes with just a few key presses. Find out how to change color on your CyberPowerPC keyboard.

For those with HyperX keyboards, you have a suite of customization options at your fingertips. With intuitive controls for lighting effects and the NGENUITY software for advanced customization, you can tailor your keyboard’s lighting to match your gaming setup perfectly. Whether you’re using the Alloy Elite with its dedicated buttons or the Alloy Origins Core with software-based customization, here’s how you can change the color on your HyperX keyboard to suit your style.

How To Adjust Keyboard Brightness

The keyboard combination to adjust keyboard brightness differs between gaming keyboard brands. A good bet is that the key combination is a combination of the FN key and either one of the F!-F12 keys, FN + one of the arrow keys, or FN and the plus and minus keys. For example, on an Alienware keyboard, the combination is FN + F5 and FN + F6 to adjust brightness. ON MSI, it is FN and “-“, and on Logitech keyboards it’s FN + F7. When you, change the colors on the Ducky One 2 Mini Keyboard you adjust the brightness by holding FN, Alt and Z.

It’s also often possible to adjust the brightness in the keyboard’s illumination software.

How Do You Make Your RGB Keyboard One Color?

Almost all backlit mechanical keyboards have a mode that is a single color. We’ve already discussed ways to toggle between color modes. It’s usually done by combining the FN key and either one of the F1-f12 keys, FN + the INS and DEL keys, or FN + the arrow keys. Press down the keys that toggle between different color modes on your keyboard and toggle it until the color is one color.

If your gaming keyboard has dedicated software for color customization, you can open up the software and go to the lightning tab. You should then be able to set the RGB keyboards lights to a mode usually called “Solid” or “Static.” Select that mode in the dropdown list, and it should now be a single color.

Backlit Modes

Now that you know how to change the keyboard light on backlit keyboards let’s look at some of the most common light modes you’ll encounter. As we already discussed, changing between these modes can usually be done by pressing the FN key and the function keys or arrow keys at the same time. The specific keyboard key can vary between different keyboard brands. When you change color on the Havit gaming keyboard, you press and hold the Fn key, then press the Backlit (lightbulb) key to cycle through six backlighting modes. It’s also often possible to change the mode in the included software. When you change colors on Corsair K55 RGB gaming keyboard you can adjust backlit modes with the Corsair iCue software. Click here to read more about changing the color of Corsair keyboards. Here are some of the most common backlight modes to check out:

Solid Color Mode

Solid color is, as the name implies, a single color. Some keyboards have a limited amount of colors to select from, while full RGB keyboards have up to 16.4 million choices! If you don’t want any fancy light effect and just want a nice solid backlight color go for the solid color mode.

Solid Rainbow

If you want your keyboard to display a wide variety of colors, you should definitely check out the rainbow mode. When gaming keyboards are set to rain mode, they will show different colors, making them look like a rainbow. Solid in “solid rainbow” means that the colors won’t change over time.

Breathing Rainbow

Similar to the solid rainbow, the breathing rainbow has the same variety of colors, but the colors will also change over time. This is one of my favorite modes when I want to fully show off all the cool color combinations of my keyboard.

Color Phase Mode

Color Phase mode means the keyboard will gradually switch between different colors. The keys will all have the same color, unlike rainbow mode, where all keys have different colors. 

Reactive

Another favorite of gamers, as well as typists, is the reactive backlighting mode. If you set the keyboard to this mode, the keyboard will be off by default, and once you press a key, the key will light up.

Tetris Mode

Some higher-end gaming keyboards also have some more custom lighting effects. For example, keyboards with the Tetris effect will display blocks of lightning similar to the classic game Tetris.

Conclusion

We hope this guide has shown you how to change the color of your gaming keyboard. Setting the right keyboard color can vary between manufacturers and models, but if you follow the advice in this post, you should be on your way to changing the colors to match your setup in no time!