How to Change Keyboard Brightness on a MacBook Air
Your MacBook Air has an adjustable keyboard backlight, but the method you use to adjust it depends on which model you have. If your MacBook Air pre-dates the introduction of Apple Silicon, it has dedicated keys to increase and decrease the keyboard brightness. MacBooks released after that don’t have dedicated keys, but you can still adjust the brightness using the Control Center. If you aren’t sure which MacBook version you have, you can just check the top row of keys on the keyboard. If your F5 and F6 keys have light icons on them, then you have an Intel MacBook and you can adjust the brightness with those keys. If those keys have different icons, skip to the next section for instructions. To decrease the keyboard brightness on an Intel MacBook Air, press F5. To decrease the keyboard brightness, press F6.
How to Change Keyboard Brightness on an Apple Silicon MacBook Air
The Apple Silicon MacBook Air still has a row of function keys, but none of them are dedicated to adjusting the keyboard brightness. You can still adjust the brightness, but you need to use the Control Center. Here’s how to change the keyboard brightness on an Apple Silicon MacBook Air:
How to Add the Keyboard Brightness Button to Control Center
The keyboard brightness button may not show up in your Control Center depending on the other options that appear there. If it is present, it may be one of the large buttons that includes both text and an icon, or it may be a smaller button at the bottom of the Control Center that only has an icon. If you don’t see a keyboard brightness button in the Control Center at all, you can add it. You can also add this button directly to your menu bar for easier access if you find that you adjust your keyboard brightness a lot. Here’s how to add the keyboard brightness button to the Control Center or menu bar:
