No backlight on numpad module, unable to enable with VIA tool

Framework Laptop 16 Linux
1

Which Linux distro are you using? Ubuntu

Which release version? 24.04

Which kernel are you using? 6.8.0-52-generic

Which BIOS version are you using? 3.05

Which Framework Laptop 16 model are you using? AMD Ryzen™ 7 7840HS

I am unable to get a backlight on the numpad input module in my brand new Framework 16 laptop. I know that it has the capability but when booted into Linux it does not show any numpad backlight. The keyboard itself shows backlight fine.

Additionally, to see if there is a way to enable numlock on boot with the VIA tool, that tool gets errors about not being allowed to open or access the device despite me giving it authorization.

So, two fold problem:
(1) any way to fix the backlight on the numpad module?
(2) any way to actually get past what seems to be a weird permissions issue for accessing the input module and keyboard in VIA?

2

So, managed to solve both issues.

Firstly, the backlight got shut off probably by me accidentally clicking the toggle key while numlock was off which made it shut off the backlight. Once I figured that keymapping, I got the backlight back on.

Secondly, in Ubuntu 24.04, there is nothing to make sure hidraw devices are in the plugdev group. Out of the box, it looks like the input from the keyboard and numpad are recognized as hidraw devices, however because of permissions, hidraw devices are given root:root ownership, meaning that you must be an admin to access them. Since that breaks most Chromium-based-browsers’ sandboxing and other things, it became necessary to define this broader rule, which sets all hidraw devices to be owned by root:plugdev so users in plugdev group can access the devices directly:

  1. Create the file /etc/udev/rules.d/99-hidraw-plugdev-group-ownership.rules with the following content:

    # ALL hidraw devices should be allowed from plugdev group
KERNEL=="hidraw*", SUBSYSTEM=="hidraw", MODE="0660", GROUP="plugdev"

  2. Trigger a udev update to apply the rules.

    sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger

Once this was done, and my user was in plugdev, non-snap non-flatpak Chromium-based browsers like Chromium or Google Chrome were able to access the hidraw devices that represented the keyboard and numpad (with the VIA tool at https://keyboard.frame.work).