[Resolved] Keyboard Backlight Issues on Framework 16 w/ Debian 12

Mark-D · March 31, 2024, 4:26am

Hello everybody,

EDIT: Of course shortly after posting this I decided to reboot, and I’m unable to recreate the below issue. I have a sneaking suspicion it will return though (reboot to resolve is no good resolution). So any wayward troubleshooting soul that wants to help me recreate/resolve the issue, feel free to reply!

I am running Debian 12 on my new Framework 16, the AMD Ryzen 7 7840HS model w/out the additional GPU.

The keyboard backlight is acting odd. It continues to fade in and fade out, and it doesn’t consistently respond when I press Fn+Space to control it. I also have the number pad installed, and Fn+NumEnter doesn’t appear to be controlling that backlight either.

I’ve alternated the Fn lock to see if this was a dumb user error, but it still isn’t working. (Sidenote: some sort of indicator light to show if Fn lock is enabled would be really helpful.)

I’m combing my system logs to see if I can find an error of some sort, but I don’t know where to look really.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

MJ1 · March 31, 2024, 4:39am

Which keyboard do you have?
Can you check what it’s set to in the lighting tab in Via (keyboard.frame.work)?

Mark-D · March 31, 2024, 4:45am

So I just opened that link in Google Chrome and it’s throwing a bunch of errors, see here:

timestamp, productName, vendorId, productId, message
00:42:15.010, Framework Laptop 16 Keyboard Module - ANSI, 0x32AC, 0x0012, "Failed to open the device."
00:42:15.041, Framework Laptop 16 Keyboard Module - ANSI, 0x32AC, 0x0012, "Received invalid protocol version from device"
00:42:19.242, Framework Laptop 16 Keyboard Module - ANSI, 0x32AC, 0x0012, "Failed to open the device."
00:42:19.247, Framework Laptop 16 Numpad Module, 0x32AC, 0x0014, "Failed to open the device."
00:42:19.248, Framework Laptop 16 Keyboard Module - ANSI, 0x32AC, 0x0012, "Received invalid protocol version from device"
00:42:19.253, Framework Laptop 16 Numpad Module, 0x32AC, 0x0014, "Received invalid protocol version from device"
00:42:38.774, Framework Laptop 16 Keyboard Module - ANSI, 0x32AC, 0x0012, "Failed to open the device."
00:42:38.779, Framework Laptop 16 Numpad Module, 0x32AC, 0x0014, "Failed to open the device."
00:42:38.780, Framework Laptop 16 Keyboard Module - ANSI, 0x32AC, 0x0012, "Received invalid protocol version from device"
00:42:38.785, Framework Laptop 16 Numpad Module, 0x32AC, 0x0014, "Received invalid protocol version from device"

I authorized Google Chrome to access my HID devices like it asked. Unsure what’s going on there.

MJ1 · March 31, 2024, 4:48am

Chrome is installed as a normal system package, right? Not snap, flatpak, or AppImage.

Mark-D · March 31, 2024, 4:50am

I downloaded the .deb from chrome.google.com and installed it via:

sudo apt install ~/Downloads/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb

MJ1 · March 31, 2024, 4:52am

You may need to add udev rules.
Place this file into /etc/udev/rules.d/.
Once added, run the following:

sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
sudo udevadm trigger

Then reopen your browser.

If still not working, check that /dev/hidraw* belongs to the plugdev group.
ll /dev/hidraw*
example output crw-rw-rw-+ 1 root plugdev 240, 3 Mar 22 17:28 /dev/hidraw3

Mark-D · March 31, 2024, 4:58am

Thanks MJ1, your first suggestion re: udev worked. I just accessed that website and the effect was set to “spiral” something. I’ve turned effects off, which I imagine will fix this issue. Is that your assessment as well?

P.S. IMO a webapp to pass HID devices to configure stuff like a keyboard is silly. Why can’t that be controlled locally on my PC? sigh

MJ1 · March 31, 2024, 5:04am

Totally agree. Someone said they are working on a Vial port. Vial offers desktop apps for Windows, Linux, Mac. And still offers a website GUI for those that so desire.

Which keyboard do you have?
Is the backlight working ok by Fn+Space keypess now?

Mark-D · March 31, 2024, 5:08am

I’m unsure which keyboard I have any further than it’s a backlit US/English keyboard. I just checked lspci and it’s details aren’t listed.

The backlight does appear to be working now!!

Thanks, again. Can I just edit the title like I see in other posts to say [Resolved] to mark this resolved?

MJ1 · March 31, 2024, 5:12am

I think you should be able to.
If you have the option then a pencil icon shows next to the title which you can click.

Clicking the pencil will bring up edit options.