No Backlight on Softkets on Cingular 8525

[fromVinnie]

This is really srtange. I thought that when improving a device engineers are supposed to take the good and add more features rather than remove essential features. I had a Cingular 8125 which was replaced by 8535. The Softkeys on hte 8125 are Backlit so itis easy to see in the dark, while on the 8525 the Softkeys no longer have any backlighting. The only keys that are Backlit on the 8525 are the Phone On(Green) and Off(Red) keys. Called Cingular Data Devices Support and they said that the keys are supposed to be backlit. But when I called HTC they said that the keys are painted. It is nice to know that Cingular is on top of this. Even their Technical people don't know!!! WOW amazing. While on the subject of Backlighting, the keyboard on the 8125 has better lighting as the numbers were lit in Red and the letter were lit in White. On 8525 everything is Blue, really hard to figure out. Maybe someone out there has an explanation for all this.

[dwcliff703]

The keyboard definitely has a backlight on all the keys. What you may be experiencing is that the device comes defaulted with the keyboard only kicking on the backlight based on a 'light sensor'. I've disabled this sensor in the 'settings...buttons...backlight...(uncheck the box) on "enable keyboard backlight auto sensor". I found that even in dark settings the backlight sensor would not kick on the keyboard backlight properly so now the keyboard automatically lights up by just touching a key on the keyboard. Hope that helps!

[fromVinnie]

My main issue is that why does the 8525 not have any backlight on the Softkeys (on the front of the phone, around the D-pad)???

[dwcliff703]

Sorry...I too do not have backlights on those keys but hadn't really missed it since I mostly access those by feel.

[motionmind]

the device comes defaulted with the keyboard only kicking on the backlight based on a 'light sensor'. I've disabled this sensor in the 'settings...buttons...backlight...(uncheck the box) on "enable keyboard backlight auto sensor".

No fair...the 8525 doesn't give this option.

[dwcliff703]

It's the 8525 that does give these options. The 8125 doesn't.

[motionmind]

It's the 8525 that does give these options. The 8125 doesn't.

Sorry, looked in the wrong spot. I found it! As for the 8125, it doesn't even have the light sensor, let alone the option to enable one.

[biggiek]

The keyboard definitely has a backlight on all the keys. What you may be experiencing is that the device comes defaulted with the keyboard only kicking on the backlight based on a 'light sensor'. I've disabled this sensor in the 'settings...buttons...backlight...(uncheck the box) on "enable keyboard backlight auto sensor". I found that even in dark settings the backlight sensor would not kick on the keyboard backlight properly so now the keyboard automatically lights up by just touching a key on the keyboard. Hope that helps!

Thanks for the tip... I was read to throw it out untill I read this:D

[shiggins9]

Thanks dwcliff703 for your post, even though it was a while ago! I thought my keyboard button detector thingy was messed up or something and didn't know why it worked some of the time!