How To Fix Brightness Function Keys Not Working on Asus N56JK

If you own an Asus N56JK laptop and have been experiencing issues with your brightness function keys not working properly, this article will guide you through several effective solutions to fix this problem.

Understanding the Issue

Before we dive into the solutions, it’s important to understand the problem. The brightness function keys (Fn+F5/F6) on your Asus N56JK laptop are designed to adjust the screen brightness. However, due to various reasons such as outdated drivers, incorrect settings, or compatibility issues with your operating system, these keys might stop working as expected.

Solution 1: Update Grub

The first solution involves updating the Grub configuration file. Grub is a boot loader package that provides users the choice to boot one of multiple operating systems installed on a computer or select a specific kernel configuration available on a particular operating system.

Steps to Update Grub

1. Open the terminal. You can do this by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T.
2. Type the following command to open the Grub configuration file: gksudo gedit /etc/default/grub
3. Find the line that reads GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash" and change it to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash pcie_aspm=force acpi_osi=".
   • quiet splash: This is a kernel parameter that hides the text messages displayed during boot and shows a splash screen instead.
   • pcie_aspm=force: This forces the activation of Active State Power Management (ASPM) which can save power.
   • acpi_osi=: This parameter can be used to enable or disable different ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface) features.
4. Save and exit the file.
5. Now, you need to update Grub with the new configuration. Type the following command in the terminal: sudo update-grub
6. Finally, restart your computer using the following command: sudo shutdown -r now

After the system restarts, check to see if your brightness function keys are working.

Solution 2: Create 20-intel.conf (For Intel GFX Card Only)

If your Asus N56JK uses an Intel graphics card and the first solution didn’t work, you can try creating a 20-intel.conf file.

Steps to Create 20-intel.conf

1. Open the terminal again with Ctrl+Alt+T.
2. Navigate to the Xorg configuration directory by typing the following command: cd /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d
3. Create a new file named 20-intel.conf with the following command: sudo touch 20-intel.conf
4. Open the file for editing with the following command: gksudo gedit 20-intel.conf
5. Copy and paste the following lines into the document:

   Section "Device"
    Identifier "card0"
    Driver "intel"
    Option "Backlight" "intel_backlight"
    BusID "PCI:0:2:0"
   EndSection

   This configuration tells the system to use the Intel driver for the device identified as “card0” and sets the backlight option to “intel_backlight”.
6. Save and exit the file.
7. Restart your computer using the following command: sudo shutdown -r now

Check the function keys after the system restarts.

Solution 3: Install xbacklight

If the above two solutions didn’t work, you can try installing xbacklight, a utility to adjust backlight brightness using RandR extension.

Steps to Install xbacklight

1. Open the terminal with Ctrl+Alt+T.
2. Install xbacklight by typing the following command: sudo apt-get install xbacklight
3. In the Keyboard settings, set up custom shortcuts to increase or decrease the backlight by calling xbacklight -inc 10 or xbacklight -dec 10. These commands will increase or decrease the backlight brightness by 10%.

Conclusion

By following the above solutions, you should be able to fix the issue with the brightness function keys not working on your Asus N56JK laptop. If none of these solutions work, you can refer to the GitHub repository specifically for Asus UX305FA Zenbook which provides additional fixes for brightness issues on Asus laptops.

Remember, before trying these solutions, ensure that your function keys are working properly within your operating system. You can also try adjusting the brightness manually through the Brightness settings in System Settings or checking the Hotkey settings in the Keyboard section of System Settings.