Samsung Galaxy S5: How to Fix No Backlight When Pressing the Recent Apps or Back Keys in Android 4.4.2 Kitkat

By default, Samsung Galaxy S5 sets the Recent apps and Back keys' backlight to remain on for certain period after one of these keys is pressed. If the backlights don't light up even when you have pressed the Recent apps key or the Back key then there are two possibilities that may cause this problem: 1) the touch key light duration is set to always off, 2) the option to turn off key light within power saving mode is enabled.


How to fix no backlight when pressing the Recent apps or Back keys?
If you're also experiencing this issue on your phone, you can fix it by doing the following actions:

First: Make sure the touch key light duration is not set to always off
To do so, kindly do as follows:

1. On any screen, swipe down the top of the screen to open up the notification panel and then tap to go to the settings menu.
2. With the settings menu is displayed in grid view, scroll down to the Sound and display section and then tap Display .
3. Scroll the screen to the very bottom.
4. Tap Touch key light duration and then select 1,5 seconds or 6 seconds or Always on.
5. If needed, you can restart your phone. Once the phone is on, you can try pressing the Recent apps key or the Back key and the backlights should be light up.

Second: Make sure the option to turn off touch key light within power saving mode is off
If you still don't have the backlight when pressing the Recent apps or Back keys even when you have set the touch key light duration to 1,5 seconds or anything except always off, then make sure the option to turn off touch key light within power saving mode is disabled. You can do so by using the following steps:

1. On any screen, swipe down the top of the screen to open up the notification panel and then tap to go to the settings menu.
2. With the settings menu is displayed in grid view, scroll down to the System section and then tap Power saving.
3. Tap Power saving mode .
4. Tap Restrict performance.
5. Clear the check box next to Turn off touch key light to disable this option.
6. Now, you can try pressing the Recent apps key or the Back key and the backlights should be light up.