Alienware X17 R2 Keyboard Not Working No Keyboard Lights Fix Is Unplug Battery

I picked up an Alienware X17 R2 a few years back and on several occasions I've run into the weird issue where the keyboard stops working (I have they cherry MX version of keyboard if that matters) and none of the lights for the keyboard will come on. Not even the power light or rear accent lights will light up.

The first time it happened, I scoured the internet for a solution trying the typical "Reinstall the Alienware Command & Control" software, clear caches, etc. etc. Nothing worked and hours spent.

I honestly don't remember if I ran across a post, or if I just tried it out out of a last ditch effort, but the fix is actually super easy. All you need is a Phillips head screw driver.

If you don't know where I'm going yet, it's super simple. You need to take the plate off the bottom of the Alienware X17 R2, then unplug the battery. Make sure it's unplugged from power too.

For good measure, I recommend opening the screen and holding the power button for about 10 - 15 seconds to discharge the capacitors.

I'm posting about this because I literally just had to perform this procedure yet again on my Alienware X17 R2 laptop to fix the keyboard (typing this up on it right after the fix...)

Fortunately, it doesn't happen very often. I think this is maybe the 2nd or 3rd time I've had to do this procedure of unplugging the battery to fix the X17 R2 keyboard but still, it's super annoying.

The plug on the battery is a slide style. If the battery is closest to your body, the plug will "slide" out of its socket, towards you.

It's easy to unplug the battery without actually removing the battery, but plugging it back in might be tricky. I don't have any easy solutions to plug it back in if the battery wasn't removed, but worst case if you're struggling to get it plugged back in, just remove the screws from the battery to give yourself some more room with the plug.

Fingers crossed that Dell will release a firmware that will address this issue, but given the age of this laptop, I doubt it will happen, so we're left with yet another crappy experience from a company that doesn't care.

I don't know if this will work on other Alienware laptops, but I'm guessing the other line of X series and possibly even the M line could be fixed by this.

If this doesn't fix it, then there's probably something else going on and some of the other "fixes" you find online might help, but for most folks, this one is probably the #1 go-to fix for the Keyboard Not Working and Lights Not Working on an Alienware laptop.

As always, hope this helps someone else!