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Fixing annoying blue standby lights

fullcircuit.com

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Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#51

Post by cf100clunk »

mrweasel wrote: post #12

Why is it that manufacturers go for blue or bright white LED indicators? I assume that they are cheap enough that it doesn't matter, but green would probably still be slightly cheaper. We have a USB charger that cannot be used in a bedroom, not that you should, but it can light up an entire room. Why not just have a tiny green LED? Apple is really good about not using bright LEDs in their product, or really any LED i…

I would prefer that manufacturers use the traffic light colour scheme:

* Red: stopped or off (preferably dimmed of completely off)

* Yellow/Amber: startup or error state in which the device needs intervention

* Blue/Green: running properly

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#52

Post by voakbasda »

cf100clunk wrote: post #51
mrweasel wrote: post #12

Why is it that manufacturers go for blue or bright white LED indicators? I assume that they are cheap enough that it doesn't matter, but green would probably still be slightly cheaper. We have a USB charger that cannot be used in a bedroom, not that you should, but it can light up an entire room. Why not just have a tiny green LED? Apple is really good about not using bright LEDs in their product, or really any LED i…

I would prefer that manufacturers use the traffic light colour scheme: * Red: stopped or off (preferably dimmed of completely off) * Yellow/Amber: startup or error state in which the device needs intervention * Blue/Green: running properly

For battery powered devices, red should be “charging”.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#53

Post by trilbyglens »

mrweasel wrote: post #12

Why is it that manufacturers go for blue or bright white LED indicators? I assume that they are cheap enough that it doesn't matter, but green would probably still be slightly cheaper. We have a USB charger that cannot be used in a bedroom, not that you should, but it can light up an entire room. Why not just have a tiny green LED? Apple is really good about not using bright LEDs in their product, or really any LED i…

My guess is that next to zero actual thought goes into the design and production of most items these days. Companies are getting cheaply designed cad files and whacking them onto an assembly line and shitting them out into a shipping container bound for a nameless Amazon sellers page.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#55

Post by wkat4242 »

mrweasel wrote: post #12

Why is it that manufacturers go for blue or bright white LED indicators? I assume that they are cheap enough that it doesn't matter, but green would probably still be slightly cheaper. We have a USB charger that cannot be used in a bedroom, not that you should, but it can light up an entire room. Why not just have a tiny green LED? Apple is really good about not using bright LEDs in their product, or really any LED i…

Yeah my external HDD has a blue LED that's so ridiculously bright it lights up the whole room and puts a really bright blue spot on the other side of the room.

I tried covering it with a post it (several layers) and after a month I noticed that the yellow colour had whitened completely where the LED is. Probably contains an unhealthy level of UV as well. Yuck.

I tried opening it up to replace the LED but it's clipped somehow. Very hard to open without damaging it.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#56

Post by Groxx »

Nail polish works just about everywhere too, lasts for years (unlike electrical tape, which is excellent temporarily), and is trivial to find. It can take a couple layers, but if you just want to dim it that can be a good thing.

(edit: though I have no idea if it'll let infrared through like this post covers. I luckily haven't had any devices sharing IR windows like that)

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#57

Post by hollerith »

atticora wrote: post #30

I recently bought an adjustable bed base which has USB ports on both sides. Each port has a bright blue light that illuminates the whole bedroom at night. I don't use them so covered both with black electrical tape. Problem solved. I've had the same problem with several desk lamps that lit up the world with that blue light even when turned off. I returned a couple of those immediately. But I looked through the review…

You are definitely not the only one.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#58

Post by wkat4242 »

TacticalCoder wrote: post #44
mrweasel wrote: post #12

Why is it that manufacturers go for blue or bright white LED indicators? I assume that they are cheap enough that it doesn't matter, but green would probably still be slightly cheaper. We have a USB charger that cannot be used in a bedroom, not that you should, but it can light up an entire room. Why not just have a tiny green LED? Apple is really good about not using bright LEDs in their product, or really any LED i…

> Why is it that manufacturers go for blue or bright white LED indicators? I don't know but I'm sure allergic to red. I don't understand why so many devices are using red for standby or even to indicate work (I'm looking at you Raspberry Pi). To me red is "blood" and blood is "bad". Red means error. Thankfully some devices, like ethernet switches, are using proper colors: green for trafic, orange for "degraded" link…

Funny, I imagine you're pretty young?

For us oldies red is just the normal LED colour since in the 80s this was the only colour that was available. Our alarm clocks, microwave displays, indicator lights and even some watches and calculators used red LEDs :)

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#59

Post by orenlindsey »

mrweasel wrote: post #12

Why is it that manufacturers go for blue or bright white LED indicators? I assume that they are cheap enough that it doesn't matter, but green would probably still be slightly cheaper. We have a USB charger that cannot be used in a bedroom, not that you should, but it can light up an entire room. Why not just have a tiny green LED? Apple is really good about not using bright LEDs in their product, or really any LED i…

The MagSafe cable still has an LED in it, it's green when you're fully charged and orange when it's charging.

But I agree, Apple is good about not annoying you with LEDs.

Re: Fixing annoying blue standby lights

#60

Post by johnwalkr »

mkj wrote: post #27

Soldering a nicer coloured SMD LED over the top of the blue LED works well. Most colours have a lower voltage drop, so the blue doesn't glow at all. Worked well for my pocketbeagle board which was annoying me, my initial attempts a desoldering the blue one were unsuccessful (no hot air), but a nice amber one in parallel worked great.

For desoldering without hot air, "chip quik" products are excellent. They make low melting point solder (like 60C). Add some to each pad of the led, and they will stay liquid long enough to remove the led with tweezers.
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