How to disable this blinking light on a WD External Hard Drive?
2026-03-16 03:56 UTC
Replies (40)
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@KazuchijouNo@lemy.lol 2026-03-16 03:59
Black electrical tape :D
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@dan@upvote.au 2026-03-16 06:05
Did anyone suggest using black electrical tape yet?
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@ampy@discuss.online 2026-03-16 11:57
Tape, electrical black.
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@fox2263@lemmy.world 2026-03-16 07:32
Black pen. Black sharpie. Black electrical tape. Black duct tape. Black roofing felt. Black tar. Black hole.
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@blackbrook@mander.xyz 2026-03-16 15:45
Probably no one's thought of this yet, but i'm going to say black electrical tape. If you put it over your eyes it takes care of all your devices at once.
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@Linearity@piefed.zip 2026-03-16 04:51
A piece of black, electrical tape
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@ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works 2026-03-16 19:53
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@Restaldt@lemmy.world 2026-03-16 15:29
Painters tape and a sharpie. Layered. -Autist with severe light sensitivity
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@db2@lemmy.world 2026-03-16 04:24
Black nail polish. Two coats.
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@wuphysics87@lemmy.ml 2026-03-16 13:13
Have a friend stand in front of it
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@hemko@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-03-16 05:08
Black electrical tape
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@ColdWater@lemmy.ca 2026-03-17 00:07
Black electrical tape, work better than any software
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@dynamoMaus@feddit.org 2026-03-16 07:13
I imagine tape would work. For example a black one specialised for electrics.
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@mrcleanup@lemmy.world 2026-03-16 06:30
You could always Dremel it out. First try black electrical tape.
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@Alvaro@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2026-03-16 10:07
Have you tried plucking your eyes out?
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@Chaser@lemmy.zip 2026-03-16 09:53
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@SentiEnt@lemmy.pt 2026-03-16 16:02
Brown electrical tape, if you don't have black electrical tape.
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@everett@lemmy.ml 2026-03-16 06:38
Activity lights are useful! Try a layer (or two, or three) of matte-finish transparent tape to turn down the brightness a bit.
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@orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-03-16 04:44
Tape.
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@buckykat@hexbear.net 2026-03-16 04:21
A piece of black electrical tape
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@SCmSTR@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2026-03-17 02:05
The age old solution of TAPE.
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@Cethin@lemmy.zip 2026-03-17 06:14
I'd recommend an strip of paper or plastic, ideally with adhesive on one side. Ideally a dark color, like black.
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@Asfalttikyntaja@sopuli.xyz 2026-03-17 09:47
There’s nothing which duct tape can’t fix.
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@d00ery@lemmy.world 2026-03-16 09:14
Blu tack, cheap, reusable, nondestructive, and blocks light better than tape. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blu_Tack
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@Lemmyglad@hexbear.net 2026-03-16 04:57
A piece of black electrical tape.
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@aBundleOfFerrets@sh.itjust.works 2026-03-16 06:38
Electrical tape. Black.
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@jol@discuss.tchncs.de 2026-03-16 07:39
Hack the firmware. Kidding just use tape.
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@Quatlicopatlix@feddit.org 2026-03-16 21:49
Open it up and desolder the led?
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@teawrecks@sopuli.xyz 2026-03-16 21:13
For an actual answer, it looks like WD has something called `wdckit` that is available on request. I see a corresponding AUR entry that looks like it's grabbing some zip from a personal Russian CDN. Super sketchy looking tbh. But it's possible this tool has whatever functionality the windows WD Utility uses to toggle the light in the drive's firmware. IMO, it's not worth it. I'd just go the electrical tape route and maybe ask WD Customer Support if there's a way, and if not, ask that they support Linux better in the future.
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@mexicancartel@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2026-03-16 05:08
I am surprised everyone think the same thing as me
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@KarnaSubarna@lemmy.ml 2026-03-16 15:16
Huh!, just Disconnect the drive from power source and it will OFF.
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@MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 2026-03-16 10:26
I found a bit of plasticine / modeling clay to be very effective. Because in the rare case that some circuit relies on the led acting as a resistor (planned obsolescence), you'd break the device with forcefully removing it.  (the green part)
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@BranBucket@lemmy.world 2026-03-16 13:04
They sell travel sized rolls of that gorilla tape. It sticks to just about anything, pretty much forever, and is totally opaque. Should work like a charm.
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@hateisreality@lemmy.world 2026-03-16 23:29
Matte black nail polish....works there and on annoying Bluetooth lights
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@Big_Boss_77@fedinsfw.app 2026-03-16 14:19
A big-ass hammer.
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@IceVAN@beehaw.org 2026-03-16 18:19
Just empty the ~~blinker~~ led fluid.
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@Abrinoxus@lemmy.today 2026-03-17 06:42
why not a tape, black, for electrical things
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@Foofighter@discuss.tchncs.de 2026-03-16 15:45
Duct tape
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@johsny@lemmy.world 2026-03-16 07:19
I would advise against using black electrical tape. It would be better to use black duct tape.
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@chgxvjh@hexbear.net 2026-03-16 08:52
Black tape