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I've a Mac Studio that is in a room that sometimes need to be very dark.

Does anybody knows how to turn off its Status Indicator Light for when the screen is turned off but the computer is still on?

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    Does the LED show up as a device in "System Report" or from system_profiler -detailLevel basic ? I ask because if it does that may imply that it's controllable with software.
    – Freiheit
    Apr 22, 2022 at 16:04
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    The output of system_profiler is quite extensive, but searching for "status" or "LED" on the output didn't give me anything related with the indicator light.
    – João Colaço
    Apr 22, 2022 at 22:28

3 Answers 3

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Note: This is a frame challenge, because I don't believe what the OP wants is actually possible.

White or pale grey electrical insulating tape. $£€ 1 from any DIY store. Comes in a myriad of colours. Adding layers reduces the effect still further.
I have a house full of devices with varying thicknesses of tape, for all those devices you cannot switch this off without powering the machine down.

enter image description here enter image description here

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    THE most common sense solution - even have a roll of black tape ready for use on my desk :)
    – Solar Mike
    Apr 22, 2022 at 7:53
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    @SolarMike - I [briefly] had a smart-heater in my hallway. Blue LEDs for every function indicator & temperature etc. When switched off [ie at night] the whole thing not only got brighter than when it was on, but flashed too. Looked like there was a police car parked in the hallway. No amount of tape would kill it properly. Issue solved when it broke down, so I sent it back & got a different one.
    – Tetsujin
    Apr 22, 2022 at 7:57
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    Blu-tac also works well.
    – benwiggy
    Apr 22, 2022 at 9:50
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    Aluminum tape is also great for hiding the light entirely.
    – jpa
    Apr 22, 2022 at 17:12
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    Before we get an entire list of opaque objects you can stick over a light, the entire object of using semi-translucent tape is you can still see the light if you need to.
    – Tetsujin
    Apr 22, 2022 at 17:13
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Instead of tape, you can try webcam cover:

enter image description here

I am not sure how effective this would be. The light could still leak through. But you can unhide the light when you need it.

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Cheapest is the tape in the other answer, but if you want to make the effort then this is possible:

Open the device. Trace the connections on the switch and cut the supply, or return, to the led in the switch.

Check the connections to be sure you are cutting the correct line before you cut. If you cut the wrong one you end up with a lot more work.

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    "May void warranty."
    – benwiggy
    Apr 22, 2022 at 8:30
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    @benwiggy With Apple, the tape idea would probably void the warranty. For all you know they've installed Liquid Contact Indicators behind the LED which will get triggered by the captured moisture of the tape.
    – MonkeyZeus
    Apr 22, 2022 at 17:22
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    A bit destructive, and a bit outside of the spirit of the question. However it would be funny to fill the answers for my question with things similar to the Barometer Question meme.
    – João Colaço
    Apr 22, 2022 at 22:26
  • ifixit.com/News/57898/mac-studio-teardown has a video showing a teardown. This video may help show how or if the LED/switch is easily accessible. No guide from iFixit yet, but it's new hardware.
    – Freiheit
    Apr 25, 2022 at 13:15
  • @JoãoColaço So, in "the spirit of the question", you have not been given any answer that "turns off" the light... Just covers it. Having repaired many things then this is always one avenue I tend to explore: "get the cover off"...
    – Solar Mike
    Apr 25, 2022 at 13:19

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