NOKIA N73 AND THE CASE OF THE BLINKING BLUE LIGHT

Martin Brinkmann
Aug 2, 2007
Updated • Jul 27, 2013
Mobile Computing
|
25

I really like my new mobile phone which is the Nokia N73 Music Edition. There is however one disturbing thing, and that is a blue light that is blinking whenever my phone is activating sleep mode. Sleep mode is great because it consumes less battery when it is active, but that blinking blue light is really getting on my nerves.

I mean, I know when my mobile phone is turned on and just in sleep mode, which means that the blinking blue light of the Nokia N73 is completely useless. The problem is that you can turn it off, but this also means that you turn of sleep mode which in turn means that your mobile is wasting more battery.

To turn it off you navigate to: Menu -> Tools -> Settings -> Phone -> Display -> SLEEP MODE => off. This sends the blue light and the sleep mode to Nirvana which is probably not such a good idea. An alternative would be to place the phone with the front on the desk to get rid of the light without disabling sleep mode.

I'm not sure why there is no option to turn off the light only and still keep the sleep mode. Nokia, it is time for a firmware update that fixes this problem.

Update: another possibility that you could explore is to cover up the led on the phone, so that the light does not shine so bright anymore when it is entering sleep mode. You could probably use a pen for that with colors that do not go off that easy, or use a patch or something like that instead to hide the blinking blue light of the phone.

Several readers have pointed out that the notification light can be turned off as well. To do so, one would have to go to Menu > Ctrl. panel > Settings and General > Personalization > Notification lights > Standby br and turn that off.

Advertisement

Tutorials & Tips


Previous Post: «
Next Post: «

Comments

  1. mepfor said on August 5, 2011 at 4:25 pm
    Reply

    The user manual for Nokia E73 has the solution.
    Select Menu > Ctrl. panel > Settings and General > Personalization > Notification lights.
    select Standby br., and turn it off

  2. PowerBird said on July 20, 2011 at 8:04 pm
    Reply

    I like the blue LED flashing. It’s a cool stuff.

  3. kannan alias notty said on April 21, 2011 at 2:01 pm
    Reply

    instal jbak taskman & kill d task ‘blinking led’

  4. Azim said on January 14, 2010 at 1:00 pm
    Reply

    D blue light is nice . .I wish it always blinks. . . . .Sunni power . . Bohras suck . . . . SUNNI PRIDE WORLDWIDE

  5. ChrisDennis.o. said on May 9, 2009 at 12:33 pm
    Reply

    Yea Smilez, you got it; Penfold said it all. and hide your visibility after offing the bluetooth and the light will sure turn off. i actually love the led blue blinking thing. It helps me locate the phone in the dark and also for lil prestige, it also calls me the attention that my phone is still here.

    So Nokia, .”..leave that thing..”.

  6. Arvind Prabhu said on November 12, 2008 at 8:43 pm
    Reply

    I will be here 24×7 maxxiemus (Is one more x missing?)
    And is that your second name you signed off your note with? Visionary parents yours !!

  7. maxxiemus said on October 20, 2008 at 9:47 am
    Reply

    i plugged up the sensor with bluetak.. and arvind prabhu, you are on here on a saturday afternoon, so you get a life… dickhead

  8. smilez said on August 17, 2008 at 3:48 am
    Reply

    Hat off to penfold. Thanks my bluetooth was set on. I turned it off and now no more blue flash when in sleep mode.

    Udayan Chauhan, perhaps you should actually try something before criticizing it.

  9. Stuart said on August 10, 2008 at 11:50 pm
    Reply

    Ah, a search for how to turn off the annoying blue light finds me here. I may as well stick with the sticking it face down. I woke up to what I thought was an alien landing when I forgot.

    I can’t stand the phone at all, it was more a hand me down. It’s slow to do anything and since upgrading its firmware it no longer works with bluetooth on a Mac (10.5). I’m going to avoid Nokia from now on.

  10. Arvind Prabhu said on July 27, 2008 at 4:42 pm
    Reply

    Guys,
    You are worried about a flashing blue light on a dumb device on a Saturday evening.

    Get a life. Get out of the blues. :-)

  11. Martin said on July 26, 2008 at 3:10 pm
    Reply

    I regularly place the phone upside down to avoid the blinking light which is absolutely annoying in my opinion. I wonder why they never bothered to include an option to disable the blue blinking light. Not that it would be useful for anything either.

  12. Waiter said on July 26, 2008 at 3:03 pm
    Reply

    Well … having had the phone for a while, this is really not much of a problem. The only thing you need to do is to put the phone wherever you put it at night with the screen facing down. Pröblem sölved.

  13. TechSabre said on July 26, 2008 at 1:58 pm
    Reply

    I have an N73 and the blue flashing LED is the most annoying thing when you are sleeping! I think Nokia should include an option to disable this in the next N73 firmware updated.

  14. mo said on January 20, 2008 at 2:38 pm
    Reply

    How do i keep the blue light on at all time? it’s the coolest thing ever. If the phone is in sleep mode, the screen will be pitch black (same when it is switched off). Hence, it is extremely useful and it saves alot of battery.

  15. sunil sharma said on January 18, 2008 at 1:49 pm
    Reply

    In Nokia N 73 Music Edtiton “Select whether the display is switched off to save battery power 20 minutes after the power saver is activated. when the display is swithced off, a LED blinks to indicate that the device is power on.”
    but at this time phone is power off automatically.

  16. Ram Rao said on January 3, 2008 at 12:35 am
    Reply

    I just upgraded to the N82 from the N73 and sorely miss the li’l flashing blue light which unerringly helped me locate the phone in the dark. Is there a reason Nokia omitted it in the N82?

  17. Waiter said on October 18, 2007 at 7:06 am
    Reply

    Your blue light doesn’t flash?

    Well, Bobby McFerrin said it best – “Don’t worry, BE HAPPY!”

  18. BJ BRIAN said on September 30, 2007 at 12:40 am
    Reply

    wait… mine dont flash even when the sleep mode is set on but i want it on! please help!

  19. adnesa said on September 13, 2007 at 11:42 am
    Reply

    inicially when i bought the phone it was blinking and the light was white and strong. it blinked all the time and not only when it goes to sleep mode… now it is like you described. i kinda got used to it and i cant make it back. the reason i like it is when i lose it in my bag. i find it easily. :)

  20. Udayan Chauhan said on August 21, 2007 at 1:35 pm
    Reply

    no blue flash light has nothing to do with bluetooth…it simply means that sleep mode is on

  21. Penfold said on August 3, 2007 at 1:48 pm
    Reply

    Well i have the 6300 and the blue flashing light means bluetooth is on, just turn that off and you should have no flashes with sleep mode

  22. Martin said on August 3, 2007 at 8:19 am
    Reply

    I think it is questionable to force the blue light onto their customers like this. They should at least add an option to turn it off because I do know when my phone is still on or not.

    And even if I would not I would realize the state after pushing a button.

    1. mepfor said on August 5, 2011 at 4:23 pm
      Reply

      The user manual for Nokia E73 has the solution.
      Select Menu > Ctrl. panel > Settings and General > Personalization > Notification lights.
      select Standby br. and turn it off

  23. Lawliet said on August 3, 2007 at 7:58 am
    Reply

    This also happens in N80 and other N-series phones I reckon. I believe the rationale behind this is to tell you that your phone is very much still turned on even though the screen probably says it isn’t.

Leave a Reply

Check the box to consent to your data being stored in line with the guidelines set out in our privacy policy

We love comments and welcome thoughtful and civilized discussion. Rudeness and personal attacks will not be tolerated. Please stay on-topic.
Please note that your comment may not appear immediately after you post it.