System76

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A community for the System76 company, a manufacturer of laptops, desktops, and server computers that are both affordable and powered by Linux.

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Pangolin webcam light shutoff? (alien.top)

submitted 11 months ago by dnimymnitsol@alien.top to c/system76@hardware.watch

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Hello...I own the most recent Pangolin. I've posted quite a bit here about the shoddy state of the touchpad. That's still a problem, but I'm resigned to the fact that I'm stuck with this laptop for now and a USB mouse works well enough.

Anyway, the light on the webcam is absolutely blinding. It's like getting passed at night by some Lexus SUV. Absolutely blinding. When I cover it up with my finger, there's no change in the quality of the video in different lighting conditions. So, it seems like System76 is just using this light to further punish me for my computer choice.

Is there a way to disable the light without having to tape over it?

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[–] No-Trip-3736@alien.top 1 points 11 months ago

Put tape over it. The webcam light is a security feature that lets you know when an application is using your webcam. Bypassing this feature would allow someone to watch you via your webcam, with out you knowing. Or worse, you forgot to close a meeting/streaming session and didnt notice the light is on.

There is a lot of malware based on turning off webcam lights, but leaving the webcam on.

I will say it sounds like a terrible design if the webcam light is impacting the video quality.

I have trouble believing System76 tests their builds before selling them