Strange red light....

wjosten
your absolutly right, it is a IR LED. IR LEDs can be seen in some cases. I have sold LED's as a business and if look directly at an IR LED in pitch dark you can see them glowing. Never have tested this in multiple lighting conditions, so can say anymore on the subject.

I've searched with the keywords "IR sensor glow" and this issue could be generated by extreme heat or facing the sun for a good deal of time. The glow is considered a normal reaction and generally goes away. You sometimes see it on your appliances as well. I remembered seeing it on an 80s television and was freaked out by it but hasn't happened after the first time Ive noticed it.

It can also occur by lightning strikes too on unsurged appliances like the tv I mentioned before grounding was for real.
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Another method found on Macrumors. If you dropped it in water, taddletale:
http://forums.macrumors.com/archive/index.php/t-717023.html

Think about how crystals in the sky are able to interfere with the natural (white) light to produce a rainbow, and how a prism can also alter light transmission. So any object in the light's path will do this to some extent or another.

Also, Infra Red, as specified, is a BAND of light that stretches down to the almost visible with the (average) naked eye. Some people are able to see further into this band than others (Like hearing, some can hear higher/lower sounds than others). Also the actual IR emitter led may not emit perfect IR only light, but may, due to tolerances, emit a bit in the visible wavelength as well. What I'm saying is, there are a lot of variables and the combination of them that you end up with may allow you to see the emmissions of the IR led.

Nothing to worry about though, and I would imagine that it is VERY low power and taken on it's own, wouldn't contribute significantly to battery consumption.

Interesting though, perhaps you could start a "I Can See The IR LED" club.

btw, do you normally wear glasses ?

The iPhone does not have an indicator light.

The iPhone includes a proximity sensor and a light sensor located in the same area.

I have heard of this red light coming on after an iPhone was exposed to water or when dropped. Something may be wrong with your iPhone.

uh.... That reply was not directed to you.

You should know about antagonistic. Read your 2nd post in this thread

That's a good point. I've noticed sometimes when the sun hits my phone just right, the sensor looks sort of like a little red light.

A red light is not normal because there are no actual LED lights in there that would light up.

Actually there are. That is how the proximity detector works. Generally invisible, but not always

HAL 9000 feature?