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What is the red dot above cellular network bars on iPhone?

What does a red dot mean above the LTE bars when on a call?


[Re-Titled by Moderator]


iPhone XR, iOS 14

Posted on Sep 21, 2020 1:47 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 23, 2020 10:53 AM

Antoin001 wrote:

I get all three dots- red, orange and green. If Red is supposedly in the app accessing the camera what is orange or green? I was unable to identify any app using anything when I had the red dot. Any ideas?


Click here for details on the: Status icons and symbols on your iPhone - Apple Support


As for the apps involved, quit the active apps one at a time until you find the app that was triggering the icon display.


Click here for How to force an app to close on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support


90 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 23, 2020 10:53 AM in response to Antoin001

Antoin001 wrote:

I get all three dots- red, orange and green. If Red is supposedly in the app accessing the camera what is orange or green? I was unable to identify any app using anything when I had the red dot. Any ideas?


Click here for details on the: Status icons and symbols on your iPhone - Apple Support


As for the apps involved, quit the active apps one at a time until you find the app that was triggering the icon display.


Click here for How to force an app to close on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support


Jun 23, 2021 2:45 PM in response to Tuannguyenhung

Tuannguyenhung wrote:

We can’t turned it off


Make sure the dot is not part of your background. Switch the background.


Check the running apps. That red or orange dot is expected whenever using the telephone, for instance.


If there's no app (that should be) using the microphone, and Control Center doesn't show an app using the microphone, try restarting the iPhone.

Jun 29, 2021 11:04 AM in response to Always-ask

Always-ask wrote:

I’m not on any phone call it seems to always be on except when I start talking about it then it seems to go off but comes right back on how do I turn it off it’s kinda creepy


Make sure the dot is not part of your chosen background. Switch the background.


Check the running apps. That red or orange dot is expected whenever using the telephone or FaceTime or any other microphone-using app, for instance.


If there's no app (that should be) using the microphone, and Control Center doesn't show an app using the microphone, try restarting the iPhone.


Sep 21, 2020 1:50 PM in response to Eddieryan76

Edited to remove wrong answer


If you see orange or green indicators in the status bar 

With iOS 14, you might see an orange or green indicator in the status bar on your iPhone. These indicators appear when the microphone and/or camera are being used by an app.

An orange indicator  means the microphone is being used by an app on your iPhone.

A green indicator  means either the camera or the camera and the microphone are being used by an app on your iPhone.

Sep 22, 2020 7:42 PM in response to Plives

Plives wrote:

How can u turn off or find out which app is using the microphone or camera when u see the ref or orange or green dot above the status bars


Quit the active apps until you find the one that was using the mike.

How to force an app to close on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

If you’re on a cellular telephone call on your iPhone, that call uses the mike,

Mar 20, 2021 6:12 PM in response to 51kk

51kk wrote:

Ues how do i tirn it off and see all apps using


There is no means to bypass that orange (or red) status indicator.


if it’s not the app you are immediately using (such as the phone app, or the voice-memo-recording tool), open the app switcher and close an app at a time, until you find the one accessing the microphone; when the orange (or red) indicator extinguishes.


Close an app on your iPhone or iPod touch - Apple Support


If you make a telephone call, or use FaceTime, or use the voice memo tool, or any other app that needs and uses the microphone as part of its function, the orange (or red) indicator will re-appear.


Note: The orange microphone-accessed indicator can appear as red, depending on the screen background chosen.

Mar 1, 2021 4:38 PM in response to sue148

sue148 wrote:

How do I turn it off

Read past the first post and you'll see you cannot turn it off. If you really don't want to know if an app is using the microphone on your iPhone do the following:


  1. Never make a phone call
  2. Never make a FaceTime call, Skype Call, Zoom Call, MS Teams Call or any Video Chat Call
  3. Never use any app which requires the microphone


There problem solved.

Feb 19, 2021 5:18 AM in response to TucsonTech

TucsonTech wrote:

and i want to know why some punk is treating me like an idiot

No one is treating you like an idiot. You came into this thread telling people they were wrong and you aren't willing to prove it with anything other than your word.

but your trying too hard and too many answers have been either removed or “modified by the moderator” for me to believe that now. call me jaded. i call it realism.

No one that you see in this thread has the capability of removing or modifying posts. Only the moderators can do that and they only do it when the TofU are broken. Realism to think that modified posts indicate something is amiss? I'd go more with jaded myself.

possible - yes. just entertain the idea that maybe there is a third light you don’t know about.

We would love to entertain the idea.. so why don't you confirm the idea with a screenshot?

you obviously have resources that we don’t. use them and investigate

Clearly you are mistaken. You are talking to other iPhone users here. The only resources we have are the internet and experience.

screen shots? not likely. there is too much information hiding in the meta data and such for me to be foolish enough to upload a screenshot to a public forum. post your personal private email address and i’ll send you them directly. better yet. post your mobile iphone number and i’ll imessage them to you. or just post a screen shot, and i’ll extract both from it and then send them to you.

Wow, you think someone here is going to give you their personal email? or phone number? Just because you're paranoid about what's in the metadata? That is exactly the kind of thing that will breach TofU and wind up saying [edited by moderator]


You also like to use the phrases 'punk' and 'kid'. but.. you have no idea who you're talking to and are making assumptions. I don't know Deggie personally, but I know he is older than I am.. and I'm definitely not a 'young punk'. In fact, as I understand it, the majority of the level 10 users are in their 50s-70s and have a vast amount of knowledge and experience under their belts.


I don't really even understand why you posted here. You have sounded far more 'pompous' than any of the high level users here. This is a public forum and anyone that wants can respond, whether you like it or not.

You want us to go out on a limb and trust that you have 3 dots, open our minds to the possibility.. but can't even support your claim by posting a screenshot. I have no idea what help you think we can provide without any evidence of your claim. As Deggie suggested, you should bring your phone to Apple if you think there is an unexplained indicator being displayed.


I'm also curious.. I'm including a screenshot showing one of these icons.. Where am I located?



Feb 19, 2021 5:42 AM in response to TucsonTech

oh and btw.. here is another screenshot..

note the one I posted previously looks more reddish and this one orange?

And how they are located in precisely the same spot?

For that, I defer to previous posts by our awesome and knowledgable high level users that comment on how background color changes the appearance of this dot (to provide more contrast when required)


Can't image the orange indicator would have been very visible in my first screenshot, would you agree?

Do you use light mode during the day and dark mode at night?

That's the only difference between my screenshots.


Sep 23, 2020 12:07 PM in response to Antoin001

Antoin001 wrote:

Your linkDoes not say anything about a red dot.


Clarification: while I posted it, that’s not my link, that’s what Apple states about icons and symbols.

Apple states the dot colors are orange and green.

There’ve been discussions whether the orange dot looks red on some devices.

Verify the behavior of your red dot matches that documented for the orange dot, and you’ll have your answer.

What is the red dot above cellular network bars on iPhone?

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