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Can a Mac camera be turned on even the green light indicator is burned or damaged?

Hi,

Can a Mac camera be turned on even the green light indicator is burned or damaged?

Posted on Jul 24, 2021 6:14 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 24, 2021 10:40 AM

That Green indicator (Camera in use) is a software light. It is not a hardware lamp/light that can be burned out or damaged. The only way you would not see the indicator is if there are specific pixels on your screen that are not functional in the exact same spot where the indicator should be. If this happens then you would know it because that portion of the screen will not be lit at all times.


Axel F.

4 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 24, 2021 10:40 AM in response to correlly99

That Green indicator (Camera in use) is a software light. It is not a hardware lamp/light that can be burned out or damaged. The only way you would not see the indicator is if there are specific pixels on your screen that are not functional in the exact same spot where the indicator should be. If this happens then you would know it because that portion of the screen will not be lit at all times.


Axel F.

Jul 24, 2021 11:40 AM in response to correlly99

correlly99 wrote:

Hi,
Can a Mac camera be turned on even the green light indicator is burned or damaged?


The camera light is part of the iSight module, the light can be broken yes, and you can still have camera access if it is still recognized in System Information. As well as malware/spyware that bypass the light and still access the video or microphone.

see—

>(Option key) System Information> Hardware >Camera



to add—


If in doubt about your camera on/off I recommend you can install a light weight utility—



https://objective-see.com/products/oversight.html

Jul 25, 2021 3:06 AM in response to leroydouglas

Hi Leroy,


How did the malwares or spywares able to bypass the green light as I was told that no software able to bypass or turn off the light not even the macos firmwares. Please refers to the following link for the explanation:

https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/313504/does-a-modern-macbooks-green-camera-light-always-turn-on-when-the-camera-is-a

Can a Mac camera be turned on even the green light indicator is burned or damaged?

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