iPhone status bar icons
The icons at the top of an iPhone’s screen show its connection, battery, privacy indicators and which features are on. Apple’s iPhone User Guide names each one.
How to read it
Apple’s guide says the status bar icons give information about the iPhone, and that on an iPhone with Face ID more status icons appear at the top of Control Center. Apple sorts them into privacy indicators, battery, connectivity, active sessions, media and accessibility. A Focus shows its own icon in the status bar while it is on. The table follows Apple’s list as its help centre describes it, September 2026, in the guide for iOS 27.
Also searched as: iPhone icons at top of screen, iPhone symbols.
What each icon means
| Icon | What Apple says it means |
|---|---|
| Camera in use (green dot) | An app is using the camera. |
| Microphone in use (orange dot) | An app is using the microphone. |
| Location Services | An app is using Location Services. |
| Lock | The iPhone is locked. |
| Battery | The battery level. Yellow means Low Power Mode is on. |
| Battery charging | The battery is charging. Grey means charging is paused. |
| Bluetooth battery | The battery level of a paired Bluetooth device. |
| Wi-Fi | Connected to the internet over a Wi-Fi network. |
| Cell signal (bars) | More bars, stronger cellular signal. “No Service” shows when there is none. |
| Dual cell signals (two rows of bars) | Dual SIM models: the upper row is the line used for cellular data, the lower row the other line. |
| Airplane Mode | Airplane Mode is on: no phone calls, and other wireless functions may be off. |
| 5G, 5G UC, 5G+, 5G UW | The carrier’s 5G network is available. UC, + and UW can include the carrier’s higher-frequency 5G. |
| 5G E | The carrier’s 5G E network is available. |
| LTE or 4G | The carrier’s LTE network, or its 4G UMTS (GSM) or LTE network, is available. |
| 3G | A 3G UMTS (GSM) or EV-DO (CDMA) network is available. |
| E | An EDGE (GSM) network is available. |
| G | A GPRS (GSM) or 1xRTT (CDMA) network is available. |
| SOS | No full service, but emergency calls may be possible through other carrier networks. |
| Satellite | Emergency SOS, Find My, Roadside Assistance and Messages via satellite are available (iPhone 14 and later). |
| SAT | The iPhone is using a carrier-provided satellite feature. |
| Wi-Fi calling | Set up for Wi-Fi calling. The carrier’s name shows beside the icon. |
| Personal Hotspot connection | Connected to the internet through another device’s Personal Hotspot. |
| VPN | Connected to a network using VPN. |
| Network activity | There is network activity. Some third-party apps also show it for an active process. |
| Call forwarding | Call forwarding is set up. |
| Phone call or FaceTime | On a phone call or a FaceTime call. |
| Screen recording | The iPhone is recording its screen. |
| Personal Hotspot | The iPhone is providing a Personal Hotspot. |
| Navigation | The iPhone is giving turn-by-turn directions. |
| CarPlay | Connected to CarPlay. |
| Siri Eyes Free | Siri can take a question or request in the car. |
| Syncing | Syncing with a computer. |
| Do Not Disturb | Do Not Disturb is on. |
| Portrait orientation lock | The screen is locked in portrait orientation. |
| Alarm | An alarm is set. |
| Headphones connected | Paired with Bluetooth headphones that are on and in range. |
| AirPlay | AirPlay is on. |
| Voice Control | Voice Control is on. |
| TTY | Software RTT/TTY or Hardware TTY is on. |
Icons that show only in Control Center
On an iPhone with Face ID, Apple’s guide says, some status icons appear only at the top of Control Center. The split came with the notch. AppleInsider counted a carrier name and 26 other kinds of icon in the status bar before the iPhone X, and wrote in 2018 that on the X series the VPN and headphone icons appear only for a moment before sliding out of view, while Control Center has a status bar of its own with VPN, headphones and the battery percentage. Apple’s 2019 page put it the same way: on iPhone X and later the essential icons sit in the top corners, and the rest are in Control Center.
Coloured bubbles behind the time
Apple’s 2019 status icon page described a coloured bubble behind the time on iPhone X and later, and a band across the whole status bar on iPhone 8 and earlier: blue for a Personal Hotspot, Screen Mirroring or an app actively using location, green for a call, and red for recording sound or the screen. The current guide lists calls, FaceTime, screen recording, Personal Hotspot, navigation and CarPlay as active sessions without giving their colours.
What Apple’s 2019 list said
Two readings on Apple’s 2019 page are gone from the current guide. A hollow location arrow meant an app or item may receive the location under certain conditions, and a red battery meant less than 20% charge. The satellite icons are newer: Apple lists satellite features for iPhone 14 and later.
Look-alikes
Apple lists two hotspot icons. Personal Hotspot connection means the iPhone is getting its internet from another device’s hotspot; Personal Hotspot, among the active sessions, means this iPhone is providing one. Location Services means an app is using the location, and Navigation means the iPhone is giving directions. The orange and green dots beside the signal icons are privacy indicators for the microphone and camera (Orange dot on iPhone, Green dot on iPhone).
More phone status icons
Browse symbols drawn with curves and waves, lines or squares and rectangles.
Sources
- Learn the meaning of iPhone status icons, iPhone User Guide, Apple
- Status icons and symbols on your iPhone (2019 edition), Apple Support article HT207354, as archived 26 August 2019, Apple Support (Internet Archive copy)
- How to find the iPhone status bar icons that Apple moved because of the notch, William Gallagher, 18 November 2018, AppleInsider
- About the orange and green indicators in your iPhone status bar, Apple Support article 108331, published 27 May 2026, Apple Support
Last reviewed September 30, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research