The success of iPhone was mainly due to the easy to use operating system iOS. However, there are so many symbols on the iPhone’s top status bar, Control Center and other default apps like Safari, Photos, etc. Some of the symbols are easy to understand but some icons need you to look for iPhone user manual or search in Google. For example, do you know why there is a blue dot shown with the app name? The answer is, iOS will show you a blue dot whenever an app gets update from App Store. It helps you to know the update and check the history of the app in case of any problems. In this article, we will provide the meaning of iPhone symbols.
Related: Keyboard shortcuts for iPhone.
Here is a complete list and meaning of iPhone symbols used in iOS.
| Symbol Icon | Meaning |
| Cellular signal range, indicating the strength of your mobile network | |
| No Service | Shows when no cellular network signal detected by iPhone |
| Cellular network strength symbol for dual SIM iPhone | |
| LTE | Indicates the availability of carrier’s Long Term Evolution network indicating the iPhone can connect to internet |
| 5G | 5G communication network, if you see 5G E, the E shows the availability of Edge network |
| 4G | 4G communication network |
| 3G | 3G communication network |
| GPRS | GPRS service for GSM |
| Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi calling |
| Connected to wireless network | |
| Connected to VPN | |
| An app is using location service | |
| Conditional or restricted location service, you will see this icon on top status bar when using apps like Maps. | |
| Connecting or processing. You can see this on the top status bar when opening websites in Safari. Also, you can see this when shutting down your iPhone. | |
| Call forwarding | |
| Airplane mode | |
| Teletype on | |
| Orientation lock | |
| Do not disturb | |
| Syncing with iCloud | |
| Locked or lock screen | |
| Paired with wireless headphone | |
| Alarm is setup | |
| Battery level of your iPhone. Green indicates sufficiently charged battery (generally +80%), yellow indicates low power mode and red indicates low battery (<20%). | |
| Battery level of device paired with Bluetooth | |
| Connected to internet via personal hotspot | |
| Charging symbol in green appears next to battery icon | |
| Blue status bar | Connected to personal hotspot, screen mirroring or using location services |
| Green status bar | You are on a call |
| Red status bar | Recording screen or call |
| AirDrop | |
| Cellular data | |
| Bluetooth | |
| Play button | |
| Blue Dot Before App Name | Indicates that the app was updated recently |
| Red Badge on the App Icon | Indicates the unattended notifications or unread mails depending upon the app. You can see this on individual app as well as on the folders. |
| Calculator icon | |
| Open camera | |
| Scan QR Code in Control Center | |
| Screen Mirroring in Control Center | |
| Volume up | |
| | Volume down |
| Torchlight | |
| New notes in Control Center | |
| Timer in Control Center | |
| Reply in Mail app | |
| Create new mail | |
| Archive in Mail app | |
| Flag in Mail app | |
| Folders in Mail app | |
| Tab switcher in Safari | |
| Reading List in Safari | |
| Favorites or Bookmarks in Safari | |
| Refresh page in Safari | |
| Share | |
| | Wallet |
| Voice Memos | |
| Text size change | |
| SOS Call | |
| Accessibility shortcuts symbol | |
| App switcher symbol | |
| Apple TV remote | |
| Ask Siri | |
| Audio symbol | |
| Control Center symbol | |
| Delete | |
| Do not disturb while driving | |
| Download symbol | |
| Gestures symbol | |
| Siri symbol | |
| Show or hide password | |
| Shake symbol | |
| Screenshot | |
| Screen Time | |
| Screen recording | |
| Restart symbol | |
| Reachability | |
| Password | |
| Notifications | |
| Mute | |
| Magnifier | |
| Keyboard | |
| Warning | |
| iPhone Settings iCon | |
| Delete | |
| Information | |
| Home App | |
| Help | |
| Hearing | |
| Guided Access | |
| Favorites or Custom |
iPhone Symbols PDF
If you like to keep the above list for offline reference, click here to download the iPhone symbols in PDF format.
Tags: IconsiOSSmartphoneSymbols