6

I've noticed that macOS (Monterey) is showing an orange dot in the status bar that is attributed to Zoom. I understand that this is a new security and privacy feature in macOS indicating that an application is accessing the microphone. When I quit Zoom, however, the orange dot persists.

orange dot in status bar from zoom.us

I'm wondering if Zoom, or a related service, is still running in the background after the application quit. I've checked the Activity monitor and did not see Zoom listed or anything obviously associated with Zoom.

Why does the orange dot persist after quitting Zoom on macOS?

Improve this question
2
  • I am on Monterey as well and the light turns off when I quit Zoom/leave a meeting. Is zoom all up to date? It does not auto-update.
    – X_841
    Commented Jan 10, 2022 at 9:00
  • It happens to me sometimes with telegram too. I guess the notification indicator in mac os monterey still has some bugs because it remains there even if there's no microphone access by any app
    – Andrea
    Commented May 9, 2022 at 12:51

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
2

This was supposedly fixed in Zoom 5.9.1 (3506) as per https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201361963-New-Updates-for-Mac-OS but I noticed it still happening this morning...

Once I closed and re-opened Zoom the light went off.... monitoring to see if it re-occurs...

  • MBP 16" 2019
  • Monterey 12.1
Improve this answer
5
  • Zoom has updated and it seems to be ok now. Thank you for the link within the answer.
    – g .
    Commented Jan 14, 2022 at 8:21
  • I'm still seeing this issue even after the update, seems like I am not alone: community.zoom.com/t5/Meetings/…
    – George
    Commented Jan 14, 2022 at 10:22
  • @George It seems in that scenario, Zoom is still running but not on an active call which is slightly different to my experience where the orange dot persisted after quitting the application.
    – g .
    Commented Jan 18, 2022 at 21:24
  • @g For me if the behaviour happens, it persists after quitting, and the only way to get rid of the orange dot is to open the audio setting panel in Zoom and close it again
    – George
    Commented Jan 20, 2022 at 9:08
  • I rebooted after the update, and so far so good…
    – George
    Commented Jan 26, 2022 at 8:36
1

This actually appears to be an issue with macOS's implementation of the mic indicator. Even with native apps like System Preferences, the orange dot persists even after you quit the app. It's an overlooked Mac bug that unfortunately will probably not be addressed.

Improve this answer
0

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .