@irvinewade is presumably talking about a external webcam (i.e. USB), not the internal webcam
1 Like
Yes, I had also read this very funny warning LOL
So, maybe a radiation detector?
1 Like
I have plugged so many different USB hardware in this laptop, but never ever seen this LED on…
1 Like
No, I was talking about the internal webcam.
2 Likes
Well, I can finally come up with an answer to this mystery…
Happens that I have a spare MBD for this laptop, so I had the idea to examine it carefully to try to determine where the LED solder pads traces lead to and maybe have a clue as to its purpose.
Surprisingly, there is no fourth LED on the right - only the 3 we already know about! Instead, this is where the magnetic detector (Lid close) is attached. No wonder nobody ever saw this LED on!
I have no explanation for this…except maybe a leftover from the evolution of the Librem line which has no use anymore - you know, like the appendix is a useless piece of meat left from our own evolution as a species…LOL
2 Likes
That explains why there is no light, thank you Tixo and thanks everyone but, … What does the weird slanted push pin looking symbol next to it represent? BTW, I’m about to purchase a purism phone. Will a detailed manual accompany the phone? 
1 Like
Depends what counts as “detailed”. My opinion: probably not. My phone came with an actual on-paper Quick Start Guide of about 15 pages. That doesn’t cover everything you could want to know.
There is of course a welter of information available online:
- the official Purism documentation
- the Community-maintained Wiki
- this forum
1 Like
There is a quick start guide for the Librem 5:
2 Likes
Thanks for the L5 quick start guide.
1 Like
Here are two photos:
One can clearly see the 3 LEDs and the “thing” on the right. Actually I’m not so sure it’s a magnetic sensor for the lid-close. It might be a microphone. I did not think it was at first, because those microphones are now very tiny sensors. Also the top surface is not a pad or soft cover, but a hard metallic surface to the touch. But: it could be some sort of piezoelectric microphone, maybe. Then the pictogram would be that of a stylised microphone.
What do you think?
2 Likes
Where do the pair of wires connect to?
Speaking from experience, Librem 14 works fine on at least 2 other planets, though (one roughly 4x Earth mass, one 2.9x, both similar atmospheric electromagnetic shielding affects). Also works offline with HKS from inside flying saucers/ARV.
1 Like
Great observation and photo. I agree, it’s not an LED hole next to the other ones but a hole for the microphone. So the weird slanted push pin is actually a pic of a microphone. It appears that this mystery has been solved. Also because of your deep dive, the old saying, “if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck”, has been disproven.
2 Likes
Except … the icon looks like a microphone and it is … a microphone. 
1 Like
Exactly. Truth (facts) are provisional and unless new data comes to light to change that, I’m satisfied that this matter is solved.
1 Like
I didn’t have the courage to look further: it’s not a connector, but the wires are soldered directly onto the MBD with glue applied onto the solder pads (probably to avoid shorts with metallic frame). Difficult to do continuity checking if you cannot reach the solder pads with the probe…
But I guess by now we all agree this is a piezoelectric microphone and that the weird symbol suggests a microphone. Furthermore, there is no hole for a microphone pickup on the display bezel as is commonly the case - the tiny hole next to the cam on the left is for the orange LED signaling the webcam is on.
3 Likes