• Re: A mysterious symbol on my iMac

    From Alan B@21:1/5 to John Hill on Thu Jun 20 05:52:50 2024
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Something to do with dictation? It’s probably just associated with your primary account. I have never seen this myself so intrigued I did a search
    and came across this article which may explain things?

    <https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/363545/what-is-the-small-microphone-icon-floating-on-top-of-the-screen-in-macos-and-how#375222>

    --
    Cheers, Alan

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Hill@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jun 20 05:40:55 2024
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Old John.


    --
    An infinitely complex system can fail in an infinite number of ways.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Alan B@21:1/5 to Alan B on Thu Jun 20 05:55:57 2024
    Alan B <[email protected]d> wrote:
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and >> reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary >> account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Something to do with dictation? It’s probably just associated with your primary account. I have never seen this myself so intrigued I did a search and came across this article which may explain things?

    <https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/363545/what-is-the-small-microphone-icon-floating-on-top-of-the-screen-in-macos-and-how#375222>


    Re-reading the article again suggests it’s about Voice Control which the article explains how to fix it.

    --
    Cheers, Alan

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Alan B@21:1/5 to John Hill on Thu Jun 20 07:05:27 2024
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 20 Jun 2024 at 06:55:57 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d>
    wrote:

    Alan B <[email protected]d> wrote:
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and >>>> reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary >>>> account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Something to do with dictation? It’s probably just associated with your >>> primary account. I have never seen this myself so intrigued I did a search >>> and came across this article which may explain things?

    <https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/363545/what-is-the-small-microphone-icon-floating-on-top-of-the-screen-in-macos-and-how#375222>


    Re-reading the article again suggests it’s about Voice Control which the >> article explains how to fix it.

    It is associated with this, but Voice Control was not on.

    However, if I turn it on, a white microphone symbol appears and the red one with the x against the microphone disappears. The white one toggles between Sleep and Wake Up, and can be dragged around.

    When I turn Voice Control off the white one disappears but the red one reappears. In any case, I do not need or want to use Voice Control.

    There must be another setting somewhere that changed itself overnight; the problem is finding it among the huge range of settings.

    What a pain! You may need to trawl through the Mac User Guide on the Apple Support site :(

    --
    Cheers, Alan

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Hill@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jun 20 06:47:29 2024
    On 20 Jun 2024 at 06:55:57 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d> wrote:

    Alan B <[email protected]d> wrote:
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and >>> reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary >>> account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Something to do with dictation? It’s probably just associated with your
    primary account. I have never seen this myself so intrigued I did a search >> and came across this article which may explain things?

    <https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/363545/what-is-the-small-microphone-icon-floating-on-top-of-the-screen-in-macos-and-how#375222>


    Re-reading the article again suggests it’s about Voice Control which the article explains how to fix it.

    It is associated with this, but Voice Control was not on.

    However, if I turn it on, a white microphone symbol appears and the red one with the x against the microphone disappears. The white one toggles between Sleep and Wake Up, and can be dragged around.

    When I turn Voice Control off the white one disappears but the red one reappears. In any case, I do not need or want to use Voice Control.

    There must be another setting somewhere that changed itself overnight; the problem is finding it among the huge range of settings.

    Old John
    --
    God made the integers; all else is the work of man.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From David Brooks@21:1/5 to John Hill on Thu Jun 20 08:30:13 2024
    On 20/06/2024 07:47, John Hill wrote:
    On 20 Jun 2024 at 06:55:57 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d>
    wrote:

    Alan B <[email protected]d> wrote:
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and >>>> reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary >>>> account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Something to do with dictation? It’s probably just associated with your >>> primary account. I have never seen this myself so intrigued I did a search >>> and came across this article which may explain things?

    <https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/363545/what-is-the-small-microphone-icon-floating-on-top-of-the-screen-in-macos-and-how#375222>


    Re-reading the article again suggests it’s about Voice Control which the >> article explains how to fix it.

    It is associated with this, but Voice Control was not on.

    However, if I turn it on, a white microphone symbol appears and the red one with the x against the microphone disappears. The white one toggles between Sleep and Wake Up, and can be dragged around.

    When I turn Voice Control off the white one disappears but the red one reappears. In any case, I do not need or want to use Voice Control.

    There must be another setting somewhere that changed itself overnight; the problem is finding it among the huge range of settings.

    Old John

    For Your Interest!

    https://discussions.apple.com/thread/255653577?sortBy=oldest_first

    Someone may know!

    --
    David

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From D.M. Procida@21:1/5 to John Hill on Thu Jun 20 08:32:00 2024
    On 20 Jun 2024 at 06:40:55 BST, "John Hill" <[email protected]> wrote:

    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand group in the menu bar.

    The one in the menu bar essentially means that the microphone is on - that something on the Mac is listening to audio. I couldn't get rid of it.

    Eventually I realised that if the Sound preferences Output & Input section is set to Input, then the preference pane is monitoring sound levels, and as far as the Mac is concerned, "listening".

    Daniele

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From TimS@21:1/5 to [email protected] on Thu Jun 20 08:45:45 2024
    On 20 Jun 2024 at 09:32:00 BST, "D.M. Procida" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 20 Jun 2024 at 06:40:55 BST, "John Hill" <[email protected]> wrote:

    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and >> reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    The one in the menu bar essentially means that the microphone is on - that something on the Mac is listening to audio. I couldn't get rid of it.

    Eventually I realised that if the Sound preferences Output & Input section is set to Input, then the preference pane is monitoring sound levels, and as far as the Mac is concerned, "listening".

    IIF your setup includes a mike, I imagine.

    --
    Tim

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From J. J. Lodder@21:1/5 to John Hill on Thu Jun 20 12:04:18 2024
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:

    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    The setting for it is probably in the Accessabilty control panel,
    which is somewhat different between system versions,

    Jan

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From David Brooks@21:1/5 to John Hill on Thu Jun 20 13:36:04 2024
    On 20/06/2024 07:47, John Hill wrote:
    On 20 Jun 2024 at 06:55:57 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d>
    wrote:

    Alan B <[email protected]d> wrote:
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and >>>> reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary >>>> account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Something to do with dictation? It’s probably just associated with your >>> primary account. I have never seen this myself so intrigued I did a search >>> and came across this article which may explain things?

    <https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/363545/what-is-the-small-microphone-icon-floating-on-top-of-the-screen-in-macos-and-how#375222>


    Re-reading the article again suggests it’s about Voice Control which the >> article explains how to fix it.

    It is associated with this, but Voice Control was not on.

    However, if I turn it on, a white microphone symbol appears and the red one with the x against the microphone disappears. The white one toggles between Sleep and Wake Up, and can be dragged around.

    When I turn Voice Control off the white one disappears but the red one reappears. In any case, I do not need or want to use Voice Control.

    There must be another setting somewhere that changed itself overnight; the problem is finding it among the huge range of settings.

    Just trying to help you, Old John!

    On the ASC forum ...

    As another person has asked, do you still see the icon if you start your
    iMac in Safe Boot mode?

    How to do this? Use safe mode on your Mac https://support.apple.com/en-gb/116946

    Please let us know.
    =

    Please respond there OR here! ;-)

    --
    David

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Hill@21:1/5 to All on Fri Jun 21 09:03:54 2024
    On 20 Jun 2024 at 13:36:04 BST, "David Brooks" <[email protected]d> wrote:

    On 20/06/2024 07:47, John Hill wrote:
    On 20 Jun 2024 at 06:55:57 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d>
    wrote:

    Alan B <[email protected]d> wrote:
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and
    reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary
    account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Something to do with dictation? It’s probably just associated with your >>>> primary account. I have never seen this myself so intrigued I did a search >>>> and came across this article which may explain things?

    <https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/363545/what-is-the-small-microphone-icon-floating-on-top-of-the-screen-in-macos-and-how#375222>


    Re-reading the article again suggests it’s about Voice Control which the >>> article explains how to fix it.

    It is associated with this, but Voice Control was not on.

    However, if I turn it on, a white microphone symbol appears and the red one >> with the x against the microphone disappears. The white one toggles between >> Sleep and Wake Up, and can be dragged around.

    When I turn Voice Control off the white one disappears but the red one
    reappears. In any case, I do not need or want to use Voice Control.

    There must be another setting somewhere that changed itself overnight; the >> problem is finding it among the huge range of settings.

    Just trying to help you, Old John!

    On the ASC forum ...

    As another person has asked, do you still see the icon if you start your
    iMac in Safe Boot mode?

    How to do this? Use safe mode on your Mac https://support.apple.com/en-gb/116946

    Please let us know.
    =

    Please respond there OR here! ;-)

    No, starting in safe Safe Mode stops it. So the logical place to look is in
    the LogIn Items. I have replied to Luis Sequeira1 on Apple Support.

    While I thank you for your efforts, may I suggest that it was rather
    indiscreet of you to broadcast an indication of my age to everybody and their uncles? While it is no secret, I prefer to control its release myself.

    Old John.
    --
    Classic computing: Computers do what you tell them to do, not what you want them to do.
    Modern computing: Computers do what they want to do, no matter what you tell them to do.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Alan B@21:1/5 to John Hill on Fri Jun 21 09:19:53 2024
    On 2024-06-20, John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Another stab in the dark - ignore if you wish. Do you use a Logitech
    keyboard? If so, try pressing F9. There are various reports of your
    symptom using that keyboard, e.g. on Reddit.

    --
    Cheers, Alan

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Hill@21:1/5 to All on Fri Jun 21 10:59:01 2024
    On 21 Jun 2024 at 10:19:53 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d> wrote:

    On 2024-06-20, John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and >> reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary >> account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Another stab in the dark - ignore if you wish. Do you use a Logitech keyboard? If so, try pressing F9. There are various reports of your
    symptom using that keyboard, e.g. on Reddit.

    It is indeed a Logitech Wave, but pressing F9 brings up Music.app and starts a track playing.

    To explore further, I disconnected the keyboard and reverted to my Apple Magic Keyboard. Nothing. So I did a Restart - nothing. it's still there.

    So the keyboard is not the problem. But it was a good suggestion and well
    worth a try.

    The offending items do not appear until the last of the other icons on the RHS have loaded. There are only six Login Items, and the only one that is new is the CCC Dasgboard.

    Would it help if I found some way of giving you access to a screenshot of the beast? Others manage it somehow…

    Old John.
    --
    You're not an old dog until you can't learn new tricks.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Hill@21:1/5 to John Hill on Fri Jun 21 12:00:14 2024
    On 21 Jun 2024 at 11:59:01 BST, "John Hill" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 21 Jun 2024 at 10:19:53 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d>
    wrote:

    On 2024-06-20, John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and >>> reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary >>> account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Another stab in the dark - ignore if you wish. Do you use a Logitech
    keyboard? If so, try pressing F9. There are various reports of your
    symptom using that keyboard, e.g. on Reddit.

    It is indeed a Logitech Wave, but pressing F9 brings up Music.app and starts a
    track playing.

    To explore further, I disconnected the keyboard and reverted to my Apple Magic
    Keyboard. Nothing. So I did a Restart - nothing. it's still there.

    So the keyboard is not the problem. But it was a good suggestion and well worth a try.

    The offending items do not appear until the last of the other icons on the RHS
    have loaded. There are only six Login Items, and the only one that is new is the CCC Dasgboard.

    Would it help if I found some way of giving you access to a screenshot of the beast? Others manage it somehow…

    Old John.

    The keyboard IS the problem! Or rather, something in the Logi Options+.app. I compressed it and binned the actual app. AppCleaner obligingly binned a load
    of stuff in the Library with it and the red square vanished. I didn't even
    need to restart.

    I wonder why F9 didn't work? The mute function (somebody said it was because "it" was muted) is on F10, but that's for speakers, not the microphone.

    I wondeer why it did not appear at first?

    I now have to decide whether or not to keep on using the keyboard. Hmmm…

    Old John.
    --
    Mony a mickle maks a muckle.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Theo@21:1/5 to John Hill on Fri Jun 21 13:27:19 2024
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    I now have to decide whether or not to keep on using the keyboard. Hmmm…

    Surely the keyboard will work without the app? Maybe it won't play music
    when you press the Music button, but do you actually care about that?

    (usual moral of the story, first try hardware without installing vendor software. If it works and does what you want, stop here. Sometimes the
    vendor software can be as much for their benefit as yours)

    Theo

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From David Brooks@21:1/5 to John Hill on Fri Jun 21 13:31:00 2024
    On 21/06/2024 13:00, John Hill wrote:
    On 21 Jun 2024 at 11:59:01 BST, "John Hill" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 21 Jun 2024 at 10:19:53 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d>
    wrote:

    On 2024-06-20, John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and >>>> reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary >>>> account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Another stab in the dark - ignore if you wish. Do you use a Logitech
    keyboard? If so, try pressing F9. There are various reports of your
    symptom using that keyboard, e.g. on Reddit.

    It is indeed a Logitech Wave, but pressing F9 brings up Music.app and starts a
    track playing.

    To explore further, I disconnected the keyboard and reverted to my Apple Magic
    Keyboard. Nothing. So I did a Restart - nothing. it's still there.

    So the keyboard is not the problem. But it was a good suggestion and well
    worth a try.

    The offending items do not appear until the last of the other icons on the RHS
    have loaded. There are only six Login Items, and the only one that is new is >> the CCC Dasgboard.

    Would it help if I found some way of giving you access to a screenshot of the
    beast? Others manage it somehow…

    Old John.

    The keyboard IS the problem! Or rather, something in the Logi Options+.app. I compressed it and binned the actual app. AppCleaner obligingly binned a load of stuff in the Library with it and the red square vanished. I didn't even need to restart.

    I wonder why F9 didn't work? The mute function (somebody said it was because "it" was muted) is on F10, but that's for speakers, not the microphone.

    I wondeer why it did not appear at first?

    I now have to decide whether or not to keep on using the keyboard. Hmmm…

    Old John.

    Please rember to report back on the ASC forum the solution which rid you
    of the problem! ;-)

    Thank you.

    --
    David

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Alan B@21:1/5 to John Hill on Fri Jun 21 12:33:38 2024
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 21 Jun 2024 at 11:59:01 BST, "John Hill" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 21 Jun 2024 at 10:19:53 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d>
    wrote:

    On 2024-06-20, John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and >>>> reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary >>>> account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Another stab in the dark - ignore if you wish. Do you use a Logitech
    keyboard? If so, try pressing F9. There are various reports of your
    symptom using that keyboard, e.g. on Reddit.

    It is indeed a Logitech Wave, but pressing F9 brings up Music.app and starts a
    track playing.

    To explore further, I disconnected the keyboard and reverted to my Apple Magic
    Keyboard. Nothing. So I did a Restart - nothing. it's still there.

    So the keyboard is not the problem. But it was a good suggestion and well
    worth a try.

    The offending items do not appear until the last of the other icons on the RHS
    have loaded. There are only six Login Items, and the only one that is new is >> the CCC Dasgboard.

    Would it help if I found some way of giving you access to a screenshot of the
    beast? Others manage it somehow…

    Old John.

    The keyboard IS the problem! Or rather, something in the Logi Options+.app. I compressed it and binned the actual app. AppCleaner obligingly binned a load of stuff in the Library with it and the red square vanished. I didn't even need to restart.

    I wonder why F9 didn't work? The mute function (somebody said it was because "it" was muted) is on F10, but that's for speakers, not the microphone.

    I wondeer why it did not appear at first?

    I now have to decide whether or not to keep on using the keyboard. Hmmm…

    I think the Music app is the default Mac keyboard option but the article I
    saw suggested the Logitech drivers changed it to toggle the icon you saw. Anyway it looks like you’re just about sorted and just need to decide which keyboard to use.

    --
    Cheers, Alan

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Hill@21:1/5 to All on Fri Jun 21 13:13:34 2024
    On 21 Jun 2024 at 13:31:00 BST, "David Brooks" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 21/06/2024 13:00, John Hill wrote:
    On 21 Jun 2024 at 11:59:01 BST, "John Hill" <[email protected]> wrote: >>
    On 21 Jun 2024 at 10:19:53 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d>
    wrote:

    On 2024-06-20, John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and
    reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary
    account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Another stab in the dark - ignore if you wish. Do you use a Logitech
    keyboard? If so, try pressing F9. There are various reports of your
    symptom using that keyboard, e.g. on Reddit.

    It is indeed a Logitech Wave, but pressing F9 brings up Music.app and starts a
    track playing.

    To explore further, I disconnected the keyboard and reverted to my Apple Magic
    Keyboard. Nothing. So I did a Restart - nothing. it's still there.

    So the keyboard is not the problem. But it was a good suggestion and well >>> worth a try.

    The offending items do not appear until the last of the other icons on the RHS
    have loaded. There are only six Login Items, and the only one that is new is
    the CCC Dasgboard.

    Would it help if I found some way of giving you access to a screenshot of the
    beast? Others manage it somehow…

    Old John.

    The keyboard IS the problem! Or rather, something in the Logi Options+.app. I
    compressed it and binned the actual app. AppCleaner obligingly binned a load >> of stuff in the Library with it and the red square vanished. I didn't even >> need to restart.

    I wonder why F9 didn't work? The mute function (somebody said it was because >> "it" was muted) is on F10, but that's for speakers, not the microphone.

    I wondeer why it did not appear at first?

    I now have to decide whether or not to keep on using the keyboard. Hmmm… >>
    Old John.

    Please rember to report back on the ASC forum the solution which rid you
    of the problem! ;-)

    Thank you.

    I have already done so.

    Old John.
    --
    An infinitely complex system can fail in an infinite number of ways.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From David Brooks@21:1/5 to John Hill on Fri Jun 21 13:21:47 2024
    On 21/06/2024 10:03, John Hill wrote:
    On 20 Jun 2024 at 13:36:04 BST, "David Brooks" <[email protected]d> wrote:

    On 20/06/2024 07:47, John Hill wrote:
    On 20 Jun 2024 at 06:55:57 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d>
    wrote:

    Alan B <[email protected]d> wrote:
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and
    reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary
    account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Something to do with dictation? It’s probably just associated with your >>>>> primary account. I have never seen this myself so intrigued I did a search
    and came across this article which may explain things?

    <https://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/363545/what-is-the-small-microphone-icon-floating-on-top-of-the-screen-in-macos-and-how#375222>


    Re-reading the article again suggests it’s about Voice Control which the >>>> article explains how to fix it.

    It is associated with this, but Voice Control was not on.

    However, if I turn it on, a white microphone symbol appears and the red one >>> with the x against the microphone disappears. The white one toggles between >>> Sleep and Wake Up, and can be dragged around.

    When I turn Voice Control off the white one disappears but the red one
    reappears. In any case, I do not need or want to use Voice Control.

    There must be another setting somewhere that changed itself overnight; the >>> problem is finding it among the huge range of settings.

    Just trying to help you, Old John!

    On the ASC forum ...

    As another person has asked, do you still see the icon if you start your
    iMac in Safe Boot mode?

    How to do this? Use safe mode on your Mac
    https://support.apple.com/en-gb/116946

    Please let us know.
    =

    Please respond there OR here! ;-)

    No, starting in safe Safe Mode stops it. So the logical place to look is in the LogIn Items. I have replied to Luis Sequeira1 on Apple Support.

    While I thank you for your efforts, may I suggest that it was rather indiscreet of you to broadcast an indication of my age to everybody and their uncles? While it is no secret, I prefer to control its release myself.

    Old John.

    First, I apologise - unreservedly. I'm so sorry I 'let the cat out of
    the bag', not knowing that it was something which would upset you.

    I noted that you had responded on the ASC forum. Thank you for so doing.

    I was really pleased that you didn't follow the advice of those folk
    suggesting that you use EtreCheck. My reservations are set out here:-

    https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/757636

    Good luck with finding the cause of your microphone icon!

    --
    Kind regards,
    David

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From David Brooks@21:1/5 to John Hill on Fri Jun 21 14:50:00 2024
    On 21/06/2024 14:13, John Hill wrote:
    On 21 Jun 2024 at 13:31:00 BST, "David Brooks" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 21/06/2024 13:00, John Hill wrote:
    On 21 Jun 2024 at 11:59:01 BST, "John Hill" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 21 Jun 2024 at 10:19:53 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d>
    wrote:

    On 2024-06-20, John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and
    reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary
    account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Another stab in the dark - ignore if you wish. Do you use a Logitech >>>>> keyboard? If so, try pressing F9. There are various reports of your
    symptom using that keyboard, e.g. on Reddit.

    It is indeed a Logitech Wave, but pressing F9 brings up Music.app and starts a
    track playing.

    To explore further, I disconnected the keyboard and reverted to my Apple Magic
    Keyboard. Nothing. So I did a Restart - nothing. it's still there.

    So the keyboard is not the problem. But it was a good suggestion and well >>>> worth a try.

    The offending items do not appear until the last of the other icons on the RHS
    have loaded. There are only six Login Items, and the only one that is new is
    the CCC Dasgboard.

    Would it help if I found some way of giving you access to a screenshot of the
    beast? Others manage it somehow…

    Old John.

    The keyboard IS the problem! Or rather, something in the Logi Options+.app. I
    compressed it and binned the actual app. AppCleaner obligingly binned a load
    of stuff in the Library with it and the red square vanished. I didn't even >>> need to restart.

    I wonder why F9 didn't work? The mute function (somebody said it was because
    "it" was muted) is on F10, but that's for speakers, not the microphone.

    I wondeer why it did not appear at first?

    I now have to decide whether or not to keep on using the keyboard. Hmmm… >>>
    Old John.

    Please rember to report back on the ASC forum the solution which rid you
    of the problem! ;-)

    Thank you.

    I have already done so.

    Thank you, old John! 😀

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From John Hill@21:1/5 to Alan B on Fri Jun 21 14:41:58 2024
    Alan B <[email protected]d> wrote:
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 21 Jun 2024 at 11:59:01 BST, "John Hill" <[email protected]> wrote: >>
    On 21 Jun 2024 at 10:19:53 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d>
    wrote:

    On 2024-06-20, John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and
    reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary
    account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Another stab in the dark - ignore if you wish. Do you use a Logitech
    keyboard? If so, try pressing F9. There are various reports of your
    symptom using that keyboard, e.g. on Reddit.

    It is indeed a Logitech Wave, but pressing F9 brings up Music.app and starts a
    track playing.

    To explore further, I disconnected the keyboard and reverted to my Apple Magic
    Keyboard. Nothing. So I did a Restart - nothing. it's still there.

    So the keyboard is not the problem. But it was a good suggestion and well >>> worth a try.

    The offending items do not appear until the last of the other icons on the RHS
    have loaded. There are only six Login Items, and the only one that is new is
    the CCC Dasgboard.

    Would it help if I found some way of giving you access to a screenshot of the
    beast? Others manage it somehow…

    Old John.

    The keyboard IS the problem! Or rather, something in the Logi Options+.app. I
    compressed it and binned the actual app. AppCleaner obligingly binned a load >> of stuff in the Library with it and the red square vanished. I didn't even >> need to restart.

    I wonder why F9 didn't work? The mute function (somebody said it was because >> "it" was muted) is on F10, but that's for speakers, not the microphone.

    I wondeer why it did not appear at first?

    I now have to decide whether or not to keep on using the keyboard. Hmmm…

    I think the Music app is the default Mac keyboard option but the article I saw suggested the Logitech drivers changed it to toggle the icon you saw. Anyway it looks like you’re just about sorted and just need to decide which keyboard to use.

    I bought the keyboard from Amazon and it was still well within the returns window. So back it has gone!
    Problem solved - permanently.

    Old John.

    --
    The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
    Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
    Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
    Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From David Brooks@21:1/5 to John Hill on Fri Jun 21 19:44:39 2024
    On 21/06/2024 15:41, John Hill wrote:
    Alan B <[email protected]d> wrote:
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    On 21 Jun 2024 at 11:59:01 BST, "John Hill" <[email protected]> wrote:

    On 21 Jun 2024 at 10:19:53 BST, "Alan B" <[email protected]d>
    wrote:

    On 2024-06-20, John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    A red square half an inch big bearing a microphone symbol and a cross in white
    has appeared at the top right corner of my iMac.

    It is totally unresponsive to being clicked or dragged. If I shut down and
    reboot, it is about 30 seconds after I log in before it appears.

    There is a similar microphone symbol, equally unresponsive, in the right hand
    group in the menu bar.

    I have two accounts on the iMac. If I log out of the primary account and into
    the secondary one it does not appear. So it is associated with the primary
    account, rather than the iMac as a whole.

    What causes it, and how can I get rid of it?

    Another stab in the dark - ignore if you wish. Do you use a Logitech >>>>> keyboard? If so, try pressing F9. There are various reports of your
    symptom using that keyboard, e.g. on Reddit.

    It is indeed a Logitech Wave, but pressing F9 brings up Music.app and starts a
    track playing.

    To explore further, I disconnected the keyboard and reverted to my Apple Magic
    Keyboard. Nothing. So I did a Restart - nothing. it's still there.

    So the keyboard is not the problem. But it was a good suggestion and well >>>> worth a try.

    The offending items do not appear until the last of the other icons on the RHS
    have loaded. There are only six Login Items, and the only one that is new is
    the CCC Dasgboard.

    Would it help if I found some way of giving you access to a screenshot of the
    beast? Others manage it somehow…

    Old John.

    The keyboard IS the problem! Or rather, something in the Logi Options+.app. I
    compressed it and binned the actual app. AppCleaner obligingly binned a load
    of stuff in the Library with it and the red square vanished. I didn't even >>> need to restart.

    I wonder why F9 didn't work? The mute function (somebody said it was because
    "it" was muted) is on F10, but that's for speakers, not the microphone.

    I wondeer why it did not appear at first?

    I now have to decide whether or not to keep on using the keyboard. Hmmm… >>
    I think the Music app is the default Mac keyboard option but the article I >> saw suggested the Logitech drivers changed it to toggle the icon you saw.
    Anyway it looks like you’re just about sorted and just need to decide which
    keyboard to use.

    I bought the keyboard from Amazon and it was still well within the returns window. So back it has gone!
    Problem solved - permanently.

    Old John.

    Ha! 🤣

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From David Brooks@21:1/5 to Theo on Sat Jun 22 15:01:11 2024
    On 21/06/2024 13:27, Theo wrote:
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    I now have to decide whether or not to keep on using the keyboard. Hmmm…

    Surely the keyboard will work without the app? Maybe it won't play music when you press the Music button, but do you actually care about that?

    (usual moral of the story, first try hardware without installing vendor software. If it works and does what you want, stop here. Sometimes the vendor software can be as much for their benefit as yours)

    Theo

    Please see here:-

    https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/757636

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From David Brooks@21:1/5 to David Brooks on Mon Jun 24 14:23:04 2024
    XPost: alt.computer.workshop

    On 22/06/2024 15:01, David Brooks wrote:
    On 21/06/2024 13:27, Theo wrote:
    John Hill <[email protected]> wrote:
    I now have to decide whether or not to keep on using the keyboard. Hmmm… >>
    Surely the keyboard will work without the app?  Maybe it won't play music >> when you press the Music button, but do you actually care about that?

    (usual moral of the story, first try hardware without installing vendor
    software.  If it works and does what you want, stop here.  Sometimes the >> vendor software can be as much for their benefit as yours)

    Theo

    Please see here:-

    https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/757636

    FYI .....

    Thank you for your response, Quinn. 🙂

    The developer of EtreCheck - John Daniel (also known as 'etresoft') - no
    longer appears to post here in the Developer forums and, even though I
    once purchased the EtreCheckPro product, he refuses to respond to my
    email messages.

    Are you able to confirm that EtreCheck is a satisfactory third-party
    software to install on an Apple computer?

    David Brooks
    https://www.linkedin.com/in/boaterdave/

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)