How to turn Ray-Ban Meta glasses on and off, and what the lights mean

Ray-Ban Meta glasses have a real power switch, a small slider on the left arm. Slide it forward and the glasses start up; slide it back and they're off. A light on the inside of the frame shows what's happening, and it's worth knowing its colors, because the same light tells you when the glasses are pairing, listening or resetting.

This guide is based on Meta's help center and published specifications, with the light colors and restart steps from Ray-Ban's support FAQ.

Turn Ray-Ban Meta on

1. Find the power switch on the left arm.
2. Slide it toward the front of the glasses, toward the lenses, and hold it until the notification light on the inside of the frame starts blinking white, then let go. Meta's pairing article describes the same move as the first step of setup.
3. Wait. The light blinks white while the glasses start up, which can take up to a minute, and turns solid green when they're ready, according to Ray-Ban's US support FAQ.

The white capture LED on the front also lights up as the glasses turn on. It's the same light that signals to people around you that you're taking a photo or video.

If nothing happens, the battery may be empty. The glasses charge only in their case, so put them back in, close it and let them charge.

Turn Ray-Ban Meta off

Slide the power switch back, away from the lenses. Meta's camera FAQ suggests powering the glasses down when you want complete privacy.

What happens when you take them off or fold them

Ray-Ban's FAQ describes two automatic behaviors. Closing the arms pauses any audio that's streaming, and the glasses reconnect over Bluetooth when you open them again. The glasses also use wear detection to notice when you take them off, which is what pauses and resumes music on its own. If you turn wear detection off in the Meta AI app, the glasses act as if you're wearing them whenever they're on with the arms open.

What the lights mean

The notification LED, on the inside of the frame, according to Ray-Ban's FAQs and Meta:

The capture LED, on the front, is white. It blinks briefly for a photo and keeps blinking while you record video, and Meta says in its privacy Q&A that it has no off switch.

The case LED, on the front of the charging case, according to Meta and Ray-Ban:

A solid or pulsing red light when you dock the glasses signals a charging error. Ray-Ban's FAQ for India says it happens when the glasses or case are too hot or when there's liquid on them; move them somewhere cooler, or dry the nose bridge and the case and try again.

Restart a frozen pair

Ray-Ban suggests a restart when the glasses misbehave, and says it won't delete photos and videos you haven't imported or unpair the glasses from the app.

1. Slide the power switch back to turn the glasses off.
2. Wait a few seconds.
3. Slide it forward again. The glasses reconnect to the app on their own.

If that doesn't help, do a forced restart: press and hold the capture button while you slide the power switch back to turn the glasses off, slide it forward to turn them on again, then let go of the capture button. Ray-Ban says it can take a few minutes for the glasses to reconnect to the app afterward.

If they still won't turn on

Ray-Ban's checklist:

1. Put the glasses in the case and charge them for an hour. Make sure the charging contacts on the case and on the glasses are clean. A pulsing orange case light means they're charging.
2. If there's no charging light, try another outlet, cable or USB-C charger.
3. Slide and hold the power switch for 5 to 10 seconds and watch for the white light, then the green one.
4. If they still don't start after several hours of charging, contact support about a warranty replacement.

Meta Ray-Ban Display works a little differently: Meta says a red line appears next to its power switch when the glasses are off, in its Display guide.

For the rest of the buttons, see our guide to Ray-Ban Meta touchpad controls.