Your Power Button Never Actually Turns Off #shorts

History and Meaning of Power-Button Symbols

In 1973, an international standards group replaced on/off words—which varied by language—with symbols: a vertical line for “on” and an open circle for “off.”

A symbol combining the two was intended for a switch that fully disconnects a device from mains power, such as the physical rear switch on a desktop computer.

Devices that can be controlled remotely need some circuitry to remain powered so they can detect a signal. According to the video, this led companies to use a broken-circle symbol originally designated for “standby,” rather than one indicating complete disconnection from power.

By 2004, the standby symbol had become so widely used as a general power icon that standards were revised to define it as “power.” A crescent moon was designated for sleep mode.

Examples of Devices That Retain Power

The narrator says that some devices retain power even when they appear to be off. Examples include phones’ tracking and payment components. The narrator also says that, on a Windows PC, selecting “restart” can shut down the computer more completely than selecting “shut down.”

Source

A single narrator in a video from the Perkyy channel.