Lidar Lasers on Volvo SUV Fries Smartphone Camera Sensor
A Reddit user shared an alarming video filmed on his smartphone camera which was destroyed after he pointed it at a vehicle’s lidar.
The Redditor, known as Jeguetelli, shared the video on the r/Volvo subreddit showing permanent damage to his iPhone 16 Pro Max after filming the lidar sensor on a Volvo EX90. “Never film the new EX90 because you will break your cell camera. Lidar lasers burn your camera,” Jeguetelli writes.
Filming a LiDAR sensor from a Volvo EX90 up close will damage your camera pic.twitter.com/SGy1WOQE8R
— Nic Cruz Patane (@niccruzpatane) May 19, 2025
As Jeguetelli films the car, colorful specks start appearing on the screen. These artifacts indicate physical damage to the phone’s telephoto lens sensor.
The Volvo EX90, a luxury electric SUV, is equipped with a roof-mounted lidar sensor that emits high-powered infrared laser beams to map the vehicle’s surroundings. These beams are invisible to the human eye but can be highly disruptive — or even destructive — to image sensors in cameras.
Volvo has acknowledged the risk. A warning on its website advises: “Do not point a camera directly at the lidar. The lidar, being a laser-based system, uses infrared light waves that may cause damage to certain camera devices. This can include smartphones or phones equipped with a camera.”
In an email to The Drive, Volvo adds that, “Using filters or protective covers on the camera lens can help reduce the impact of lidar exposure. Some cameras are designed with built-in protections against high-intensity light sources.”
The Drive notes that the risk isn’t exclusive to Volvo’s system. “It should be said that the risk here is inherent to lidar technology, and has nothing to do with Volvo’s specific implementation on the EX90,” reports the car-focused news website.
The lidar system is used for autonomous features, and there is ongoing debate in the automotive industry over which system is best for self-driving purposes: lidar or cameras. Tesla relies solely on cameras, and Elon Musk has criticized lidar as “a crutch.”
While lidar systems used in vehicles are eye-safe due to the use of longer wavelength infrared light — typically around 1550nm — camera sensors remain vulnerable. That wavelength allows for higher power output, which extends the range but increases the potential to damage sensitive imaging hardware.
Online commenters point out that damage appears to occur primarily when the phone switches to a telephoto lens, which uses a different sensor more susceptible to laser interference. In Jeguetelli’s case, the phone’s wide-angle camera showed no signs of harm.
Laser beams have been known to ruin smartphone cameras before. Twice PetaPixel has reported on lasers frying the camera sensor that was recording at a party and at a concert.
