If you were wondering, “what do the lights on my router mean” we decided to give a full description of the indicators and their meaning in this article. Knowing what the router lights mean will help you easily fix or report an internet connection issue.
Depending on the router type you have at home, the indicators might be placed in a different order. Anyway, you should follow just the main ones, like the power indicator, Internet, WPS, Ethernet, and USB. All these lights should be green and steady if the router is powered on and has a good internet connection.
What Do the Lights on My Router Mean?
- Steady green light means the router function is on, enabled, and properly connected
- A flashing or orange light indicates that the function is upgrading, processing, or progressing
- Light off means the function has no internet connection or power or is disconnected
How to Detect an Internet Connection Issue
The indicators might be placed in a different order depending on the router device you have at home. Generally, all routers have the power indicator first, then the Internet, Ethernet, WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup), USB, etc.
Power
The power indicator should be green if there is electrical power to the device. If the power indicator is off, you should check the electricity and see if the router is plugged in well. The power indicator light flashes when starting up or updating.
Wi-Fi
This indicator might also be labeled as WLAN or Wireless. The green light indicates that the router has a steady wireless connection. The indicator might also blink when the WI-Fi is in use. No light means no connection.
Internet – Green Internet indicator shows you that there is a steady network connection. The Orange Internet indicator means the router is active but has no internet connection or it is rebooting.
Ethernet
This indicator is for all devices that use corded Internet connection instead of wireless. Green Ethernet indicators show that there is a steady corded internet connection. This indicator would be off if you have no cable-connected devices to the router.
WPS and USB
This indicator stays off until you press the WPS button on the router’s back. This indicator blinks when you are connecting a new device to the router. The green USB indicator shows a steady USB device connected to the router. The blinking indicator shows that the router identifies the USB device.
How to Fix an Issue by the Indicator Light Colors
In normal conditions, the router lights should be solid green. If you reset or reconnect the router, the indicators might blink for a while and then turn green. If the Power, Internet, WLAN, and Ethernet indicators are off, there might be a connection issue.
Power indicator
If the power indicator is off, it means there is no electricity connection to the router. Check if the electrical cord is solidly connected to the router. Unplug and replug the power cord and wait for a response. If the power light remains off, you might have an issue with the electricity, or the router has some kind of damage.
Try to restart the router by pressing the power button on the back side of the router. Wait for a while until the indicators turn on and are steady. If none of these actions work, you can call the network providers and explain the issue. Note that you have unplugged and restarted the device, and it does not make a change.
Internet indicator
If the internet indicator blinks, the router might be rebooting or needs a reboot. To reboot the router, you should log in and restart the router from the admin dashboard. The rebooting takes a few minutes.
In other cases, a blinking or orange Internet indicator might mean enabled connection but no Internet service. In this case, check a few things like:
- The Internet port on the router’s backside
- The ethernet connection between the modem and router
- The connection between the internet service provider and modem
If the Internet indicator is off, it might mean no cable is connected to the Internet port on the back side of the router.
Ethernet indicator
This indicator should be green only if you have cable-connected multiple devices to the router. Most routers have multiple Ethernet connection ports on the back to allow you to connect multiple devices to the router at once.
If you have connected a device to the router, but the Ethernet indicator is off, you should check if the cable is well-plugged. Also, you should check the other side of the cord and ensure the router is well-plugged into the device.
If the device and router are well-plugged, but the indicator remains off, try to unplug the cord from the router port and connect it to another one.
You should know that the cord has a clip that keeps the input steady. This clip is sensitive and might break easily, which can be another reason why the connected device can not get an internet connection from the router.
In this case, you should buy a new Ethernet cable.
When should I reset the router to factory settings?
If you have made many settings changes, the router might face some difficulties providing a steady Internet connection. If you have tried to reboot the router, but it is still acting strangely, a factory reset might help fix the issue.
You should know that the factory reset will wipe off all the data and return the settings to the factory installation.
The factory reset is good to make if you want to sell or dispose of the router. Whoever will use your old router will not have access to your personal information since everything is erased.
Conclusion
We hope this article has resolved the most common question that makes people wonder – what do the lights on my router mean? Feel free to call the internet provider whenever you feel insecure about resetting or unplugging the cords from your router. The service might send an employee to fix the issue or guide you to reset or plug the router correctly.