What are the lights on your modem saying?
The lights are flashing red! What does this mean? Do I need to panic?
Deep breaths.
We’re here to help. Good news, you might not even need us — fixing your internet can just come down to knowing what your modem is trying to tell you.
I know, we don’t all speak modem — that’s why you have us. So, what are the lights on your modem telling you?
It’s time to become a modem whisperer.
Power/Status
Green
Your modem is powered on and ready to go!
Red
Hmm… Something is causing trouble and your modem is telling you that it’s not powered properly.
First up, your modem’s power cable should be connected directly to a wall socket. Power boards are super handy, but not 100 per cent reliable.
If it’s not the wall socket that’s the problem, performing an ‘isolation’ test on your modem is a fantastic way to understand what the issue may be. An ‘isolation’ test means removing all the different devices connected to your Wi-Fi and modem. It helps us figure out who or what the red-light culprit is.
We all know turning the device on and off again sounds a little pointless — trust us, it’s not! If you were directing as much traffic as your modem does on the daily, you’d be keen for a little rest too. A quick reset helps flush out the digital cobwebs, like restarting your computer when it begins to play up. Try a modem reset. This should kick your modem into gear.
No Light
Yikes. This is a red flag as your modem has no power. Firstly, check your modem is plugged in properly. If you’re not sure, check what your nbn set up should look like. Remember, power boards aren’t always reliable, so connect your modem directly to the wall.
Check if there have been any storms or power outages recently. Sometimes, storms have a nasty habit of upsetting your modem. In these cases, you’ll need to get in contact with our online team.
Sync
Solid Green
Sync is established! It means your service is connected to the internet, either by a DSL or an Ethernet cable.
Flashing
Your modem is trying to sync. Just like most of us, your service is looking for a connection with someone, or something. Give it time. If nothing happens, check your cables and phone socket are in good condition before turning your modem off and on.
No Light
Your service isn’t connected to the internet by DSL or Ethernet. Once again, check that your modem is set up correctly. It will need to be plugged into either the nbn device or the phone socket. Also, make sure all your cables are in good nick. I’m afraid that frayed cables can cause a lot of trouble.
There are a few handy troubleshooting steps on our website that might get you out of this pickle.
WiFi/2.4GHz/5GHz
On
This shows your Wi-Fi connection status. Fun fact: This light can be green even when your internet light is red. If your internet light is red, your Wi-Fi will be unable to send information to your devices.
To recap, if your Wi-Fi light is on (Green), and you can’t connect to the web, check out what your other lights are trying to tell you. If your internet light is red, then something’s not right with your connection (read on for more).
Off
Your gateway Wi-Fi is now disabled — uh-oh. Your best option here is to press the Wi-Fi button on the back of your modem to enable Wi-Fi.
If you have an Ethernet cable handy, connect your laptop/computer directly to the modem, you’ll be able to access the modem gateway this way. From there, you can manually enable your Wi-Fi.
Internet
Solid Green
Your modem is authenticated to the Belong server and your internet is ready to go. Surfs up!
Flashing Green
Your modem is trying to authenticate. This means that it’s trying its best to connect to the web. Give it a minute or two, it should turn solid green after a moment. If it doesn’t: Stop. Isolate. Reset.
Off/Red
Don’t panic. There could be a couple of reasons.
Is there an outage? If you have mobile data, jump over to nbn’s website or your Belong online account, and under the dashboard select ‘Tech Help’ to see if there are any faults on our end. Power off your modem for 15 minutes. This gives your modem time to pull its act together and re-establish itself with the network.
Check that the cable plugged into the modem’s WAN or DSL port (depending on your nbn technology type) is properly hooked up and not damaged.
Check you’ve paid your bill, because your ISP could cut you off if you haven’t.
LAN
Solid/Flashing Green
All it means is that at least one LAN port is in use. What’s a LAN port? They’re the yellow ports in the back of your modem. You use these to connect your laptop/computer directly to the modem via Ethernet cable. Wham! Bam! Thankyou LAN!
No Light
No device connected to the LAN ports via Ethernet cable. You won’t always be using these ports, so this light doesn’t have to be on for your service to be working.
Conclusion
The lights are the windows into the modem. Now that you can speak in code with your modem, you should have a better idea of what to try if something goes wrong. Sometimes the fix is a simple reset or securing a flimsy cable.
Belong’s modems are easy to use, with handy features like parental controls, guest network compatibility and a simple setup that’s outlined step by step. Our modems and plans are also carbon neutral. Have a squiz at our nbn plans.
All information published in this article is provided for general education and information only, and isn’t intended to replace expert advice from a registered professional. While all information is published with due care and diligence, content remains subject to further research and may reflect differing matters of opinion. Belong does not accept any liability for any error or omission, injury, expense, loss or damage incurred by any person as a result of using this website or relying on any information published on this website.
