FEW people know what each light on their router means – and if you’re among them, you might be missing out on a warning sign, WiFi pros have revealed.
Experts warn that adopting an ignorance-is-bliss mindset to your WiFi router could mean you’re missing out on vital warning signs.
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Network expert Theodore Covey shared with Networks Hardware his troubleshooting guide for what each of these lights means.
Your router has a range of light colors: white, amber, yellow, and green, each color determines your router’s status.
We break down what both the bad and good colors mean below.
RED
Red lights mean something is wrong, warranting urgent attention.
“If you see blinking red lights, you’re having trouble connecting to your network,” says Covey, whereas “solid lights indicate there’s an error with your connection.”
AMBER
Amber lights have various possible meanings.
“If you see a solid amber light on a Linksys router, that means you have issues with your router due to configuration options,” says Covey.
But, if you see it on a TP-Link router, you only need a firmware update – firmware is a computer program that is “embedded” in a hardware device and is an essential part of the hardware.
WHITE
On certain routers, blinking white LEDs can mean your router is failing to connect to your modem, or your router has corrupted firmware.
But it’s not all bad: In other routers, white lights serve the same purpose as green LEDs.
GREEN
Green lights show that everything on your router is fine.
“It shows that you have a powered on router and it’s delivering signals through various means—like Ethernet or Wi-Fi,” says Covey.
Other Wifi tips to know
If your Wifi connection is lagging, one lesser-known reason is the positioning of the router.
Your router should be placed five to seven feet off the ground with a clean line of sight, plus other considerations such as its proximity to nearby appliances, The U.S. Sun recently outlined.
Plus, perhaps you didn’t know about this quick 15-second trick for solving slow Wifi issues.