7 Steps to Fix Internet Light Red On Router – HomeNetworkON

Have you ever asked yourself what the LED lights on your router mean? While we are used to seeing the router lights blinking or being solid green or blue, when we see the internet light being red it is a sign that there is a problem with our internet connection that needs to be fixed as soon as possible.

The following article will try to explain why the Internet is light red and what you need to do in order to fix it.

Internet Light Red On Router – What Does It Mean?

Normally, the lights on our router will be either off, blinking, or solid. When it comes to the Internet light it can be solid red which is a sign of no internet connection or it can be blinking red. In that case, there is a problem with the connection.

Both situations have to be resolved quickly and here are a few suggestions you can try.

Fixing The Red Internet Light Step-By-Step

We have selected a few tested solutions that can help you fix the issue with your Internet connection. Let’s start with the most basic ones.

Don’t Rush To Fix It

Most of the time, this issue is a temporary one and it should be fixed on its own in a short period of time. Because of that, it is advised not to hurry with troubleshooting. Just leave it for a while and see what happens. Of course, if you notice that the Internet light is blinking even after a longer period of time, then you can try following the recommended solutions.

Power Issues

In some cases, a malfunctioning surge protector may be the reason why your router isn’t getting enough power or the power is unstable. If you want to make sure whether the surge protector is the reason for the red Internet light you can disconnect the power cable from the surge protector and connect it to the electrical outlet.

Wait till the router boots up and then check the Internet light. If it’s still red, connect the router back to the surge protector and try the next solution.

Check The Connection

The cables and connectors can be a bit problematic as well. When there is a loose connector or a damaged cable it is quite possible to see the red Internet light on your router. It is often enough to go over the cable with our chair or to bend the cable too much and it will be damaged.

Sometimes when we move our router to a better position, or when we replace the existing equipment, it is possible to connect the cable incorrectly i.e. to connect it to a wrong port

We need to thoroughly examine each cable in our network and make sure to check both ends of the cable and of course, replace the cable if we think it may be the reason for the red Internet light.

Restart Your Router

This is a simple solution for most problems we have with our electronic devices. The same principle can be applied when we want to fix our networking problems. Since the wireless router is practically the heart of the network we have to restart it. This procedure clears the cache memory and should resolve any glitches in the software that have been causing the issue.

Take the power cable of the router and disconnect it from the electrical outlet. Wait a little and then connect the power cable back. The router should boot up automatically. Wait till the LED lights stabilize, it shouldn’t last longer than a few minutes. Then check the Internet light again. Hopefully, it should be green or blue, depending on the router model.

Is Your ISP Down?

When your ISP is down for some reason there are great chances that you will see the red Internet light on your router. There can be several different reasons, starting from a power outage to technical issues or network maintenance.

If we want to check whether our ISP is down in our area we can get in touch with the customer support over the phone or visit their official website and look for the outage or status page. We can also check this using downdetector.com.

If there is an outage in our area we have to wait till they fix the problem. But if there is no outage, it is good to check the following.

No WAN IP Address

In specific cases, your WAN won’t obtain IP automatically. This is something worth checking when we try to fix the red Internet light issue.

This issue can be fixed from the router’s admin dashboard and because of that we need to know how to login to our router in the first place. The WAN settings can be found either in the Advanced or in the Network section. The Automatic IP has to be checked next to it. If it isn’t, check Automatic IP and confirm your choice by clicking the Save button. Check whether this has fixed the problem.

Contact Support

The solutions presented above should have helped you so far in fixing the problem. However, if the problem is still present, even after trying everything, it is best to contact your ISP tech support.

Call them and explain what’s going on. They can restart your connection, inform you about a specific problem or send a technician to check the issue. In case the tech guy confirms that the router is malfunctioning, you can expect to get a new one if the one you are using is still under warranty.  

Final Thoughts

We hope that you have managed to fix the red Internet light on your router with the help of the solutions given here. It is good to know that these solutions can be applied when you experience other internet connection problems.

If that happens it is important not to start panicking. Instead, follow the steps one by one and always make sure to give the router some time to boot completely before trying another solution.