Have you noticed that the DSL light on your modem has changed its color and is now red? Does it affect your internet connection and what is causing it? In this article, we will explain what the DSL red light on your modem means and give some suggestions on how to fix it. Keep reading.
Why Is The DSL Light Red On My Modem?
One of the common situations, when we can notice the DSL light being red, is when we power on our modem and while we are configuring it for the first time. This is something that shouldn’t worry us at all because it will change its color pretty quickly.
But if the DSL light won’t change its color back to normal and remains red for much longer, or when it just appears for no reason, it is something that requires our attention. In most cases, the problem is closely related to the Internet Service provider or the modem malfunctioning.
Let’s Fix The DSL Light Red On Modem
There are several simple solutions that should help you fix the red light and restore your internet connection. Let’s see what we can do here.
Is Your Account Activated?
Before you start fixing things it is important to know whether your account is activated. This is a common reason if you are a new user or you have moved to a different house and apartment. When your ISP activates your account, the DSL light should change its color. However, in most cases, you will have to wait till midnight that day for this to happen.
Are Your Account Details Correct?
In other situations, the problem may be in the connection details. If you have just replaced your modem it is possible that you have entered the connection details wrong. You can check this on your modem’s admin portal or contact your ISP and ask them to check that for you.
Have You Checked Your Cables Recently?
The DSL light may change its color to red if one of your cables is damaged or loose which prevents the DSL signal from being received properly. The same can happen if there is a cable connected to the wrong port.
Therefore, check all the cables and whether everything is connected properly and try replacing the suspicious cable and see whether it solves the problem or not.
Is The Modem Connected To The Right Phone Jack?
Maybe the phone jack you have just connected your modem to doesn’t have a signal. It is worth checking whether the internet line is on another phone jack and connecting the modem there. Try to connect the modem to the other phone jacks if there are more of them in your house or apartment.
Network Restart Is The Next Step
After checking the account status, the cables and connectors, and the phone jack, and if the red DSL light is still on, it is time to restart the network completely. This includes restarting the modem and the router in a specific order.
1. Disconnect the laptop or the computer from the modem/router.
2. Power off the modem and the router
3. Unplug the power cable from the modem first. If the modem has a battery please remove it now.
4. Unplug the power cable from the router.
5. Disconnect the ethernet and coax cables as well.
6. Wait for 5-10 minutes
7. Connect the Ethernet and coax cables back again.
8. Put the battery back into the modem and plug in the power cable. Give the modem some time to boot and wait till the LED lights stabilize on it.
9. Plug the power cable back into the router and give it some time to boot. Once it stabilizes, the DSL Light should change its color. If it’s still red, try the next solution.
Is Your ISP Down?
The DSL light can turn red when your ISP is down. There can be several different reasons for that like a power outage, scheduled maintenance or network upgrade, technical issues and similar. The good thing here is that it is easy to check whether your ISP is down and whether your area is affected by the outage.
In order to check this, you can get in touch with your ISP or visit their outage page on another device. You can also check this by visiting websites like Downdetector and similar websites.
In case of an outage, you will have to give your ISP some time until they fix the problem on their side. However, if you verify that an outage isn’t causing the red DSL light issue, then try this.
Is There New Firmware Available?
In most cases today, our ISP pushes automatic firmware upgrades from their side once a new stable version is released. This is a good way to have our modem and router running the latest firmware version which usually contains the latest security patches and performance improvements as well.
If you want to check whether a firmware upgrade will make the red DSL disappear, you can upgrade your router firmware to the latest version. To do this you have to access your modem’s admin dashboard from your web browser. Just type the default IP address into the URL bar and then enter the admin login details. These can be found printed on a sticker on the router.
After that go to the System or Maintenance section in the settings and click the Check button next to the current firmware version. If there is a new firmware available you will have an option to upgrade it with a single click of a button.
It’s Time To Contact Support
If you have tried the suggestions in this article and they didn’t fix the red DSL light on your modem, it is time to contact support.
Your ISP can check your connection and your line and if there are any problems they can fix remotely, they will fix everything pretty quickly or they can send a technician to see what’s going on.
Final Thoughts
By the end of this article, the DSL light red on the modem shouldn’t be a problem anymore. There are several things you can try in order to fix the issue, and as the last solution, you can always get in touch with support. The most important thing is to have a fast and stable internet connection again, and we are sure you won’t have to wait long for that.