What's the difference between solid orange and blinking orange on a router?

Blinking orange means the router is actively trying to establish a WAN connection — it's negotiating. Solid orange means negotiation stopped: the physical link is detected but something is preventing internet traffic. Solid orange usually indicates an authentication, DHCP, or ISP provisioning issue rather than a hardware or cabling problem.

My router shows solid orange but my phone works fine on mobile data — is it the router?

Yes — if your phone works on LTE/5G, your internet service is reaching your area. The issue is localized to your home equipment or ISP account. Start with a modem power cycle.

Router Solid Orange Light (Not Blinking)

Router showing a steady solid orange or amber light — what it means on Netgear, TP-Link, Asus, Xfinity, and Arris, and how to fix it.

Solid

orange

Quick info

Device typeRouters & Modems

Colororange

PatternSolid

Locationfront panel — internet or WAN LED

StateLink up / no internet

Visual description

A steady, non-blinking orange or amber LED on the front of the router — most commonly on the 'Internet' or 'WAN' LED port. Unlike a blinking orange (which signals the router is actively trying to establish a connection), a solid orange means the physical link to your modem or ISP has been detected but internet traffic is not passing through.

What it means

Solid orange is the most misunderstood router LED state. It sits between 'no connection at all' (red or off) and 'fully working' (green or white). The router can see your ISP's signal, but something is stopping data from flowing:

PPPoE authentication failure: On DSL connections, your ISP requires a username and password. If those credentials expired or changed, the router connects physically but can't authenticate — solid orange.

DHCP failure: The router contacted the ISP but didn't receive an IP address. Common after ISP outages when the old lease expired.

ISP-side block: The ISP is seeing your router's MAC address and recognizing it as different from the registered device. Happens after replacing a router without calling the ISP.

Cable modem in bridge mode: Some Xfinity/Arris modem-router combos show solid orange when the modem is passing signal but the ISP hasn't provisioned the connection yet.

Brand & model variations

The same light pattern can mean different things across manufacturers.

Brand / Model	What orange solid means	Recommended action
Netgear Nighthawk, Orbi, RAX series	Solid amber on the Internet LED = the router has a physical WAN connection but cannot get an IP address or authenticate. Check the router admin page (192.168.1.1) under Basic → Internet to see the error type.	Admin page → Basic → Internet. Look for 'Failed to obtain IP address' or PPPoE error.
TP-Link Archer series, Deco	TP-Link uses orange on the Internet/Globe LED to indicate 'no internet despite physical connection'. The Tether app will show a more specific error. Often caused by ISP DHCP not responding.	TP-Link Tether app → Router → Status. ISP section will show the connection error.
Asus RT-AX series, GT series	Asus shows solid orange on the WAN LED when physical link is detected but no IP is assigned. Check ASUS router app or 192.168.1.1 → Network Map → Internet status.	Admin UI → Network Map → click on the 'Internet' icon for error details.
Xfinity / Comcast XB7, XB8 gateway	Xfinity gateways show solid orange when the modem downstream has locked but the ISP hasn't provisioned the device or the account is suspended.	Call Xfinity (1-800-934-6489) — this is almost always an account/provisioning issue.
Arris SB8200, TM3402	Solid orange DS or online LED on Arris modems means the downstream channel locked but upstream registration with the ISP failed. Often after ISP outages.	Unplug coax for 30 seconds, reconnect, allow 3 minutes for provisioning.

Diagnose your issue

Answer a few questions to narrow down the cause.

Diagnose Your Issue

What type of internet service do you have?

Safe next steps

Ordered from least to most involved. Check each step as you go.

Check the router's admin page (192.168.1.1 or use your router's app) — it will display the specific error under Internet/WAN status.
Power cycle the modem first: unplug from power for 60 seconds, reconnect. Do NOT restart the router yet.
Wait 2 full minutes for the modem to receive its provisioning from the ISP.
Power cycle the router only after the modem is fully back online.
If you have DSL: check the PPPoE username/password in router WAN settings.
If you recently replaced equipment: call your ISP to register the new MAC address.
If your ISP account has an alert or balance due: contact ISP billing — no equipment fix will resolve an account suspension.

When it resolves on its own

Condition: After ISP outage restoration

Expected time: Once the ISP restores service, solid orange usually clears within 3–5 minutes as the modem re-provisions. If it's still orange after 10 minutes post-outage, power cycle the modem.

When to escalate

Stop troubleshooting and contact your ISP or manufacturer if:

Solid orange persists for more than 30 minutes after a full power cycle of both modem and router.
Router admin page shows 'IP address not assigned' — ISP DHCP server may not be responding.
All neighboring accounts (same ISP) also have no internet — ISP infrastructure outage.
You've updated PPPoE credentials and it's still orange — ISP may need to reset your line.