Why are my modem lights on but I have no internet?

A modem with its lights on and no internet is telling you something specific. Each light reports on one part of the connection, so the fastest way to find the problem is to read them in order, from the line coming in to the device in your hand.

1. The street nbn’s network. Not yours, and not your provider’s to touch without nbn.
2. The connection box On the wall. Its lights say whether the nbn is reaching your house. Match its lights
3. Your modem Makes the WiFi. Its lights say whether it can log in and pass traffic. Match its lights
4. Your devices Phones, laptops, the telly. A device can show full bars and have nothing behind it.

What do the modem lights mean?

Most modems and routers carry the same handful of lights, whatever the label on the front. The names vary a little between models, so check the wording on yours.

• Power. The modem has power and is switched on.
• WAN, SYNC, LINK or DSL. The modem’s connection to the line or to the NBN box. Steady usually means the connection is up.
• Internet. The modem has logged in to your provider and is online. Steady or flickering usually means it is working.
• WiFi or WLAN. The modem is broadcasting a wireless network. It says nothing about whether the internet behind it is working.
• Ethernet or LAN. A device is plugged in with a cable.
• Phone. A phone service through the modem is registered, if you have one.

If you are on the NBN, there is often a second box as well: the NBN connection box on the wall, with lights of its own. This post is about the modem or router. For the wall box, see your NBN connection box and what its lights mean.

The lights at a glance

Pick the one that matches your modem and the panel below shows what each light is saying.

Your modem or router

Whatever your provider sent you. The labels vary, the jobs do not

The box that makes your WiFi. On the nbn it plugs into the connection box. The lights below are the ones nearly every modem carries, whatever the maker calls them, so check the wording on yours.

Which one is yours?

All on, no internet WAN or DSL off WAN flashing Internet light off Internet light red WiFi fine, cable dead

HealthyThe modem looks healthy and nothing is getting through.

• Power Green The modem is on.
• WAN, SYNC, LINK or DSL Green The connection to the line is up.
• Internet Green Logged in and online.
• WiFi or WLAN Green Broadcasting a wireless network. It says nothing about the internet behind it.
• Ethernet or LAN Green, fast flash That device is passing data.

What to do. Lights report that a connection exists. They do not prove traffic is passing. Restart it, then plug a laptop straight in with a cable. If the cable is dead too, it is the service and not your WiFi.

Not right yetThe modem cannot see the line at all.

• Power Green The modem is on.
• WAN, SYNC, LINK or DSL Off The modem cannot see the line or the connection box.
• Internet Off The line is up and the modem has not logged in to your provider.
• WiFi or WLAN Green Broadcasting a wireless network. It says nothing about the internet behind it.
• Ethernet or LAN Green A device is plugged in with a cable.

What to do. Check the lead to the wall socket or the connection box, at both ends, then swap it. If it will not come on, this is the line, the socket or the wiring behind it.

Not right yetTrying to connect, over and over, and failing.

• Power Green The modem is on.
• WAN, SYNC, LINK or DSL Green, slow flash Trying to connect, and not getting there.
• Internet Off The line is up and the modem has not logged in to your provider.
• WiFi or WLAN Green Broadcasting a wireless network. It says nothing about the internet behind it.
• Ethernet or LAN Green A device is plugged in with a cable.

What to do. A sync light that will not settle points at the line. Dropping out and coming back on its own, or worse after rain, points away from the modem.

Not right yetThe line is up and the modem has not been let in.

• Power Green The modem is on.
• WAN, SYNC, LINK or DSL Green The connection to the line is up.
• Internet Off The line is up and the modem has not logged in to your provider.
• WiFi or WLAN Green Broadcasting a wireless network. It says nothing about the internet behind it.
• Ethernet or LAN Green A device is plugged in with a cable.

What to do. This is the modem’s settings or your provider. A modem you bought yourself may need your provider’s details typed in.

FaultIt reached the line and was refused.

• Power Green The modem is on.
• WAN, SYNC, LINK or DSL Green The connection to the line is up.
• Internet Red The login failed, or your provider’s service is down.
• WiFi or WLAN Green Broadcasting a wireless network. It says nothing about the internet behind it.
• Ethernet or LAN Green A device is plugged in with a cable.

What to do. Check your provider’s outage page first, on mobile data. Then restart. If it stays red, the fix is on their side or in the settings.

Not right yetThe service is fine and a port is not.

• Power Green The modem is on.
• WAN, SYNC, LINK or DSL Green The connection to the line is up.
• Internet Green Logged in and online.
• WiFi or WLAN Green, fast flash Wireless traffic.
• Ethernet or LAN Off Nothing plugged in with a cable.

What to do. Try another lead and another port. Routers fail in part: we have seen the WiFi perfect while the ports on the back were dying.

A modem is whatever your provider sent you, so these are what the labels usually mean rather than any one maker's specification. Check the wording on yours.

If you are on the NBN there is a second box on the wall with lights of its own, and they are not the same lights. Find your connection box and match its lights: fibre, HFC and fibre to the curb each have their own panel there.

On a Telstra modem? The Telstra Smart Modem’s lights, generation by generation are on their own page, in Telstra’s words.

What each light is telling you, and where to look next

What you see	What it usually means	Where to look
WAN, SYNC, LINK or DSL light off	The modem cannot see the line or the NBN box	The cable to the wall or to the NBN box, then your provider
WAN or DSL light flashing and never settling	The modem is trying to connect to the line and failing	The line, the wall socket or the wiring behind it
WAN light on, Internet light off	The line is up but the modem has not logged in	The modem's settings, or an outage at your provider
Internet light red	The login failed or the provider's service is down	Your provider
Every light on or green, nothing loads	The modem looks fine but no traffic is passing	Restart, then test on a cable
WiFi light on, cable works, WiFi does not	The internet is fine and the wireless is the problem	Your WiFi, not the line

Why you have modem lights on but no internet

The first sign of trouble is usually a change in one light. It goes out, changes colour, or starts flashing in a way it did not before. Work through them in this order.

The WAN, SYNC, LINK or DSL light

This light is the modem’s connection to the outside world. If it is off, or flashing when it is normally steady, the modem is not connected to your provider’s network, and nothing further along can work.

• A fault on the network. There may be an outage or a line fault in your area.
• A loose or damaged cable. Check the cable between the modem and the wall socket or the NBN box. Push both ends in until they click, then try a different cable if you have one.
• A wiring problem. The socket or the cabling behind it may be faulty. That one needs testing.

If the light will not come on at all, ring your provider and ask for a line test. That tells you whether they can see your modem from their end.

If the DSL or sync light is on but there is still no internet, the line itself has connected, so move on to the Internet light.

The Internet light

The Internet light shows whether the modem has logged in to your provider. For it to come on, the WAN light has to be on first, so fix that one before this one.

• WAN light on, Internet light off. The line is up but the modem has not been let in. This is the “WAN light on but no internet” case, and the usual causes are the modem’s settings or a problem at the provider.
• A new or reset modem. If you have just bought a modem, or reset the one you have, its settings may be blank. A modem supplied by your provider normally arrives set up. One you bought yourself may need your provider’s details entered.
• A flashing Internet light. A quick flicker is normal and just shows data moving. A slow flash that never settles means the modem is still trying to log in.
• A red Internet light. The modem tried to get online and was refused, or the service is down. Check your provider’s outage page before you change anything.

The WiFi light

A steady WiFi light means the modem is broadcasting a wireless network. That is all it means. Your phone can show full bars and still have no internet, because it is connected to the modem and the modem is not connected to anything.

• Try a second device. If nothing on the WiFi can get online, the problem is behind the modem, not in your phone or laptop.
• Try a cable. If a laptop on a cable works and the WiFi does not, the internet is fine and the wireless is the problem.

There is more on that exact symptom in why your WiFi is connected without internet.

The Ethernet light

The Ethernet or LAN light comes on when a device is plugged in with a cable.

• No light. Push the cable in at both ends, then try another cable or another port on the modem.
• Light on, no internet. The cable is fine and the problem is further back, in the modem or the service.

Routers can fail in part. We have seen WiFi working perfectly while the ports on the back were dying. If your wireless is fine and the computer on the cable is not, do not rule out the router just because it is still lighting up.

All the lights are on, or all green, and there is still no internet

This is the confusing one, because the modem looks healthy. Lights report that a connection exists. They do not prove that pages are getting through it.

The common causes, roughly in the order worth checking:

• The modem has hung. It still shows its last good state. A restart clears it.
• An outage upstream. Your line is connected and your provider’s network is not passing traffic. Their outage page or app will say.
• The NBN box, not the modem. On fibre to the curb, cable and fibre services, the wall box has to be online too. Check its lights as well.
• A backup connection hiding the fault. Some modems fall back to a mobile SIM when the line drops. Everything looks normal and feels slow.
• One device, not the internet. If one laptop is offline and every phone is fine, the problem is that laptop.

How to fix modem lights on but no internet

1. 1

   Restart the modem

   Switch it off at the power point, wait at least 15 seconds, and switch it back on. If you have an NBN box on the wall, restart that as well. Give both a few minutes to settle before you judge the lights.

2. 2

   Check the cables

   Push in the cable between the modem and the wall socket or NBN box at both ends. Swap it for another one if you can. A lead that looks fine can still be the fault.

3. 3

   Plug in direct

   Connect a laptop to the modem with a cable and turn its WiFi off. If the cable works, your internet is fine and the problem is the wireless. If the cable does not work either, it is the modem or the service.

4. 4

   Check for an outage

   Look at your provider's outage page or app on your phone's mobile data. If there is an outage, nothing you do at home will fix it.

5. 5

   Ring your provider

   Ask them to run a line test and tell you what they can see. Write down the fault reference number, the time and what they said.

6. 6

   Factory reset, last

   Only if the provider asks you to, or the steps above have not worked. Hold the reset button on the back for about five seconds. Have your provider's settings ready first.

When it is the line, the socket or the wiring

If the lights say the modem cannot hold a connection to the line, and your provider’s test says the line is fine, somebody has to find out which of you is right. That is the point where swapping modems stops helping.

It is worth knowing the odds before you buy a new modem. When we analysed our own filmed fault jobs, the customer’s own equipment, meaning the modem, router, leads, adaptors and filters, was the fault in 5.6% of them. The far more common answer was the line, a joint, a socket or a building frame. The figures are in our study of NBN fault jobs.

Signs that point away from the modem:

• The WAN or DSL light drops out and comes back on its own, over and over.
• It is worse after rain or when it is windy.
• A second modem behaves exactly the same way.
• The house has several old phone sockets still connected to the line.

If your provider has told you the fault is inside your home and you are not sure it is, that is a job for testing rather than guessing. An independent technician tests your side properly and tells you, in writing, which side the fault is on.