Fios Router Blinking White: What Does It Mean?
Fios routers are a game-changer for home internet connections, but what does it mean when the device’s light starts blinking white? No home is complete without a stable Wi-Fi connection and Verizon’s newest Fios routers offer improved performance to make your internet faster than ever. However, a lot of customers who purchased a Fios router noticed that the light sometimes blinks white.
Table of Contents
- Why is my Fios router blinking white?
- What Does the White Blinking Light on My Fios Router Mean?
- How Long Should the Light on My Fios Router Blink White?
- Why Does My Fios Router Keep Blinking White?
Why is my Fios router blinking white?
The white blinking light on a Fios router means the device is booting. This usually occurs after the Fios router has been factory reset or if a firmware update was made available by Verizon – with the white light blinking until the update is finished.
Verizon is widely considered to be one of the leaders in delivering quality connections and internet speeds across the entire country. When Verizon launched its Fios Fiber Optic Network back in 2005, it introduced a new era of internet access to users.
Verizon’s Fios routers come with a variety of different features, as well as color-coded lights to indicate the status of the device. Many customers have noticed that their Fios router sometimes blinks white, which is often followed by temporary or even long-lasting network issues. To help you understand this further, we are going to take a closer look at why your Fios router is blinking white.
After extensively researching Verizon troubleshooting forums, I have been able to gather enough information to determine why Fios routers blink white.
My research has indicated that the white blinking light on most Fios routers is not an issue and it generally resolves itself within minutes.
What Does the White Blinking Light on My Fios Router Mean?
If your Verizon Fios router is blinking white, you should not have anything to worry about. The white blinking light on your Fios router means that the device is booting up.
While your Fios router is blinking white, you may notice that your home’s Wi-Fi is temporarily down. This is completely normal and you should have your network connection back online momentarily. Let’s dive into the different reasons why a Fios router could start blinking white.
Verizon Firmware Update
Verizon updates the firmware for all of its devices periodically. When an update is available and initiated, your Fios router will blink white during the process.
Once the update has been finalized, the device will reboot itself and the white light on the router will blink until it is back online. Most Verizon firmware updates start on their own without you needing to do anything. However, you may notice that your internet drops while your Fios router updates.
Hard Reset
If you have ever run into an issue with your Fios router not working properly, you probably performed a hard reset (or factory reset) on the device. Often times this is the best way to clear up bugs and glitches within the software.
A hard reset will reboot the entire system as if it were brand new and out of the box. When this happens, your Fios router will start blinking white while it is turning itself back on.
How Long Should the Light on My Fios Router Blink White?
When your Fios router blinks white, it just means that the system is rebooting itself due to a firmware update or hard reset. The booting process of a Fios router should not take long – with 30 seconds to several minutes being the standard.
When you notice that the router starts blinking white and that your internet goes down, do not panic. Most Fios routers will reboot themselves in 30 to 60 seconds until they are fully operational again.
Why Does My Fios Router Keep Blinking White?
As we mentioned, if your Fios router is blinking white, it should not indicate a serious issue. In most cases, the light will blink for a minute or less until it is back online.
However, if you notice that your Fios router keeps blinking white, there may be a problem with the device that requires you to take action. Much like with all technology, Verizon’s routers can experience issues occasionally.
One problem that customers have had with their Fios routers is that the light starts blinking white and won’t stop.
If the router continues to blink white for longer than 5 minutes, you will know that something is up with the device.
There are a number of different reasons why this happens and depending on what is causing it, you will need to troubleshoot the issue accordingly. Let’s dive into the different methods to stop a Fios router that keeps blinking white.
Failed Firmware Update
Although your Fios router’s firmware should update automatically, this can become an issue if it did not install correctly. The white light on your Fios router will continue to blink until the firmware update has been successfully installed on the device.
Most of the time that a Fios router’s firmware did not install correctly it is due to the process being interrupted. The device may experience a glitch if it was unplugged in the middle of an update or if there was a network connection issue during the process.
How to Update Fios Router Firmware (Automatically)
If you notice that the white light continues to blink, you may need to restart the update process so that the latest firmware can install itself properly.
Updating the firmware manually can be quite tricky, which is why your best bet is going to be to initiate the update process automatically, as this will likely solve the issue. To update your Fios router firmware automatically, follow these steps:
- Unplug Fios router
- Wait 60 seconds
- Plug Fios router back in
- Wait for 1 to 2 minutes
This will restart your device, which should force the router to update itself. Once the update is complete, the white blinking light on your Fios router should turn solid white to indicate that it was successful.
How to Update Fios Router Firmware (Manually)
If the update failed to go through, you may need to manually update the firmware of your Fios router. You can do this by following these steps:
- Open web browser
- Make sure you are connected to the admin 5g network
- Sign in to Admin Web GUI
- Select ‘System Settings’
- Select ‘Check for Software Update’ (or FTPOPA)
This will force your Fios router to update itself to the latest update that is available.
Failed Reboot
If your Fios router failed to reboot itself, it will also continue to blink white. This could either happen due to the device rebooting itself for an update or when you manually performed a hard reset on the router.
When a Fios router fails to reboot itself, it is usually due to a minor glitch within the system. To fix this, you will need to reset the device. There are two different ways that you can do this – either a soft reset or a hard reset.
How to Soft Reset a Fios Router
When you experience an issue with your Fios router, a soft reset is generally the best way to resolve it. This does not remove any of your personal settings and it is the safest way to fix a white blinking light and get your internet connection back online. To soft reset your Verizon Fios router, follow these steps:
- Unplug the Fios router
- Wait for 60 seconds
- Plug the Fios router back in
- Wait for 1 to 2 minutes
A soft reset will scan for any firmware updates and it will also clear up most bugs that may have caused the router to have a failed reboot.
How to Hard Reset a Fios Router
If you performed a soft reset on your Fios router and the device’s light is still blinking white, you may have a more serious glitch on your hands. This will require you to hard reset your Fios router.
Before you do so, you should ensure that you first tried to soft reset your router and manually update the firmware, as a hard reset will completely wipe away all of your preferences and customized settings. To perform a hard reset on your Fios router, follow these steps:
- Power on Fios router
- Find reset button
- Stick pointed object inside to trigger a hard reset
- Wait for 1 to 3 minutes
Once the hard reset has been finalized, the white light should stop blinking. Once it turns solid, your connection will be back online and you will have internet.
However, if you still could not get the white light to stop blinking, then the issue will require the assistance of a professional from Verizon. In which case, you will need to contact Verizon directly to help you solve the issue with your Fios router’s white blinking light.