Re: Router's white Ethernet LED flashes continuously (at about 5 flashes per second)

Izzyp7029 · ‎2016-08-31

The white Internet LED on my Netgear router (R7000 Nighthawk, AC1900) is flashing continuously (approx. 5 times per second), and it is causing the Link LED on my modem to flash constantly. It started about four days ago. I thought that my modem was faulty but I spoke with my ISP's tech support who said that it was the router that was causing the modem's LED to flash. I unplugged the power to the router but when I plugged it back in the problem was not resolved. I also reset the router (using the reset button on the back of the router) but that did not resolve the problem. Any help would be most appreciated. Thanks.

TheEther · ‎2016-09-04

Show Statistics is one of the purple buttons under the Internet Port pane.

View solution in original post

netwrks · ‎2016-09-02

Have a look in the manual - Pages 10 and 11.

Retired_Member · ‎2016-09-02

Mine has been blinking for years, did you happen to change the LED blink or LED not blink setting.

You can disable LED blinking or turn off all LEDs except the Power LED. For information about how to do this, see Disable LED Blinking or Turn off LEDs on page 118.

Izzyp7029 · ‎2016-09-02

Hi Netwrks and Searay,

Thanks for your suggestions. I've had the router for 2+ years and never had any issues. It sits beside my modem and I monitor the Link LED on my modem to see if anyone is trying to illegally use my wireless router to access the internet, in spite of the security measures I've taken. I first noticed the problem about a week ago after I power-cycled the router (and DSL modem) because the connection seemed slower than normal. I did not wish to turn off all of the LEDs because I would have no quick visual way of troubleshooting any issues that may crop up. Searay said that his LED has been blinking for years and it doesn't affect the operation of the router, so I can live with the blinking LED. I'm disappointed that I can't correct a problem caused by power-cycling the router. Could other people experience the same problem if there's an interruption of the AC power in their building/neighbourhood? Is this a problem that the manufacturer should look into? Again, thanks for your prompt offer of help.

Izzyp7029

netwrks · ‎2016-09-03

There is always traffic on a network. If it's not user traffic, it's scans from the outside world. You can always check your devices for viruses or malware. The latter could generate extra traffic on a network.

VE6CGX · ‎2016-09-03

Nothing wrong. Indicates line activity(which means the port is alive and working)

Izzyp7029 · ‎2016-09-04

Thanks for your input. I'm just trying to understand what's different from a week ago when I power-cycled my wireless router. Prior to that event, the "Internet" LED on my router flashed whenever anyone within my network accessed the internet. When nobody was accessing the internet that LED was steadily on, or it would flash once every 5 - 10 seconds (I assumed that was a polling function). After I power-cycled the router it has been flashing non-stop at a rate of about 5 flashes per second. Reseting it (with the reset button on the baack) didn't resolve the problem. As I said, I'm just trying to understand what's wrong/different, and what (if anything) I can do to return it to the way it worked before. Also, is this something I should be concerned about (from a security perspective)? It is not that my communications are of a high-security nature. I just prefer my communications to be private (as much as that is possible in today's world). Thanks again.

TheEther · ‎2016-09-04

Log into your R7000. Look at the Attached Devices screen and make sure you recognize all of the devices. If you don't recognize a device and it's connected via Wi-Fi, then consider changing your Wi-Fi password.

Look at Show Statistics on the Advanced screen to get a sense on which ports there is traffic. Check the devices connected to busy ports and see if you can determine what they are doing. Perhaps there is download going on in the background. You can even turn off devices one by one until the LED stops blinking.

You should also change the admin password on the R7000 to protect against someone logging in and changing the settings.

Make sure remote management is disabled to prevent outsiders from logging in.

Izzyp7029 · ‎2016-09-04

Thanks for your suggestions. Remote Management had been turned off, and the admin password had been changed. I scanned through the submenus on the Advanced screen but didn't see a "Show Statistics" link, however, the "Internet Traffic Meter" hadn't been turned on, so I turned it on. But I think that that shows aggregate traffic volumes, not port traffic. However, I'll monitor that. Other than those things mentioned, there was no unusual activity that I could observe (but the LED is still flashing nonstop). Thanks again.

TheEther · ‎2016-09-04

Show Statistics is one of the purple buttons under the Internet Port pane.

Izzyp7029 · ‎2016-09-14

Hi Guys,

Unfortunately, the issue hasn't been resolved (the Internet LED on the router is still flashing non-stop). That means that if a webpage seems to be slow in downloading, looking at the router to determine if any data in coming through is of no help because the constant flashing of the LED is masking any activity that might be taking place.

I followed up on all of the suggestions I received but nothing that I've tried resolved the problem. None of the replies (as far as I can tell) was from anyone who is from the manufacturer, so I don't know if they are aware of the problem, and have a solution. It seems that I'll just have to live with it until I replace the router.

Izzyp7029

TheEther · ‎2016-09-14

@Izzyp7029 wrote:

Hi Guys,

Unfortunately, the issue hasn't been resolved (the Internet LED on the router is still flashing non-stop). That means that if a webpage seems to be slow in downloading, looking at the router to determine if any data in coming through is of no help because the constant flashing of the LED is masking any activity that might be taking place.

I don't follow your logic. Did you try looking at Show Statistics? It should offer some insight into which ports are seeing traffic. Look at the WAN port first and see which direction (Rx represents traffic coming from the modem to the router, Tx for traffic going to the modem from the router) is experiencing significant traffic volumes. You may have to watch the numbers over a period of time when the modem activity light is flashing.

Then look at LAN and WLAN ports and see if there is a correlation with the WAN port activity. Suppose, for example, that you see that the 2.4 GHz WLAN port statistics correlate with the WAN port. This a sign that one or more devices on your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network could be sending/receiving traffic. You could, then, selectively turn off each device one by one until the modem lights stop blinking.

Or you could just take the brute force approach and turn off or disconnect all wired and wireless devices from the router. The modem light should stop flashing. Then turn on each device one at a time until the modem starts flashing non-stop. The last device you turn on is probably the culprit.

If the modem light does not flashing when all devices are turned off, then someone could be flooding you with bogus traffic. You can try changing your router's Internet port IP address. This is not always possible but changing the router's MAC address may work. You can do this under the router's Internet settings.