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Two R7000 connected via a CAT6 cable but showing AMBER lights on 4 LAN ports.
I am a bit of a network guy for a lot of years now but this really stumped me.
I have a FIOS gateway router (basement) as my main and two Netgear R7000 (family room & upstairs hall), all connected via CAT6 cable. The R7000 connected to the FIOS router is fine with power, wifi and 3 LAN ports lights showing as white except for one LAN port that is AMBER and this is connected to the upstairs hall R7000 router where all 4 LAN port lights are showing AMBER but the power and wifi lights are white.
This is what I did...
I bought a 50 ft CAT6 cable and plugged the two R7000 together and it STILL shows AMBER lights on the LAN port.
I bought a Netgear R6900 router and still AMBER lights.
I restarted all routers and still got the same problem.
Re: Two R7000 connected via a CAT6 cable but showing AMBER lights on 4 LAN ports.
Assuming that there's still interest...
> I have a FIOS gateway router (basement) as my main [...]
Has it a maker and model number?
> [...] and two Netgear R7000 (family room & upstairs hall), [...]
Firmware version(s)? Configured as routers, or as wireless access points, or what?
> [...] all connected via CAT6 cable. [...]
If a device has different types of Ethernet ports, then "connected to device" is not enough detail. What, exactly, is connected to what, exactly?
> [...] the upstairs hall R7000 router where all 4 LAN port lights are > showing AMBER [...]
And what's connected to them?
> What the heck is going on?!!!
Sounds like bad cable(s), but many things are possible.
For a quick cable test, connect each end to a LAN Ethernet port on an R7000, and observe the relevant port-status LED indicators. For a good cable, both port-status LEDs should indicate a maximum-speed connection. (And they should agree.) On an R7000, that would mean white port-status LEDs.
When you have identified a good cable, try using it to connect a couple of R7000 units together (however you want to do that). Start with a less complex configuration, and build slowly.
Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look for Documentation. Get the User Manual. Read. Look for the LED descriptions and "Troubleshoot".
> [...] The Amber light means [...]
What it says in the User Manual.
> [...] Do you have devices that are transmitting at 100Mbs (say older > computers or laptops) or all they all transmitting at a gig (1000 Mbs). > [...]
Presumably, when connecting two R7000 routers, all the ports involved are gigabit-capable. Whether the cables are is a different question.
Re: Two R7000 connected via a CAT6 cable but showing AMBER lights on 4 LAN ports.
This basic idea was stumping me for a while also.It was really bugging me until I read somewhere else what the issue was. I have seen it answered somewhere else in the Netgear community while I was digging for something else. Do you have devices that are transmitting at 100Mbs (say older computers or laptops) or all they all transmitting at a gig (1000 Mbs). The Amber light means they are transmitting at a slower speed. I have one desktop & one laptop transmittimg at the slower speed & another laptop going at the gig speed.
Re: Two R7000 connected via a CAT6 cable but showing AMBER lights on 4 LAN ports.
Assuming that there's still interest...
> I have a FIOS gateway router (basement) as my main [...]
Has it a maker and model number?
> [...] and two Netgear R7000 (family room & upstairs hall), [...]
Firmware version(s)? Configured as routers, or as wireless access points, or what?
> [...] all connected via CAT6 cable. [...]
If a device has different types of Ethernet ports, then "connected to device" is not enough detail. What, exactly, is connected to what, exactly?
> [...] the upstairs hall R7000 router where all 4 LAN port lights are > showing AMBER [...]
And what's connected to them?
> What the heck is going on?!!!
Sounds like bad cable(s), but many things are possible.
For a quick cable test, connect each end to a LAN Ethernet port on an R7000, and observe the relevant port-status LED indicators. For a good cable, both port-status LEDs should indicate a maximum-speed connection. (And they should agree.) On an R7000, that would mean white port-status LEDs.
When you have identified a good cable, try using it to connect a couple of R7000 units together (however you want to do that). Start with a less complex configuration, and build slowly.
Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look for Documentation. Get the User Manual. Read. Look for the LED descriptions and "Troubleshoot".
> [...] The Amber light means [...]
What it says in the User Manual.
> [...] Do you have devices that are transmitting at 100Mbs (say older > computers or laptops) or all they all transmitting at a gig (1000 Mbs). > [...]
Presumably, when connecting two R7000 routers, all the ports involved are gigabit-capable. Whether the cables are is a different question.
Re: Two R7000 connected via a CAT6 cable but showing AMBER lights on 4 LAN ports.
Fios Quantum Gateway router.
R7000 v1.0.9.42_10.2.44
Router Mode (both)
all CAT6 cable wired/connected.
upstairs hall Router has all Amber lights. one room has XBOX360, next bedroom has Desktop pc with GB ethernet card and the last bedroom has Vizio Smart tv has GB ethernet socket.
Re: Two R7000 connected via a CAT6 cable but showing AMBER lights on 4 LAN ports.
> Router Mode (both)
Unless you have unusual needs, a configuration with three NAT routers is probably less than ideal.
> upstairs hall Router has all Amber lights. one room has XBOX360, next > bedroom has Desktop pc with GB ethernet card and the last bedroom has > Vizio Smart tv has GB ethernet socket.
How did you determine that your (unspecified) "Vizio Smart tv" has gigabit Ethernet? Generally, a TV would not need that kind of speed, so many TV models have 10/100MHz Ethernet.
What's in which room is not useful information to me. If you're saying that all these devices are connected by Ethernet cables to LAN ports on an R7000 (in any mode), and that the port-status LEDs on the R7000 are amber, then either the devices are not really gigabit-capable, or the router ports are defective, or else the cables are defective.
Or, for a device like a PC, which has a power-off/stand-by mode, then it's in that (sub-gigabit) power-off/stand-by mode. Getting it up and running should cause it to negotiate a maximum-rate link.
> When you have identified a good cable, [...]
Have you done that? If you connect a gigabit-capable device to an R7000 LAN port using a known-good cable, do you get a white port-status LED on the R7000?
> btw, what is the best configuration to combine two R7000 together with > the FIOS router?
Unless you have a good reason to do something different, you want one router, presumably the Fios Quantum Gateway. If the purpose of the R7000 units is to extend your wireless-network coverage, then they should be configured as wireless access points. In the R7000 User Manual, look for "Use the Router as a Wireless Access Point".
Re: Two R7000 connected via a CAT6 cable but showing AMBER lights on 4 LAN ports.
Thank you guys for helping me through all of this madness. I read all of your suggstions and one part I neglected to do is to try a different cable. In my defence, I just installed/ran the IN-WALL CAT6 cables a couple of months before I opened this subject and it did not even cross my mind that it could be the cable. Well, I purchased a new PATCH cable and plugged it into both R7000 routers and there is my WHITE light! I now tested all the IN-WALL cables that I ran and they are all AMBER. I called Amazon and told them about this (because the return warranty expired) and they are kind enough to refund me. I bought a new CAT6 bulk cable (Monoprice) and tested it first just to make sure and now starting to to do the whole cablerun all over again.
P.S. DO NOT BUY the VIVO CAT6 250ft ethernet cable from Amazon. It is not CAT6, it is not even CAT5e!
Re: Two R7000 connected via a CAT6 cable but showing AMBER lights on 4 LAN ports.
> [...] one part I neglected to do is to try a different cable. [...]
Trust no one, I always say.
> [...] In my defence, [...]
Not a good one.
> [...] I now tested all the IN-WALL cables that I ran [...]
If you're running bulk cable, then I'd guess that you're attaching some kind of connectors at the ends. I'd worry much more about the connector attachment than I would about the cable, unless the cable itself is not rated appropriately.
A basic test would be continuity on all eight conductors. Four conductors (the _right_ four) would be enough for sub-gigabit speeds, but you need all eight for gigabit. Any cable run gives you sixteen chances for a fault.
Hundred-year-old math puzzle books include topics like how to test multiple-conductor cables with the least running forth and back between the ends. Cable test equipment which is fancier than a test lamp also exists.
Re: Two R7000 connected via a CAT6 cable but showing AMBER lights on 4 LAN ports.
I have tested the cables with the connectors at the ends with my network cable tester and replaced them with new ones and they all tested ok but just not CAT6 level.
