If you are a new customer of Verizon internet services, you will be given a router that will enable you to set up a home network and allow you to connect to the internet. The setup process is pretty simple and generally should be trouble-free.
However, there is a common issue that many users face where the router will display a yellow light on the front of the device, which indicates that, although the unit is functioning correctly, it is not able to connect to the internet.
If you have this issue, don’t worry! Before calling Verizon, there are some nice and simple troubleshooting steps you can take at home that may easily solve the issue.
What causes the yellow light to display on a Verizon router?
Depending on whether you are using just a base router or an extender, the singular LED on the front of the device can tell you information about the status of the connection and any issues the device is currently facing.
Here’s a quick rundown of what each light indicates so you can get an idea of what kind of issue your device is facing:
- Solid white light – Everything is operating normally.
- Blinking white light – The router or WiFi extender is currently booting.
- Blinking blue light – The device is currently in pairing mode, and this should disappear once the pairing process is complete.
- Solid blue light – The pairing of the router or WiFi extender is now complete, and this light should disappear by itself in a few seconds.
- Solid yellow light – There is currently no internet connection.
- Slow blinking yellow light (extender only) – The device is too far from the router, and the signal is poor.
- Fast blinking yellow (extender only) – The device is too close to the router, and the WiFi is working, but the coverage is poor as the signals are overlapping.
- Solid red light – Hardware of system failure detected (severe).
- Fast blinking red light – The device is overheating and needs to be cooled.
- Slow blinking red light – The pairing process has failed.
- No light on display – The device currently does not have power.
As you can see, the Verizon router yellow light indicates some kind of issue with the internet connection or that the signal is too weak in the case of a WiFi extender.
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean the internet is at fault. Many factors, such as a software/hardware issue or an ISP service outage will also cause your device to not correctly connect to the internet.
Here’s a quick rundown of the common causes that will prevent your Verizon router from establishing a connection to the internet.
ISP service interruption
This is probably the most common reason why a device is not able to access the internet. Verizon can quite frequently have a loss of service to a particular area due to something like a power outage, or perhaps they are performing maintenance/upgrades to a particular region and temporarily disable service to a given area.
To check if your home is part of the affected area, you can check out Verizon’s service website, which details any ongoing service issues or scheduled maintenance that may cause an internet outage to your home.
Alternatively, other users will also report a loss of service on Downdetector. If you see a lot of people reporting issues in your area, then you simply need to wait for service to be restored.
Power/Ethernet cable issues
Another common cause of internet connection problems is a cable or port failure. The way a Verizon Fios router establishes a connection to the internet is via an Ethernet cable that is held into the back of the device by a small tab.
These tabs will often break off, and over time the cable will work itself out of the device, resulting in a nonfunctioning connection.
Likewise, power cables can oftentimes fail, as the small wire inside the casing breaks down, creating an unstable power supply, which in turn can cause the device to function improperly.
A thorough check of all cables used in your network may help to identify any that aren’t working, in which case they will need to be replaced to fix the issue.
Software bugs/glitches
Internet service providers will often issue updates to your router’s firmware or any associated software/apps that you use to access the device.
This is usually for security reasons in order to stay updated against the latest threats or to work out some underlying bugs and issues that are causing problems for a lot of users.
Checking to see if there are any updates available for your device and applying them may help eliminate some prevalent bugs that are preventing it from connecting to the internet.
However, as these updates are oftentimes not the most robust things in the world by themselves, updated software can oftentimes carry with it its own issues. In this case, re-installing the software may rectify any new bugs presented by the software updates.
Malware/virus issues
This is a quite rare occurrence, but if your software is not up to date, it’s possible that malware may have found its way onto your computer and is now accessing your network.
Depending on your operating system, you should have some antivirus tools available, and it’s worth running a full scan of your machine to check that it’s not causing any issues.
Hardware and overheating issues
Routers and extenders can get surprisingly hot and need a good amount of airflow in order for them to function correctly.
Very often we like to tuck the modem away in a corner where they’re not an eyesore, but without adequate airflow, they can easily start to overheat, which may not always cause the red light. It will simply limit the functionality of the device to where it’s no longer able to establish a solid connection.
Weak connection
Much in the same vein as overheating. If there are too many obstacles between the router and the intended device or Verizon extender, it will appear as though there is no connection, as the signal is simply not strong enough to provide a consistent connection.
Removing obstacles and taking a look at the position of the device can often rectify this issue.
How to fix the yellow light on a Verizon router
Now we’ve taken a look at the most common causes that will prevent your router from establishing a connection to the internet. Let’s go through some easy fixes you can perform at home to try and rectify this issue.
Follow these through in order to make sure you’ve covered all the bases before contacting Verizon support, as you’ll very often discover one of these will fix the issue for you.
Check ISP for outages
As we mentioned previously, an outage from the internet service provider is one of the most common reasons why a router will not be able to establish a connection to the internet.
To find out if your home is affected by a current Verizon outage, you can walk through the following steps:
- Log in to My Verizon.
- Check the “network notification” alert at the top of the screen. If there is a current outage that is affecting the area your account address is in, then it will display a notification there.
- If you do not see anything, you can check manually by typing “network outage” into the chat, and their automated bot will supply detailed information about any of their services that are currently being affected by network outages.
Check login credentials
An issue that can often prevent a router from completing its full initialization process is invalid login credentials. When the router cannot access the gateway, it can’t allow the internet to pass through the device, which will result in a yellow light.
In this scenario, you will need to log into the router either via a web browser by typing in the IP address of the device or via the provided Verizon phone app. Once you have accessed the router, you should check all your login credentials to ensure they are up to date and working in order to rule this out as a potential cause of an internet issue.
Check cables
As we mentioned previously, a defective or incorrectly seated cable can commonly cause the device to not function correctly.
It’s worth checking all the cables to ensure that they are correctly seated within the device.
You should also inspect the cable for any visual signs of wear or damage, both around the plugs themselves and the length of the cable. Animals can sometimes chew on them, or running over them a few too many times with a vacuum can cause damage, too.
If you have any spare cables, you can swap them out to test that they are in working order and not defective, as this can help rule them out as potential culprits to the faulty internet connection.
Check device position
If your router is positioned in such a way that it can’t receive adequate airflow, it may be prone to overheat, which will stop the device from functioning correctly.
Ensure that it’s seated in the open where the hot air can dissipate.
The same is true for WiFi extenders. If they are tucked away and surrounded by too many objects (particularly thick walls or any kind of metal), the signal will not be able to reach the router, preventing it from gaining access to the internet.
Power cycle the router
Once you are sure it’s in a good position, the cables are working, and the ISP is providing service to your area, often a simple power cycle can work out any small bugs or glitches with the hardware.
This is also known as a “hard reset” and essentially requires you to remove the power cable from the device so it’s completely powered down, not just being reset. Once the power is disconnected, wait for about a minute and then plug the device back in.
It will take a little longer than normal to run through its usual startup procedure and re-connect to the internet. Be patient, and it will eventually connect.
Update any associated software, drivers, and firmware
If the issue preventing you from connecting to the internet is software-related, then ensuring all your software is up to date can often help put everything into working order.
If you are not able to connect to the internet via WiFi, you may need to plug directly into the device via Ethernet. Alternatively, download drivers through a phone with an active mobile connection and install them on your PC.
Factory reset
If all associated software and firmware is up to date and the issue persists, you can also try a factory reset of the device.
This involves reverting the device, including all installed software and firmware back to the state in which it would have shipped from the manufacturer.
This gives you a nice clean slate in which to re-install the software, which can help to bypass any issues caused by corrupt data or poor installs of the previous software.
To do this, locate the reset button on the back of the router and hold it in for about 20 seconds. You will notice the light on the front of the device starts to blink, which means it’s begun the factory restoration process.
Be patient here, as it will take some time. Ensure you note down your user preferences, too, as these will be erased, and you will have to re-enter them.
Contact Verizon support
If none of the above suggestions have worked, then there is a possibility that your hardware is faulty or defective, in which case you will need to contact Verizon customer support, which will provide you with a new device.
Once the new device has arrived, you can simply set it up in the same way you did the previous one, and it should work correctly.
