Don’t Ignore the Lights! Understanding Indicator Lights on Routers & Network Switches

Don’t Ignore the Lights!

Understanding Indicator Lights on Routers & Network Switches

In many organizations, the blinking lights on network switches and routers are often overlooked—until something goes wrong. But these tiny LEDs are powerful first-level troubleshooting tools that can save time, reduce downtime, and guide quick diagnosis of network issues.

Here’s what they tell you:
Power LED – Is your device even on? A missing or red power light could mean hardware failure or power issues.
Link/Activity Light – No light? Your cable may be disconnected or faulty. Blinking? That’s network activity.
Speed LED – Helps confirm if a port is running at the expected speed (e.g., 10/100/1000 Mbps).
Status Lights – Some routers show WAN/LAN connectivity or signal strength via color-coded indicators.

Why this matters:

As an ICT professional, reading these lights helps pinpoint issues like:
Cable faults
Port failures
Power outages
ISP disconnections
Misconfigured network devices

Instead of guessing, let the lights guide your first response before deep dives into software diagnostics.

Pro tip: Train your support team to recognize what each light means—this empowers faster, smarter decision-making.

Let’s normalize using hardware indicators as part of our network health check!

Disclaimer – This post has only been shared for an educational and knowledge-sharing purpose related to Technologies. Information was obtained from the source above source. All rights and credits are reserved for the respective owner(s).

Keep learning and keep growing

Source: LinkedIn

Credits: Mr. Olamigoke Akinlalu MTCNA, MTCRE