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Verizon Router Blinking White? (Easy FIXES!)

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Writer, Smart Home

For years technology has been a big part of Gardy's life. He's an Android guy with a secret love for Apple products. When not at work, you can usually catch him drawing with a pencil. He is a writer at Gotechtor covering streaming media, TVs, and everything smart-home related. 

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Seeing different colors blinking on your Verizon Router can mean various things. The colors and the frequency of the light’s blinking amount to many possibilities.

This can certainly be overwhelming for non-techies users to see their Verizon router blinking white.

To dispel some unknowns, we put together this article to tell you what you need to know when you see your Verizon router blinking white light. 

What Does Blinking White Light Mean on Verizon Router?

A blinking white light on a Verizon router and a stable one may appear to mean the same thing to many, but this is not the case.

Before we go into how to fix a problem with a blinking white light, it is important to note the difference between a blinking and steady white light.

When the white light is lit up and is perpetually on, it indicates that the router is linked up and is operating in a normal fashion.

In other words, a stable white light indicates that the router is on, functional, and operating with a stable internet speed.

The white light generally stays stable for 30 seconds, shutting off afterward, indicating that its WiFi connectivity is operating as intended.

A blinking white light, however, indicates certain activity being performed by the router. While most people aren’t sitting and staring at their routers all day to watch for a blinking white light, occasionally, it happens without seemingly any triggers.

Of course, that is just the perception of the user. The blinking white light on a Verizon router actually means that the router is trying to boot up.

Why Is My Verizon Router Blinking White?

Most people look at their router lights if they are experiencing issues with their internet connection. If everything is working fine, chances are that people are not paying their routers any mind.

However, if your connectivity performance is not what you are expecting, you might glance at the router to find it blinking white.

You may also know that one of the tricks of a malfunctioning router is to simply unplug it and plug it back in. This would trigger a blinking white light.

1. Rooter Rebooting

One of the most common reasons for a Verizon router to blink white is that it was disconnected and then reconnected. 

Therefore, one of the meanings of a blinking white light is that the router is running through its startup booting protocols.

During this time, internet connectivity will likely be unavailable, at least for about a minute, while the initialization process is running.

2. Power Outage

Your Verizon may show a blinking light if you experience a power outage. The router would need to restart much like any other electronic when the power source returns. 

3. Firmware Update

The white light can also flash on a Verizon router if it is undergoing a firmware update. But this is not a frequent occurrence.

Verizon pushes out a firmware update when the core machine instructions of any piece of hardware need updating.

Luckily, this lasts only a few minutes at most, so there isn’t much to worry about. During the firmware update, the white light will blink.

However, it is a state where the white light continues to blink for an extended period of time that calls for particular actions to repair an issue. 

4. Bad Internet Connection

A blinking white light indicates that the internet connection is questionably reliable in both cases or is not stable or available at the moment.

It may be necessary to take action to correct the cause of the blinking white light in these situations.

How to Fix a Verizon Router Blinking White

There are several very basic solutions that you can apply to fix an issue with the blinking white light on your Verizon router. 

1. Disconnect and Connect the Cables

If no upgrades are ongoing and you haven’t recently rebooted your router, yet the white light is blinking, thereby indicating an unstable nature of the internet connection, the first thing to check is whether all of the wirings are secure and plugged in correctly.

While many people attempt to reconnect the wiring from memory after moving their router to a new location, they may misplace some wires while doing so.

Loose cables should be firmly plugged in, as any slack in the connection impedes proper operation.

If a wire is overly twisted, looks frayed, or is explicitly damaged, it should be replaced. We don’t recommend DIY fixes for these, as it could impact future Verizon router operations.

2. Check for Defective Light

The white light may be faulty if it blinks continuously. If you notice a blinking white light, try going to some websites on a device connected to your WiFi, or check a streaming service on your smart TV or ancillary entertainment device.

If there does not seem to be an issue with your connection, the blinking light might indicate a malfunction of the LED light. 

In that situation, you are free to let it keep blinking. But keep in mind that if an actual connectivity situation arises at a later time, you will have a tough time recognizing the reason for the blinking white light. In this case, the only solution is to request a router replacement from Verizon. 

3. Perform a Power Cycle

Whether the white light is stable or blinking, if there is no internet connectivity, there is a problem that you need to address.

In nearly all cases, this is due to a failure of the router to connect to the ISP (internet service provider).

You can usually reestablish the connection by restarting or resetting your router. The same can fix the Verizon router’s yellow light.

To restart your Verizon router:

  • Unplug the router from its power source
  • Plug it back in after 3 to 5 minutes
  • Allow the initialization process to complete (during which time the white light will be blinking)
  • Once the white light stabilizes, try your internet connection again

4. Update the Router Firmware

There might be a firmware update pending that’s causing a blinking white light on your Verizon router. Make sure to check for updates.

Here’s how to update your Verizon router firmware:

  1. Go to the web portal of your router and log in.
  2. Navigate to the System Settings section.
  3. Check to see if there arere any updates available.
  4. If so, download and install it.

Hopefully, this will fix the white blinking light issue for you.

5. Hard Reset the Router

If a power cycle and updating the firmware did not fix the issue, you might need to factory reset the router.

It is important to know, however, that this will erase all your settings. Hence, make sure to back up your data before you begin.

Reset Verizon router

To reset your Verizon router, follow these steps:

  • Hold down the red reset button on the back of the Verizon router for about 2 to 5 seconds until the LED router status displays as being ‘off.’
  • As long as there is an adequate internet connection, the router will come back with a blinking white light and, after a bit of time, a stable one.
  • Make sure you browse to confirm connection to the internet is active.

6. Verizon Service Outage

Sometimes we can’t do much about the blinking lights on the routers as an outage of Verizon services causes them.

Verizon service outage

The light will blink white as it is still trying to establish a connection, but without the internet provided by Verizon, potentially due to a larger outage in your area.

Sometimes, Verizon may run routine maintenance that could also interfere with a stable connection, though these likely don’t last too long. 

Suppose you suspect that there is a connection loss in more than just your residence. In that case, you can use a device that can connect to the internet without WiFi, like a smartphone, to check Verizon’s Search Outage page or DownDetector.com to see if there are any ISP issues.

Wrap-Up: Verizon Router Blinking White

The blinking white light on a Verison router is not an abnormal occurrence, but it does require attention if the blinking persists without eventually stabilizing.

We hope our offered methods helped resolve the problem, but if they have not, a replacement for the router is probably the best approach.

Writer, Smart Home

For years technology has been a big part of Gardy's life. He's an Android guy with a secret love for Apple products. When not at work, you can usually catch him drawing with a pencil. He is a writer at Gotechtor covering streaming media, TVs, and everything smart-home related. 

Gardy Philogene

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