Why do all lights blink when I press the power button?

This is a battery check animation on most power banks — press once, all lights flash briefly to show battery level context, then settle into the steady display. This is normal and not an error.

Power Bank All Lights Blinking

Power bank with all LED indicators blinking — what it means when all lights flash simultaneously, including charging states and error conditions.

Fast Blink

white

Quick info

Device typePower Banks

Colorwhite

PatternFast Blink

Locationfront panel LED row

StateInput charging / error state

Visual description

All four (or however many) LED dots on the power bank are blinking at the same time, in unison. This is different from the lights cycling one after another (sequential animation) or a single light blinking. All-at-once blinking creates a pulsing or flashing effect across the entire LED row.

What it means

All LEDs blinking simultaneously is a less common state than sequential cycling, and the meaning depends strongly on the context:

Power bank is receiving charge (input cable connected): Many budget power banks blink all LEDs while the bank is charging to indicate 'input active'. The number of solid lights would indicate current charge level, but all-blinking specifically means charging is in progress. This is the most benign cause.

Error / protection state: Some power banks blink all LEDs as a fault indicator — for example, if you connect a device drawing too much current, if the internal temperature is too high, or if the battery management system has detected a cell imbalance. Usually accompanied by the bank refusing to charge output devices.

Brand & model variations

The same light pattern can mean different things across manufacturers.

Brand / Model	What white fast blink means	Recommended action
Anker PowerCore	Anker doesn't typically blink all LEDs simultaneously — they use sequential cycling during charging. If all blink at once, it usually indicates an error or unusual input.	Disconnect, wait 30 seconds, reconnect. Check the USB-C cable.
Generic / unbranded Budget power banks	All-blinking is most common on no-brand power banks — means 'charging self' on these models. Solid lights would be displayed once charged.	This is typically normal behavior for these models.

Brand / Model

What white fast blink means

Recommended action

Anker

PowerCore

Anker doesn't typically blink all LEDs simultaneously — they use sequential cycling during charging. If all blink at once, it usually indicates an error or unusual input.

Disconnect, wait 30 seconds, reconnect. Check the USB-C cable.

Generic / unbranded

Budget power banks

All-blinking is most common on no-brand power banks — means 'charging self' on these models. Solid lights would be displayed once charged.

This is typically normal behavior for these models.

Diagnose your issue

Answer a few questions to narrow down the cause.

Diagnose Your Issue

Is a charging cable connected to the power bank's INPUT port?

Safe next steps

Ordered from least to most involved. Check each step as you go.

First, check whether you have the input charging cable connected — all-blinking while charging is normal.
If charging: let it run and check again in 30 minutes. The animation should change as the battery fills.
If not charging: press the power button once to see if output mode starts and LEDs show normal battery level.
If the bank feels warm or hot, disconnect everything and let it cool for 15 minutes.
Try a different USB-C or Micro-USB cable — a faulty cable can cause protection circuits to trigger.
If none of the above resolves it: perform a full discharge (let it run until empty) and then a full charge from 0% — this can reset some protection circuits.

When to escalate

Stop troubleshooting and contact your ISP or manufacturer if:

Bank is warm or hot without being used — potential cell failure, stop using.
All lights blink even after removing all cables, cooling down, and button-resetting.
Bank smell like burning plastic or chemicals — stop using immediately, move outdoors.