Router Blinking Green Light
Router blinking green — what it means, whether it's normal, and how to handle it on Netgear, TP-Link, Asus, Linksys, and other routers.
Slow Blink
green
Quick info
Visual description
A green LED blinking at irregular or regular intervals on the front panel of a router. Green blinking differs from solid green (link established, no active data) and is the normal 'working' state for most network activity LEDs. You may see green blinking on the Internet LED, individual LAN port LEDs, or the main status LED depending on the router model.
What it means
Blinking green is almost always a healthy sign on a router. Here's what it means in each context:
Internet/WAN LED blinking green: Data is actively flowing between your home network and the internet. The blink rate correlates with traffic volume — heavy streaming shows faster blinking. This is the ideal state.
LAN port LED blinking green: An Ethernet device plugged into that port is actively sending or receiving data. Normal.
Status/Power LED blinking green: This is less common but can indicate the router is booting, applying a firmware update, or — on some models — entering a low-power state.
Slow rhythmic green blink: On many Linksys and Cisco routers, a slow steady green blink on the Power LED means the router is booting. Once fully operational it turns solid.
Brand & model variations
The same light pattern can mean different things across manufacturers.
| Brand / Model | What green slow blink means | Recommended action |
|---|---|---|
Netgear Nighthawk, Orbi, R-series | Blinking green on Internet LED = active internet traffic — normal. Solid green on LAN ports = connected device. Blinking green on LAN = data active. All normal states. | No action needed. Blinking green = working correctly. |
TP-Link Archer A6, AX73, AX90 | TP-Link Internet LED blinks green during active traffic and is solid green when connected but idle. Some models use orange for 100Mbps and green for Gigabit LAN connections. | If Internet LED blinks green, internet is working. Green vs orange LAN = speed indication. |
Linksys MX series, Velop, EA series | Linksys uses green heavily. Solid green = connected/working. Blinking green on Velop = startup. Blinking green on EA series WAN = active WAN traffic. | Normal operation. No action needed for blinking green. |
Asus RT-AX series | Asus LAN LEDs blink green/orange when data is passing. Green = Gigabit connection, orange = 100Mbps. Blinking is normal during active use. | Green blink on LAN = Gigabit data transfer in progress. |
Diagnose your issue
Answer a few questions to narrow down the cause.
Which LED is blinking green?
Safe next steps
Ordered from least to most involved. Check each step as you go.
Identify which LED is blinking green — Internet, LAN port, or status/power.
Blinking green on Internet or LAN LEDs = normal activity, no action required.
Blinking green on the status LED during startup = normal boot, wait 90 seconds.
If internet isn't working despite a green Internet LED: restart the router (30-second power cycle).
If the status LED blinks green indefinitely with no internet: factory reset as a last resort.
When it resolves on its own
Condition: Boot sequence green blink
Expected time: Resolves within 90 seconds as the router completes startup.
When to escalate
Stop troubleshooting and contact your ISP or manufacturer if:
- Internet LED blinks green but devices can't reach the internet — check ISP outage status.
- Status LED blinks green indefinitely, even after factory reset — hardware failure.