What do the lights on my Telstra modem mean?
Depending on the generation of modem you have and your connection type, the lights on your modem can mean different things. The lights on your modem can help keep you informed about the status of your connection.
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Select the type of modem you have
Telstra Smart Modem 4
Once you’ve connected your Telstra Smart Modem 4 to the internet (see Set up Telstra Smart Modem 4) and powered up your modem, the modem front light will be a solid green.
While powering up or connecting, the front light may change as follows:
White
Powered on, booting up (2 second flashing interval), connecting (1 second flashing interval).
Green
Connected to nbn or Opticomm network or Satellite.
Blue
Mobile backup connection (Data+Voice calls, only on eligible plans).
Red
No connection.
When your modem is connected to the Telstra 4G Home Wireless (mobile network) and powered up, the modem front light will be a solid blue.
While powering up or connecting, the front light may change as follows:
White
Powered on, booting up (2 second flashing interval), connecting (1 second flashing interval).
Blue
Connected to the mobile network.
Red
No connection.
If you need help with setup go to 4G Home Wireless.
If you see a blue light, it means your modem has switched to mobile backup (available on eligible plans).
- Go to check for outages to see if there’s an issue with your home internet connection.
- If there are no outages, check the cables are connected securely.
- Try unplugging and re-plugging the modem from the power wall outlet. Wait a few minutes. The modem should then re-start the connection process.
If you’ve been on the mobile backup for more than a few hours, and it’s not a known issue, troubleshoot in My Telstra:
- Go to Services
- Select your internet service
- Scroll down to Your connection and select Improve your connection
- Select Test and troubleshoot internet and follow the prompts.
If you are still seeing a blue light, contact us.
If the light on the front of your modem is red, and there’s no mobile signal light on the back (WAN/DSL, Mobile signal, phone), you have no connection.
- Check the cables are connected securely.
- Try unplugging and re-plugging the modem from the power wall outlet. Wait a few minutes. The modem should then re-start the connection process.
If you still have no connection, contact us.
If the light on the front of your modem is red, and there’s no mobile signal light on the back (WAN/DSL, Mobile signal, phone or Wi-Fi), you have no connection.
- Check the cables are connected securely.
- Try unplugging and re-plugging the modem from the power wall outlet. Wait a few minutes.
- Try moving your modem to a different location and check if you get a mobile signal bar on the back. Ensure the modem is elevated and in an open area.
If you still have no connection, contact us.
If you’ve got an internet connection, you can check the status of your modem by entering http://mymodem or http://192.168.0.1 in your browser and signing in with the username admin and the default Wi-Fi password found on the bottom of your modem or on the Wi-Fi details reusable sticker (not your new Wi-Fi password if you have changed it.)
The modem light will flash blue/green while it is updating firmware. This could take up to 10 minutes, especially when connecting the modem the first time. If it takes longer than 10 minutes you need to restart your modem by unplugging and re-plugging from the power wall outlet.
The lights on the back of the modem indicate the mobile signal strength for mobile back up (available on eligible plans):
Green for 4G mobile network
- Green 3 bars: good signal
- Green 2 bars: ok signal
- Green 1 bar: poor signal
- No bars: no network
Blue for 5G mobile network
- Blue 3 bars: good signal
- Blue 2 bars: ok signal
- Blue 1 bar: poor signal
- No bars: no network
Press and hold the button on the back of the modem, located about halfway down on the left side, for 3 seconds to turn off the modem lights.
Telstra Smart Modem 4 – 5G
When your modem is connected to the Telstra 5G Home Internet (mobile network) and powered up, the modem front light will be a solid blue.
While powering up or connecting, the front light may change as follows:
White
Powered on, booting up (2 second flashing interval), connecting (1 second flashing interval).
Blue
Connected to the mobile network.
Red
No connection.
If you need help with setup go to 5G Home Internet
If the light on the front of your modem is red, and there’s no mobile signal light on the back (WAN/DSL, Mobile signal, phone or Wi-Fi), you have no connection.
- Check the cables are connected securely.
- Try unplugging and re-plugging the modem from the power wall outlet. Wait a few minutes.
- Try moving your modem to a different location and check if you get a mobile signal bar on the back. Ensure the modem is elevated and in an open area.
If you still have no connection, contact us.
If you’ve got an internet connection, you can check the status of your modem by entering http://mymodem or http://192.168.0.1 in your browser and signing in with the username admin and the default Wi-Fi password found on the bottom of your modem or on the Wi-Fi details reusable sticker (not your new Wi-Fi password if you have changed it.)
The modem light will flash blue/green while it is updating firmware. This could take up to 10 minutes, especially when connecting the modem the first time. If it takes longer than 10 minutes you need to restart your modem by unplugging and re-plugging from the power wall outlet.
The lights on the back of the modem indicate the mobile signal strength for mobile back up (available on eligible plans):
Blue for 5G mobile network
- Blue 3 bars: good signal
- Blue 2 bars: ok signal
- Blue 1 bar: poor signal
- No bars: no network
Green for 4G mobile network
- Green 3 bars: good signal
- Green 2 bars: ok signal
- Green 1 bar: poor signal
- No bars: no network
Press and hold the button on the back of the modem, located about halfway down on the left side, for 3 seconds to turn off the modem lights.
Telstra Smart Modem 3 and older
Once you’ve connected your Telstra Smart Modem 3 to the internet and powered up your modem, the modem front light will be a solid green.
The modem front light indicates:
- Green: Modem is connected to fixed network
- Blue: Modem is connected to 4G backup or the 4G mobile network
- Red: Modem has no connection
- Orange: Modem is trying to connect
- White: Modem is booting up
- No light: Modem is offline
The modem back light indicates:
- Green: 4G mobile signal strength is great
- Orange: 4G mobile signal strength is good
- Red: 4G mobile signal strength is weak
If you need help with setup go to Set up my older Telstra modem.
Once you’ve connected your Telstra Modem to the internet and powered up your modem, the modem front light will be a solid green.
Online status:
- Green: Modem is connected to fixed network
- Magenta: Modem is connected to 4G backup or the 4G mobile network
Mobile signal:
- Green: 4G mobile signal strength is great
- Orange: 4G mobile signal strength is good
- Red: 4G mobile signal strength is weak
If you need help with setup go to Set up my older Telstra modem.
If you can’t see the lights, you can check the status of your modem by entering http://mymodem or http://192.168.0.1 in your browser and signing in.
The username is admin. For Telstra Smart Modem Gen 3, the default password is the Wi-Fi password found on the bottom of your modem. For Telstra Smart Modem 1.1 and Gen 2, the default password is Telstra.
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