Table of Contents
How To Fix Orbi Router Flashing White Light?
Mesh routers are a blessing for folks who live in larger houses with frequent dead zones. There’s nothing more frustrating than establishing a custom-built system only to discover that your place doesn’t have access to WiFi. The problem arises when these mesh systems start encountering problems themselves.
Few brands can compete with Netgear’s outstanding Orbi in this niche of WiFi devices. However, this gadget may occasionally encounter issues like the Orbi router flashing white light. If you’re experiencing this issue, we’ve got you covered with this detailed guide.
Why is your Orbi Router Flashing White Light?
A flashing white light is one of the most prevalent issues encountered by Orbi customers. For example, your Orbi can start blinking white light while you’re surfing the internet or playing games.
When your Orbi flashes white light, it usually signifies an issue with the firmware or that the Orbi is undergoing certain software modifications.
First, you need to verify whether the router is booting up when you observe the Orbi light flickering white. If it is, you don’t have anything to worry about. Plus, your Orbi router should flash a white light before switching off.
But if the router doesn’t boot up and it continues flashing white light, the gadget is facing certain networking issues and is no longer useful in this state. Don’t worry though—the problem has been reported on practically all Orbi models and can be fixed easily.
In most scenarios, Orbi flashing white light is an indication that an update has failed to install due. This can be caused in multiple scenarios, such as:
Power Supply Interruption
Orbi Router lost its power supply during an update and corrupted the installation process. As a result, you will be with the device flashing a continuous white light.
OS Glitch
It might be so that there might be a glitch in the Orbi’s OS. The device cannot install the latest update and flashes white light.
Bad Firmware
Sometimes your device gets corrupted by a new firmware update. In this case, you’ll have to downgrade the OS manually.
Note: Different router brands use the same blinking lights to indicate different problems. Eg, Verizon Fios router blinking light indicates probable internet connectivity issues.
How to Fix Orbi Flashing White Light. 4 Methods
Fixing your Orbi flashing white light is quite straightforward. Note that you don’t need to update your firmware to fix the problem.
The Orbi pulsing white problem has four simple solutions. We recommend you attempt each one at a time until the issue is resolved.
1. Power Cycle Your Orbi Satellite and Router
A power-cycle restart differs from a typical restart, allowing you to discharge your router first. So the simplest solution for Orbi blinking white is to restart your Orbi Satellite and router. This will clear the temporary issue in its firmware.
To restart the Orbi device, ensure that the suitable power supply is plugged in and follow the procedures below:
- Turn off your Orbi device and router. If you have another modem or router operating, turn that off.
- Disconnect all power sources from your gadgets and leave them unplugged overnight.
- Reconnect your devices and turn on the router.
- Press the Reset button on your Orbi router until its LED light blinks amber.
- Release the Reset button and leave your router alone for about an hour. After that, turn on your devices to check whether the white light on the Orbi router has stopped flashing.
2. Resync the Orbi Satellite
Don’t be intimidated by the terminology used here; this approach is simple and uncomplicated. If you follow the instructions below, there should be minimal risk of getting it wrong. Keep your satellite and Orbi as close as possible to improve the connection.
- Ensure that your Orbi satellite and router are powered and generating electricity.
- On your Orbi router, press the Sync button.
- After around 2 minutes, push the Sync button again. The blinking light will indicate whether or not the syncing was successful.
- Blue light: The sync was successful.
- Amber light: Bring devices closer together.
- Magenta light: The sync failed if it blinked for more than 90 seconds. Please try again.
If the problem is limited to a single satellite, you may have to try two or three times to resolve the issue. If not, see if you can fix the problem by changing your password. To do that, navigate to Advanced Settings > Wireless Settings > Wireless Settings > Return Network Password > Generate and change your password.
3. Factory Reset Your Orbi Devices
Your Orbi devices can become corrupted due to an upgrade and cause the Orbi blinking white light to occur. In this scenario, you can try factory resetting the Orbi gadget by following this procedure:
- Place your Orbi device and router near your laptop or modem.
- Disconnect the router and satellites.
- Disconnect the Orbi router from the ethernet and turn it on.
- After roughly 5 minutes, hit the Orbi router’s Reset button for at least 1 minute.
- Press the Reset button until the router’s Amber light blinks.
- Press and hold the Reset button for around 5 minutes. The satellite will then be reset to factory defaults after 5 minutes.
Check if the Orbi blinking white issue is fixed after factory resetting. We try not to be too hasty when recommending a factory reset because you will lose your passwords, settings, and setup.
4. Update the Orbi Router Firmware
As previously stated, the Orbi flashing white light is often caused by damaged or corrupt firmware on the router. You can manually update the firmware by following the steps below.
- Connect the ethernet cable from your host network to the WAN port of the Orbi router.
- Launch a laptop web browser, navigate the Orbi router’s web portal, and log in to your account.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to configure the devices to your specifications, and then cancel the failed firmware update in the Firmware Update tab.
- Download Netgear’s website’s most recent firmware updates and unzip the file on your PC. Check that the firmware you downloaded is compatible with your router.
- Open Orbi’s Web UI and navigate to Manual Update > Advanced > Administration > Firmware Update.
- Click Browse, navigate to your computer’s extracted firmware update and click upgrade. Then, once the upgrade is complete, check to see if the Orbi white flashing light issue has been resolved.
NOTE: After the Orbi firmware upgrade is complete, please do an internet connectivity test. The Orbi network should provide continuous internet access to all devices.
This corruption could have occurred due to a power outage or an incomplete installation of the current firmware. In this case, reinstalling the Orbi device’s firmware may resolve the issue.
Contact Netgear
If you’re still having issues with your Orbi, the best thing you can do is contact a Netgear representative and see if they have any answers. Through their website, you can find all of their contact information.
However, if you’ve done everything and the Orbi flashing white light persists, please get in touch with your ISP and ask for assistance. They can inspect your line and do remote testing to determine what is causing the issue.
While this isn’t necessarily going to fix your Orbi immediately, you can get expert advice to diagnose your Orbi’s problem and hopefully help you fix it. They can also tell you whether your Orbi is broken or needs repair.
They will likely fix it or help you through the appropriate procedures. They can send a technician to investigate if the remote support does not yield results. Perhaps you have a bad router or an issue they can’t figure out remotely. If the router cannot be repaired, you might want to consider other mesh networks. We have an article which compares Amazon Eero vs Google WiFi which may help you.
Conclusion
Orbi flashing white light is a fairly typical problem with your Orbi system. Don’t be concerned if you encounter the Orbi blinking white issue. Instead, refer to this article or share it with your friends experiencing the same problem.
If not, spyware or viruses may interfere with your connection, your Orbi may be doing system diagnostics, or it might require inspection for suspected internal concerns. Regardless, technical glitches can be time-consuming and disrupt your day’s effectiveness.
Hopefully, this has helped restore some order to your hectic schedule and get your Orbi functioning again!