Why Is Google Fiber Blinking Red?

Wondering why does google fiber blinking red frequently?

Well, the case could be related to one of two things. It’s either a power issue or a hardware failure, but don’t get worried, it could be just the cable.

So keep reading to learn what might cause the issue and hopefully develop a solution as per your case that will manage to fix your problem.

Google Fiber will be blinking red if it is unable to acquire any power. The red light will keep on blinking until a power flow throughout the device can manage to power it up. 

Otherwise, there could be a hardware failure or potential attempt that your Google Fiber is attempting to connect with a prime network.

No matter what the issue is, we will do our best to cover each possible cause and grant you with truthful information we’ve gathered from people that resolved the same issue as yours.

Let’s first get familiar with the possible reasons why your Google Fiber blinks in red.

Why Is Google Fiber Box Blinking Red?

To ease up your troubleshooting later we’ve figured that it would be appropriate to list the possible causes and some information concerning each of them.

Take a quick look before proceeding further to avoid unnecessary troubleshooting and efforts.

Wiring Cables

We have already pointed out that this whole thing could be related to hardware failure, which will definitely result in a red light blinking.

Well, hardware failure is connected with the wiring of your Google Fiber, and depending on the functionality, your light might be blinking red if something is incorrect.

Anything from fault cable to warn out input slot or any temporal software glitch impacting the wiring transmission could be a possibility.

Later, you’ll learn how to troubleshoot and exclude this possibility.

Power Income

Whenever your Google Fiber is unable to acquire power, the first thing that comes to mind is checking whether the power cable is connected properly or not.

The origin of the power flow comes from the outlet, so there are the main components in your power configuration you should be reviewing and checking for issues.

Moreover, if you’ve experienced any power surges due to bad weather your Fiber box might have been a subject of a short circuit.

We cannot tell for sure, but what you can do is make sure that you’re not using any power dividers and connect your Google Fiber directly into a standalone power outlet.

Physical Inputs

Sometimes the cause of the issue could be faulty inputs.

For instance, if the seating of your fiber jack isn’t established correctly, you might either experience power outages or lose the power of your Google fiber at all.

Whether the issue is with one input or another, you'll definitely see the red light blinking as an indication of a failure.

This is why you would have to perform jack reseating, for which you can learn more next.

How To Fix Google Fiber Box Blinking Red?

After getting to know your issue a little better, troubleshooting it shouldn’t be a hard task at all.

We will begin our guidelines according to the factors we have mentioned above, so if you still haven’t checked them, make sure to go back and take a look.

Step #1 Check Cables

The first thing you will begin with is verifying the cables throughout your whole configuration.

A faulty or loose cable might be the origin of greater malfunctions, especially when there is a bad power flow.

Checking For Loose Cables

The first thing you would want to do is ensure that none of your configuration’s cables are loose or unconnected.

Some ports could be defective and not hold the cable as intended, which may result in loose or fallen from the port cable.

You would want to also check the ports for their stability before actually plugging the cable and trusting the connection.

Try using an alternate slot if possible.

Check For Faulty Cables

If you had ensured that all cables are connected perfectly, but your Google fiber’s light still blinks, there might be a faulty cable in your configuration.

Getting to know which cable is actually the faulty one could be quite challenging, so our best suggestion would be to unplug all cables and then connect them back consecutively.

This is your best shot at actually learning which cable isn’t working and replace them as soon as possible.

Step #2 Check Outlets

As we have mentioned above, the essential part of your power configuration is the outlets.

If the outlet you have plugged your Google Fiber box into isn’t working correctly, the red light will be blinking constantly until you plug it into another outlet or fix the current one.

To save yourself a lot of time, take your Google Fiber Box and plug it in another, proven-to-work (standalone) outlet and test there. If the issue is still there let’s move on to the next step.

Step #3 Power Reset

If it turns out that the issue isn’t related to outlets and cables, then it might be a simple power malfunction that requires a firm restart in order to be fixed.

This is exactly why our last power-related step is about a power cycle and more importantly, how to efficiently perform it.

To ease up your experience, here is a step-by-step guide to performing a power cycle:

1. Turn off your Google Fiber.
2. Take out the power adapter from your main outlet and the Ethernet cable as well.
3. Wait for 15 seconds before plugging both of the cables back in.
4. As a result, the red light will be immediately replaced with blue light.

If you are wondering what might the blue light indicate, most of the time it means good for Google fiber. 

If everything is working correctly, the light should be in blue color, but if Google fiber blinking red still persists, you can try the last one of our steps in an attempt to resolve it.

Step #4 Reset Fiber Jack

There could be another reason your Google fiber light is blinking red.

If power isn’t the issue, then it should be related to the internet.

This is why our next step is related to reseating the fiber jack of your Ethernet cable to fix your signal.

After all, the internet is of great importance nowadays, and not having a reliable network could be really frustrating at some point and also make your red light blink.

Here is how to reset your Google Fiber box jack:

1. Find the white plate in your Google Fiber jack and slide it open.
2. While taking the plate off, take out the green cord and let it be for up to 5 minutes.
3. When you plug the green cord back in after 5 minutes, your internet should work now.

Step #5 Factory Reset

We’ve found several people that managed to get their blinking light to stop, after reverting all settings to default.

The factory reset should wipe the entire database including all network settings and personal configurations so pay attention.

The recommendation here would be to save all settings so you can easily recover them after the reset is ready.

There are 3 simple steps to revert your Google Fiber box to factory default settings:

1. Press and hold the Reset button for at least 25 seconds.
2. Release once you see the light flashing in purple.
3. Wait until the reset is complete (about 5 minutes).

Check if the red light is still blinking.

If the issue is gone, congratulations you’ve made it, but if it is still there, you can contact Google customer service as a last resort.

Read Next: Why does Google WiFi Keeps Dropping Internet?

Bottom Line:

Google Fiber blinking red could really indicate something crucial in your device’s hardware.

Taking these things into consideration is of great importance for your device’s performance and checking them regularly is widely recommended by all users that own Google Fiber cable boxes.

We really hope we were helpful and if you’re interested in more content related to Google Fiber, make sure to take a look at our technical blog to find solutions to your tech issues.