That little orange light

If you have an Airport (Express or Time Capsule) chances are you’ve seen a little orange light flashing at you from time to time.

Chances are you have rebooted the Airport and it has gone away for a few minutes, only to return.

This little orange light is designed to tell you that the Airport wants some attention and this attention can mean different things depending on the health of your internet.

Below is a small cheat sheet that will, hopefully, help you deal with the little orange light with fewer reboots.

Scenario 1

You have a modem plugged into your Airport and the internet is down. In this case, call your iSP and do nothng to Airport. There is no need to unplug or restart anything because the issue is with your modem or your ISP and that is what the Airport is telling you.

Scenario 2

If all you have is an Airport (it is connecting you to the outside world) and the internet is down then reboot your Airport by pulling the cord out, waiting 30 seconds and reconnecting it. But be ready to call your iSP because the issue is likely with your connection to the internet and that is what the Airport is telling you. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ALLOW THE ISP TO CONVINCE YOU TO STICK A PIN IN THE RESET HOLE. THIS WILL WIPE YOUR AIRPORT. IF REBOOTING DOESN’T HELP YOU NEED ONSITE HELP FROM US OR SOME OTHER TECHNICIAN.

Scenario 3

You have a modem plugged into your Airport or the Airport is your only modem and the internet is fine then then this likely means the Airport wants a firmware update. If you have regular health checks, don’t worry just ignoore it, the upgrade will be done then. If not and you want to do it yourself do the following:

1. Open your Utilities folder.

2. Open Airport Utility

3. Click on the icon of your Airport and you’ll see the UPDATE button.

4. Click on the Update button and the firmware will download and apply itself. While this is happening the internet will drop out for a few minutes.

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