

If any of the other lights are flashing, it usually means your modem is in the middle of a related process. The standby light turns on when there is a connection blockage. The front of the modem will have several different lights indicating different statuses: power, receive, send, online, activity and standby. The coaxial cable connects to your ISP’s service line. The ethernet cable connects to either your computer or your router to provide internet access. When you’re talking to tech support, it’s useful to know the basic anatomy of your router.Īt the back of your modem are four ports: a power port, an ethernet port, a USB port and a coaxial cable port. If you run into problems with your internet connection and think your modem may be malfunctioning, you might need to talk to your ISP to diagnose the issue. If you set up a WiFi network in your house, you will need to connect your modem to your router first, so that it can create wireless internet access. But a modem doesn’t provide WiFi - that’s what a router does. Modems take the signal transmitted through these lines and allow the data to be compatible with computers and access the internet.Ī cable modem can be wired directly to your computer (or another digital device) to provide internet access. It does this through connected cable or phone cords. A modem is a hardware box used to establish a connection with your internet service provider (ISP).
