Xfinity Gateway is Blinking Orange? Here’s How to Fix It

If your Xfinity Gateway is blinking orange intermittently, you are likely also experiencing connectivity issues when surfing the Internet or using cable TV. Unfortunately, this blinking orange light offers no clues as to the nature of the internet connection issue. 

Luckily, this article will help you troubleshoot the issue yourself, by covering every aspect that might directly or indirectly be causing this blinking behavior.

IMPORTANT: Yellow flickering on your Xfinity gateway indicates that a firmware upgrade is in progress. Don’t interfere with the procedure. Wait 15 to 20 minutes. If the orange light on your Xfinity modem continues to flicker, take action by following the instructions below.

Before we get into the specifics, let’s establish all the potential behaviors of the blinking light of your Xfinity gateway:

• Flashing Orange with a yellow outline – This behavior signals that a firmware update is in progress. There’s nothing you can do in this case other than wait for the update to finish. 
• Blinking orange light – This behavior signals that the gateway is currently trying to connect to the ISP and that Internet access is not active. 
• Steady orange – This behavior signals a different software, hardware, or firmware issue that needs to be addressed by the end user or a certified technician. 

Why is the Xfinity Gateway device blinking?

The main reasons why you might experience this problem are an outage, scheduled maintenance, faulty cables, loose connections, a damaged splitter, heat dissipation issues, an overloaded modem, and outdated or buggy firmware. 

Fortunately, unless you’re dealing with a serious hardware issue that requires a thorough investigation by a certified technician, you should be able to pinpoint the cause of the blinking problem and act according to the identified culprit. 

Below you’ll find a list of confirmed troubleshooting strategies that other affected users have successfully used to get to the bottom of the issue.

1. Check for an outage or scheduled maintenance 

The flickering green and orange lights on your Xfinity modem indicate that your service provider is doing scheduled maintenance. If there is an outage impacting your service, there may be ad hoc maintenance being performed.

If you’ve used Xfinity for a long and your box never had trouble holding the signal before you started experiencing this issue, the first thing you should do is determine whether this problem is caused by a broad network outage.

Typically, two unmistakable indications that the Xfinity connection is experiencing an outage are a buffering connection and a connection that is continually losing the signal.

Xfinity provides a status page detailing local outages. Consult it to determine whether your region is affected.

Scroll all the way to the bottom of the main status page and click Check for Local Outages.

According to several Infinity customers, this map is not always reliable. Even if the official status map does not indicate an issue is occurring, that does not guarantee the problem is not infrastructure-related.

Use a third-party tool such as DownDetector or IsItDownRightNow to see if other users in your region are also having this issue.

Note: Scroll down the status report page and examine the outage graph prior to reading the most recent social media reports about this issue to determine if other users in your region are experiencing the same issue.

When a significant outage affects a large number of subscribers, Xfinity often makes an official notification on its official Twitter support account. Check the most recent tweets to see if there is any confirmation.

Additionally, the StayInformed feature allows you to set Text SMS notifications for scheduled maintenance.

If other users in your region are having the same problems and you have confirmed an outage that affects your area, there is nothing you can do other than wait for the issue to be resolved.

2. Power-cycle Xfinity Gateway 

Restarting the gateway is among the first things you may attempt if the orange blinking issue doesn’t go away on its own.

Note: By power cycling your Xfinity Gateway, you can fix a number of common WiFi connectivity difficulties. The procedure takes around ten minutes, and your home network settings will remain intact.

Here’s a quick guide on power cycling your Xfinity Gateway:

1. Unplug the power cable from your gateway driver.

   

2. Wait for at least 5 minutes to allow the power capacitors enough time to discharge.
3. Plug the power cable back in and allow the gateway enough time to start.
4. Look at the LED and see if the orange tint went away. 

3. Restart the Xfinity Gateway 

If the power cycling of your device doesn’t fix the issue, performing a restart via the admin tool is the next step you should commit to. 

Important: During this process, you will be unable to access your home network. If you have Xfinity Voice, you will be unable to make or receive calls from your home phone, including emergency calls, until your gateway is back online. If you have Xfinity Home, you will not have access to home automation devices or cameras. Sensors for security will not be affected.

Here’s a quick guide on restarting the Xfinity Gateway:

1. Make sure that the device you are about to use is connected to the home network. 
2. Open any web browser and type the following address in the address bar at the top and press Enter to navigate to the Admin Tool:

   10.0.0.1

3. If you’ve previously established custom credentials, use them to log in on the next page.

   

   Note: If you haven’t changed the default credentials, use admin as username and password as password. 

4. From the next screen, navigate to Troubleshooting > Reset, then click on Restore Gateway. 

   

5. Next, you will be presented with 5 options. Make sure you click on Reset and confirm the process. 
6. Wait until the operation is complete, then see if the blinking issue is fixed. 

4. Double-check cable & Wall Jack connections

One of the primary causes of your Xfinity orange flashing light is the wires or dampness in the wall connector. A defective coaxial cable or a loose connection could also disrupt the gateway’s connection to the internet service provider.

Remove all cables and check them for dampness or short circuits. If the cables appear to be in good condition, wipe the ports with a microfiber cloth and reconnect them. Ensure that all connections are secure.

If you have a spare cable, try exchanging it with the current one to see if the problem is resolved.

5. Check the Splitter

Check the Coaxial splitter if you are utilizing a bundle of Internet and television. As with any other electrical component, the splitter is susceptible to deterioration. If it is compromised, your internet connection might begin to fail.

If the splitter is broken, you must purchase a replacement. If it is not defective, simply clean it and reconnect it.

Note: If you’ve never replaced a splitter before, our recommendation is to call upon a certified technician and have them do the replacement for you. 

6. Facilitate heat dissipation

If your Xfinity WiFi continues to glow orange, you may want to investigate heating issues. Placing the gateway in a stuffy area and preventing its airflow might lead it to malfunction, compromising connectivity.

Place the device a few feet above the ground and away from any obstacles. Do not cover it with a book or fabric.

7. Prevent Modem Overloading

If repositioning the devices does not resolve the issue, the gateway may be overloaded. This implies that your device may be simultaneously employed for data-intensive tasks that exceed its hardware capability, which might result in service disruption.

Disconnect the devices and restrict the number of WiFi connections. This is an interim solution.

If the problem persists after reconnecting all of your devices, it is time to update the router. You can obtain a high-quality router for Xfinity, and it should easily manage all of your connections.

8. Install Pending Gateway Firmware updates

If your gateway is operating with an outdated firmware version or is improperly configured, compatibility difficulties may arise.

Visit the official update website and check for the newest firmware update to resolve this issue. Download the most recent version and manually update it using the provided instructions.

9. Update the equipment

The Internet and television equipment (including the gateway) must be upgraded over time to stay up with the most recent technological advances. If you rent equipment from Comcast, you are eligible for an upgrade.

Here’s what you need to do to see if you are eligible for a new Xfinity gateway:

1. On a PC connected to the same network managed by the Xfinity gateway, visit xfinity.com/equipmentupdate.
2. At the login prompt, sign in with your user credentials. 

   

3. Once you are successfully signed in, wait until the scan is completed, then click on the Get Started button if an equipment update is available. 

   

4. Verify that the equipment described in the What You Have and What You’ll Receive fields is accurate. When you’re ready to go, click the Continue button.
5. Finish up the operation, establish the delivery dates and wait until your new equipment arrives.