Internet Down? 8 Quick Checks Before You Call
Your show freezes, the page won't load, and the first thought is that something big went wrong. Most of the time it's something small you can fix yourself in a few minutes.
Here's the same checklist our local team walks through when you call, in the order that finds the problem fastest. Grab your phone and give yourself five minutes.
Prefer to watch? The full walkthrough is in our video, Internet Down? First Things to Check.
1. Try a second device
Pick up your phone, a laptop, or a tablet and see if it connects. If your phone works but the TV doesn't, the issue is the TV, not your fiber. If every device is offline, the problem is further up the line, and the next checks will usually find it.
2. Open your Hub on cell data
Turn off WiFi on your phone and open your Wire 3 Hub using cell data. Connection status shows whether we can see your service, and you can check your balance in the same spot. A past due bill pauses service, and paying it right there brings you back online.
3. Check the lights on your modem
Your modem is the small white Wire 3 box, usually in a closet or the garage. Here's what you want to see:
| Light | What it should look like |
|---|---|
| Power | Solid green |
| PON | Solid green |
| Alarm | Off |
| Data | Flashing |
If Alarm is lit, or PON is off or blinking, stop here and give us a call. That one is on our side of the wall, and we'll take it from there.
4. Check the light on your eero
Your eero should have a small white light on the front. It blinks while it starts up, then turns solid. No light at all? Make sure the power plug is pushed in firmly, check that the power strip is switched on, and take a look at your breaker box.
5. Reseat the cable between your modem and eero
One Ethernet cable connects your modem to your eero. It's a wide, clear plug with a little clip on top. Unplug both ends and push them back in until you hear a click. When it's seated right, the Data light on your modem starts flashing again.
6. Unplug other wired devices from your eero
This is the one most people miss. Your eero can mistake a wired device, like a gaming console or smart TV, for the internet itself. Unplug every Ethernet cable from the eero except the one coming from the modem. Give it 2 minutes, then plug them back in.
7. Do the 3 minute reset
Still down? Time for a proper restart.
- Unplug the power cord and every cable from your eero.
- Wait a full 3 minutes. Set a timer, because it's longer than it feels.
- Plug the power cord back in first.
- Plug in the cable from the modem second.
- Leave your other wired devices unplugged until the eero light turns solid.
8. Still offline? Tell us what you tried
If none of these did the trick, reach out to your local Wire 3 team. Let us know which checks you already ran. That one sentence saves a whole round of questions and gets us working on it faster.
- Email: help@wire3.com
- Call: (386) 777-8835
- Chat: ask Dabby in your Hub
Sign Up for the Wire 3 Customer Hub
The Wire 3 Customer Hub is the best and quickest way to reach resources and support. Once you sign up, you can check your connection status, view your balance, and chat with Dabby, all from your phone. It keeps everything in one place, so the next time your internet takes a break, help is a few taps away.
