nbn box lights ยท Fixed Wireless
Fixed Wireless box lights: what each one means
An antenna on your roof talks to an nbn tower, and a cable runs from it down to an nbn connection box inside. Your own router plugs into UNI-D 1 on that box. Below is every indicator on the nbn connection box with nbn's own documented meaning, and the action that goes with it.
Last reviewed: 15 August 2026 · by Alien IT Solutions
What you are looking at
An antenna on your roof talks to an nbn tower, and a cable runs from it down to an nbn connection box inside. Your own router plugs into UNI-D 1 on that box.
nbn's fixed wireless guide adds one instruction that is worth more than any single light: watch the indicators for about 60 seconds and check they are not changing or resetting. Lights that cycle are a different fault from lights that sit wrong, and almost nobody thinks to look for long enough to tell the difference. Write down the colour and whether each light is steady or blinking before you call, because that is the first thing you will be asked.
Every light on the nbn connection box, and what it means
This table is nbn's own documentation for this equipment, not one provider's summary of it. Where your provider's guide says something different about your specific hardware, follow theirs, because they know which model they sent you.
| Light | What you see | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power | Off | No power to the connection box. | Check the power lead and the outlet. |
| Green | Powered normally. | Nothing to do. | |
| Status | Green | The connection box reports normal status. | Nothing to do. |
| Not green | The box is not in a normal state. | Contact your provider. Note the colour and whether it is steady or blinking before you call. | |
| Outdoor Unit | Green | The indoor box is talking to the antenna outside. | Nothing to do. |
| Not green | The link to the outdoor antenna is not healthy. | Check the cable where it enters the wall for damage, cuts, kinks or corrosion at the plug. Do not go outside and up to the antenna. Contact your provider. | |
| UNI-D 1 | Green | Your router is connected to the right port. | Nothing to do. |
| Off | Nothing is linked on UNI-D 1. | On fixed wireless your router belongs in UNI-D 1 unless your provider told you otherwise. Check you are not in UNI-D 2, 3 or 4. |
Now turn the light into a diagnosis
A light tells you the state. It does not tell you the cause, and the cause is what gets it fixed. Pick the pattern that matches what your connection has actually been doing, and you will land on the Fixed Wireless answer for it.
- The internet drops out at the same time every dayIs it predictable, for example most evenings, or always around the same hour?
- The internet drops out when it rainsDoes it get worse in rain, or in the day or two after rain?
- The internet drops out then comes back on its ownDoes it come back without you touching anything, after seconds or minutes?
- The internet drops out every few minutesIs it constant, several times an hour, all day?
- The internet has been dead since a particular dayDid it stop on a particular day and never come back?
- The internet is slow but never actually drops outDoes it stay connected but run far below what you pay for?
Before you touch anything
- Do not go up a ladder or onto a roof. That includes fixed wireless antennas and dishes. nbn's own fixed wireless guide tells you to contact your provider rather than touch an outdoor unit mounted more than 2 metres off the ground. There is nothing you can fix up there that is worth a fall.
- Do not open the nbn connection box, and do not touch the pit or the lead-in cable. That equipment belongs to nbn, not to you or your provider. Fibre terminations carry laser light that you cannot see and should not look into. Opening it can also end your service and leave you liable for the repair.
- Leave the backup battery alone beyond what your provider's own script tells you. If you have the optional Power Supply with Battery Backup, follow your provider's instructions for it and nothing more.
- Burning smell, scorch marks, or a modem too hot to touch: stop. Switch it off at the wall, unplug it, and do not plug it back in. Tell your provider it needs replacing. There is no troubleshooting step that comes before this.
Where this comes from
Every light state and every figure on this page comes from the sources below, each checked on 15 August 2026. Where a provider's guide disagrees with nbn's, the provider is describing their own hardware and you should follow theirs.
While you are on the phone to them anyway
Most people only look hard at their telco account when something has gone wrong. Since you are already dealing with them, send the bill over. The audit is free, and we will tell you plainly where you are overpaying and what is worth challenging.
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