When you get a new Netgear or any other router, it is important to familiarize yourself with the various lights and indicators of the router so that you can understand the various issues being indicated by the router. One of the things that many of the users are often confused about is the WPS light.
Most of the people don’t know what this light indicates and what they should do to fix the situation in case a WPS light is on. Here is everything that you need to know about the WPS light.
Should The WPS Light Be On On My Router?
WPS stands for Wi-Fi Protected Setup. It is a wireless security standard that is mostly used on home networks. Most of the small companies also use the WPS security standard. However, most of the companies use the WPA2-Enterprise or the 802.1xEAP for encryption. Users can connect the WPS-enabled routers with devices by four different methods.
- The first method of connecting to a WPS-enabled router is by pushing the button on the router and the other device within a limited time.
- The second method of connecting to a WPS-enabled router is by using the pin code provided by the wireless access point. You have to manually enter that pin code into each device that you want to connect to the router.
- Another way of connecting to a WPS-enabled router is through a USB. You can do that by taking a pen-drive, connecting it to the access point, and then connecting it to the client device.
- The fourth method of connecting to a WPS-enabled router is through NFC. For this, you have to bring the two devices close to each other. This will allow them near field communication and a connection will be established.
Now you may be wondering as to what the light next to the WPS button indicates. Many users are confused about this light as sometimes the light is on and sometimes the light is off, yet they don’t see much difference in the operation. According to the details given in the manuals of various routers, a steady light indicates that WPS functionality is available. This means you can push the WPS button and configure the WPS capable clients.
When you push the WPS button to make a new connection, the light next to the WPS button will keep blinking until a connection is made with the device. So a blinking light indicates a connection is in progress and a steady light simply means that the functionality is available and you can use it.
According to the manuals of various routers, the WPS LED will stop flashing or will turn off depending on the configuration of the router. Now if you are still confused about the function of the WPS light, you can simply take it to mean that the WPS light indicates the last used state of the “Add WPS client” process. In case, the last used state was through the WPS push button, the light will be on, and in case it was through PIN, the light will be off.