Question Ethernet Port - Flashing Amber/Orange LED

[Scott#]

Hello,

I am trying to pin down the meaning behind an amber/orange flashing led at my Ethernet port. This is in addition to the standard green led. I am not noticeably experiencing any delay with my WLAN. I have not attempted to measure the actual speed yet but none of my applications seem to be having any lag over the remote desktop connection, and I have internet access with no interruptions or lag noticed. However, the flashing light must mean something is going on and I would greatly appreciate if someone can help me identity what is means.

HP EliteDesk 800 G4 SFF
Windows 10 Pro

I had received support from HP and when I asked about the specific meaning I was told “it depends on the signal”. That really does not seem to be the answer I was looking for. I see on various sites that the color, flashing rate, etc. can have different but “specific meanings”. I feel that I need this information before I can begin trying to correct the problem, assuming there is one.

Thx -Scott

 

[CelicaGT]

There's no standard meaning as it depends on the manufacturer. Typically one light is steady and it indicates a connection. The other blinking one usually means data is being transferred. I am by no means a networking expert but I'm pretty certain there's no issue with your machine.

 

[Scott#]

There's no standard meaning as it depends on the manufacturer. Typically one light is steady and it indicates a connection. The other blinking one usually means data is being transferred. I am by no means a networking expert but I'm pretty certain there's no issue with your machine.

From what I can tell from other sites, you are correct. There doesn’t seem to be any global standard to apply. However, as you mentioned, it’s specific to the manufacturer, so it would seem the manufacturer had some implied meaning behind it or why would they have the light to begin with? Even if it’s just indicating, “hey, I’m connected and everything‘s OK”. How do I determine the manufacturer behind the ethernet port, Is it the motherboard? I looked on the specs for my PC and it doesn’t indicate the manufacturer.

There's no standard meaning as it depends on the manufacturer. Typically one light is steady and it indicates a connection. The other blinking one usually means data is being transferred. I am by no means a networking expert but I'm pretty certain there's no issue with your machine.

From what I can tell from other sites, you are correct. There doesn’t seem to be any global standard to apply. However, as you mentioned, it’s specific to the manufacturer, so it would seem the manufacturer had some implied meaning behind it or why would they have the light to begin with? Even if it’s just indicating, “hey, I’m connected and everything‘s OK”. How do I determine the manufacturer behind the ethernet port, Is it the motherboard? I looked on the specs for my PC and it doesn’t indicate the manufacturer.

 

[Scott#]

From what I can tell from other sites, you are correct. There doesn’t seem to be any global standard to apply. However, as you mentioned, it’s specific to the manufacturer, so it would seem the manufacturer had some implied meaning behind it or why would they have the light to begin with? Even if it’s just indicating, “hey, I’m connected and everything‘s OK”. How do I determine the manufacturer behind the ethernet port, Is it the motherboard? I looked on the specs for my PC and it doesn’t indicate the manufacturer.

Sorry about the double post first time on the site

 

[CelicaGT]

From what I can tell from other sites, you are correct. There doesn’t seem to be any global standard to apply. However, as you mentioned, it’s specific to the manufacturer, so it would seem the manufacturer had some implied meaning behind it or why would they have the light to begin with? Even if it’s just indicating, “hey, I’m connected and everything‘s OK”. How do I determine the manufacturer behind the ethernet port, Is it the motherboard? I looked on the specs for my PC and it doesn’t indicate the manufacturer.

I would expect it's tied to the Ethernet chipset. The make and model of which will be seen in the Device Manager (Right click Windows icon -> Device Manager -> Network Adapters) if you are that curious.

 

[Scott#]

The network adapter is intel.

 

[Ralston18]

Run "ipconfig /all" (without quotes) via the Command Prompt.

What is the Description for the enabled Ethernet adapter?

You can also run "Get-NetAdapter" via Powershell to obtain more information.

Reference:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/p...pter/get-netadapter?view=windowsserver2022-ps

Once the specific network adapter is known then the next step is to find the applicable User Guide/Manual that explains what the LEDs are indicating.