My Router Says "Plug in Cable"

If you are renting one of our AMPLIFI routers (a white cube with a black circular screen, as pictured below) and it says, “plug in cable,” please take the following steps.

Typically when the “plug in cable” message is showing up on your Amplifi’s screen, there are two main reasons for this:

1) The power injector may not be getting power, or one of the cords that's supposed to be attached to it may be loose. 

Check in your basement for a small, white, brick-shaped device. It has a little light and a "U" symbol stamped into the plastic.  This is your power injector. (It may also be located in the same room as the router, depending on your installation.) 

Check to see if the light is on or off. (If the light is off, check to make sure the outlet is working where it is plugged in. You may need to flip a breaker or reset a GFCI outlet.) 

Ensure that both ethernet cables are snugly connected into their sockets.

2) Another possibility is that the router's ethernet cable may have gotten moved to a different wall jack. 

Typically, only one wall jack is "live" for your internet feed. Sometimes there are two wall ports side-by-side and the router might have gotten plugged into the wrong one.

Ensure that the router is located in the same room where it was originally installed. 

Find the ethernet cable that is in the back of the router, in the router's "WAN" port (this is the top-right port, marked with a blue border).

Follow this cable to the other end and see where it is plugged into the wall.

If there is another wall port where it could plug in, try that other port and see if your connection comes back up. (It'll typically take 3-5 minutes, so you might need to give it a little time before seeing if your connection is working again.) 

• You may also need to power cycle the router for the change to take effect. To do this, unplug the power cord for 10 seconds and then plug it back in.

Visually inspect the cable for any issues that would suggest the cable is bad (such as any breaks or kinks or exposed wires). If you have a spare length of ethernet cable in the house, you can swap it out and see if that helps. 

Regardless of whether your issue is #1 or #2, we recommend performing a full power cycle. 

To power cycle, please try the following steps.

How to Power Cycle: 

1) Please locate your power injector. It is a small, white, brick-shaped device about 3 inches by 1 inch. It has a "U" symbol and a little light. It is probably located between your router and the wall, or in the basement attached to a stud.

2) Please unplug the injector’s power cord from the electrical outlet for 10-20 seconds. Then, plug it back in. 

3) After completing step 2, please unplug your router from the power source for about 10 seconds and plug it back in. (Please do not press the reset button on the router, as this will factory reset the router and require a tech visit to get you back online. Tech visits for a router that was factory reset will incur a $50 service charge.)

Once you have completed these steps, your connection should go back to normal, but if you continue to experience issues or have any questions, please feel free to reach out to our Customer Support team, and we would be more than happy to help you!  You can reach us by email at [email protected] or by calling 970-460-8004.  Our phone hours are 7am-5:30pm M-F.