HFC connection box lights and checks

Hybrid Fibre Coaxial (HFC) uses the old pay TV cable network for the last part of the connection. A white coaxial cable runs from a cable wall outlet to a black nbn connection box, and your router plugs into that box with an Ethernet cable. Not sure HFC is what you have? See which nbn connection do I have.

Which box do you have?

• Current box (from February 2025): black, with four lights down the front: Power, Downstream, Upstream and Online. The white cable is fixed, with a locking connector at each end. The ports on the back, from top to bottom, are: Ethernet (labelled Port, 2.5G), Reset, the white cable, and Power.
• Previous box (most boxes installed before February 2025): also black with the same four lights. The white cable screws on, and the router plugs into the yellow data port labelled UNI-D1.

Your router plugs into the Ethernet port (Port on the current box, UNI-D1 on the previous box). On the router side, use the port labelled WAN, Internet or nbn.

What the lights mean

All four lights should be solid green when the service is working.

Light	What you see	What it means	What to do
Power	Solid green	Power is fine	Nothing
Power	Flashing green	The box has a problem	Contact us
Power	Off	No power reaching the box	Check the power adaptor is plugged in at both ends and switched on at the wall. Still off? Contact us
Downstream	Solid green	The box can receive data	Nothing
Downstream	Flashing green	A firmware update is running	Wait up to 10 minutes
Upstream	Solid green	The box can send data	Nothing
Upstream	Flashing green	A firmware update is running	Wait up to 10 minutes
Online	Solid green	The nbn connection is active	Nothing

Firmware updates: nbn updates these boxes from time to time, and updates can also happen when your plan speed changes. While Downstream and Upstream are flashing, the connection may drop for a few minutes. Some types of medical alarm may also stop working for that time. Give it the full 10 minutes before doing anything else.

If the lights aren’t all solid green

1. After a restart, power cut or update, give the box up to 30 minutes to come back. All four lights flash while it starts up.
2. Check the power adaptor is plugged in firmly at both ends and switched on at the wall.
3. Check the white cable is firmly connected at the wall outlet and at the box, and isn’t pinched, kinked or bent.
4. If everything is connected and it’s been 30 minutes, switch the power off and on again at the wall.
5. Still not solid green? Log a fault or call 1300 049 749.

The box has a Reset button. Only use it if we ask you to.

The white cable’s locks are there so the box isn’t moved. Don’t unlock or remove the cable unless you have to, for example while painting. Unplugging it risks damaging the box.

If the lights are all green but the internet still isn’t working

The nbn side is probably fine, so check your own equipment:

1. Check the Ethernet cable is firmly in the box’s Ethernet port and in the router’s WAN, Internet or nbn port.
2. Turn the router off and on again.
3. Try a different Ethernet cable.

See internet down: first checks for the rest, including testing with a laptop. For slow speeds, see slow or dropping out.

Power cuts and moving

• Nothing connected over the nbn works during a power cut. Keep a charged mobile handy. If you have a medical alarm, monitored fire alarm or lift emergency phone, check with that equipment’s supplier that it will work over nbn, and register it with nbn.
• Leave the nbn box behind if you move. It’s registered to that address and won’t work anywhere else.

Before you call us

Have this ready:

• The state of all four lights (solid, flashing or off), after watching the box for about a minute
• How long since the box was last restarted or lost power
• What you’ve tried: cables checked, power cycled, a different Ethernet cable
• Whether the whole office is down. If it is, we treat it as urgent.