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What do the flashing lights on a Verizon Mifi 2200 mean?

I'm borrowing a colleague's tiny little Verizon wireless cell modem gizmo, the MiFi 2200, and I'm totally impressed with it, except for one huge thing: what the heck do the lights mean?


Dave's Answer:

I've been evaluating the Verizon mifi 2200 too, and I'm with you. it's a great solution for getting online without having to worry about wireless passwords, signal strength or proximity to a cafe or open network. All you need is a cell signal and since Verizon seems to have very good coverage everywhere I travel, that's a no-brainer.

On the other hand, sometimes devices can be too small, and I am kind of starting to think that this is a case in point. For example, I really want some sort of battery level indicator. Is the device 90% charged or ten minutes away from being completely dead? It'd be nice to know.

There are two indicator lights on the mifi 2200: the button light (which is how you turn the device on and off) and the status light on the edge, adjacent to the micro-USB connector.

Each of these can have multiple different colors, as shown in this handy table:

LED ColorMeaning
LED not litNo Power
LED BLUE - SolidDevice is Powered on and Roaming
LED GREEN - SolidDevice is powered on and fully charged
LED GREEN - GlowingDevice is in hibernate
LED RED - BlinkingBattery is Critically Low.
LED AMBER - SolidBattery is Charging
LED AMBER - BlinkingError, see Troubleshooting

Got it? Four colors, flashing or not flashing, they could actually have eight messages, so Verizon showed a bit of restraint, right? :-)

Now, the status light can also have a couple of messages for you:

LED ColorMeaning
LED not litNo Power
LED GREEN - SolidDevice is powered but not transmitting or receiving
LED GREEN - Slow BlinkingDevice is powered on but there is no service
LED GREEN - Intermittent BlinkingTransmitting/receiving data

And now, as they say, you know. Still, a tiny multi-light battery status wouldn't have added more than a few pennies to this gizmo...



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