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What is an ONT and Troubleshooting

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Written by Duncan Di Biase
Updated over 3 months ago

Troubleshooting Your ONT (Optical Network Terminal)

Your ONT—the little box on your wall—turns CityFibre or Openreach fibre into the blazing-fast Brillband connection. Different partners use different models, but the basics are the same: solid green LEDs mean you’re good to go. Here’s how to keep yours in tip-top shape.


Which ONT Do You Have?

LED Lights Cheat-Sheet

LED #

Label

What ā€œSolid Greenā€ Means

1

Power

ONT is powered up correctly.

2

PON/Broadband

Fibre link to the exchange is live.

3

Alarm/Service

Your Brillband service is active.

4

LAN/Ethernet/Data

Router is plugged in and talking.

If any LED is off, flashing or amber, follow the steps below.


Quick Fixes for Any ONT

  1. Check the Basics

    • Make sure the ONT’s power adapter is firmly seated in the wall and the ONT itself.

    • Confirm your Brillband router is plugged into the ONT’s Ethernet port (only one device belongs here).

  2. Power-Cycle

    • Unplug the ONT’s DC lead, wait 30 seconds, then plug back in.

    • Give it up to 5 minutes to re-sync all LEDs to solid green.


CityFibre-Specific Tips (Calix & Nokia)

  • Alarm LED On (Calix) or Alarm/Service LED Off (Nokia)

    1. Check the external fibre junction box for kinks or visible damage.

    2. Power-cycle the ONT once.

    3. Still in alarm? Email us or raise a ticket so we can escalate to CityFibre.

  • LAN/Ethernet LED Off
    Swap in a known-good CAT6 cable and confirm you’re using the correct port.

Openreach-Specific Tips (Huawei & Nokia)

  • PON/Broadband LED Flashing or Off

    1. Ensure the fibre connector is fully clicked home.

    2. Gently wipe the connector end with a dry, lint-free cloth.

    3. Power-cycle and wait up to 5 minutes.

  • LOS (Loss of Signal) LED On (Huawei) or Alarm LED On (Nokia)
    Inspect the street-side drop cable—if it looks intact, power-cycle and then shout for help via live chat so we can liaise with Openreach.

Still not green? Our support team is on standby to sort out any partner-related ONT dramas—just hit our live chat

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