If you experience difficulty in connecting to the internet, we would like to assist you in a few simple troubleshooting operations that may correct the problem without a phone call. Please refer to the list of errors below and find the one that best describes your problem. If these troubleshooting steps do not correct the problem, we are available in the call center from 7 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday to assist you.


If none of the lights on your modem are lit up, please be sure you have done the following:
  1. Plug in the power cable from the modem to the wall. Sometimes power outlets need to be reset via the breaker box in your home. If you have a maintenance superintendent, Cardinal recommends contacting this person to ensure all the power outlets in your home are functioning correctly.

 If the status light on your modem is not lit up, please try the following:
  1. Reset the modem by unplugging it from the power outlet and leaving it unplugged for at least 10 seconds. Plug the modem back in to the power outlet and wait while the modem completes the boot process. Try using the internet again.

 If the LAN light is not lit up, please try the following:
  1. Check to be sure the ethernet cable is plugged into both the modem and the computer.
  2. Make sure the computer is turned on.
  3. If you are using a router to connect multiple computers to the internet, please bypass the router by plugging one end of the ethernet cable into the modem and the other end into the computer. If this fixes the problem, please review your router's troubleshooting guide or call the router manufacturer's help desk.

 If the LINE light is not lit up, please try the following:
  1. If your modem is plugged into a wall jack with two sockets, make sure you try plugging the modem into both sockets and rebooting the computer to refresh the internet connection.
  2. Try using a different cable between the modem and the wall. Cables can become damaged internally if excessive weight is placed on top of them or they are bent during moving.
 If all the lights on your modem are on, but you cannot connect to the internet, please try the following:
  1. Reboot the modem by unplugging it from power for 15 seconds then plugging it back in to power. This allows the modem to refresh it's connection to our router.
  2. Reboot your computer to refresh the ip address. An ip address is kind of like a street address: it gives the internet a destination for website traffic.
  3. If you are using Windows XP or later, do the following:
    1. Click on Start
    2. Click on Run
    3. Type cmd and press enter
    4. In the new window, type ipconfig and verify that there are numbers next to ip address, subnet mask, default gateway
      • If there are no numbers next to these labels, no labels, or a message stating DHCP Routing is not enabled or Unable to renew DHCP request, please type the following:
      • ipconfig /release, press enter
      • ipconfig /renew, press enter
    5. You should now see numbers next to the three labels referenced above. If you get an error message after typing in the commands above, please call our help desk at 303-285-5357.