[Solved!][sort of] What do the Wifi status bar icons mean?

[ChromeJob]

I'm having trouble with a Time capsule router and a Motorola cable modem in bridge mode. AC app gets through but web searches and YouTube searches and streaming will stall out. The wifi indicator on the status bar will change to grey but show connected.

Anyone know what info this indicator means? There's a little vertical bar that appears.... Guess that is throughput.....

 

[henywatty]

Re: What does the various states of the Wifi indicator mean?

I am pretty sure that when the WiFi indicator is grey, it means it is connected to the modem, but not connected to the internet. When it is blue, it means it is both connected to the modem and the internet.

Sent from my Nexus 7 running Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2

 

[turdbogls]

Re: What does the various states of the Wifi indicator mean?

Gray means connected to the internet i think.
blue means it is connected to the google servers.

 

[ChromeJob]

Re: What does the various states of the Wifi indicator mean?

Thanks, gents. Anyone got some corroboration or references?

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: What does the various states of the Wifi indicator mean?

I know that for my Razr Maxx, blue means connected to Google, so I assume this is the same for all Android devices (at least ICS and above, because I'm not sure if this was a feature of Honeycomb or Gingerbread). Look at page 10 of the Maxx's manual:

http://cache.vzw.com/multimedia/mim/mot_droid_maxx/razr_maxx_manual.pdf

 

[tmaze]

Re: What does the various states of the Wifi indicator mean?

We recently had DSL problems galore and whenever the modem dropped the indicator turned gray. If the router was also turned off the intended indicator disappeared.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[anon(924308)]

Re: What does the various states of the Wifi indicator mean?

When it's grey, it's connected but you don't have internet access. If you notice the first second or two when you turn your tablet on, it'll go from grey to blue. Happens to me all the f'ing time when I use an unsecured public network, like at a cafe. I'll be connected, but it'll take forever for it to actually grant me internet access. Probably the laptop equivalent of showing bars but having an exclamation mark (which, if you have ATT U-Verse, you will see all the time lol).

 

[B. Diddy]

Re: What does the various states of the Wifi indicator mean?

I don't think that's entirely correct. I've had my phone connect to the internet via 4G or wifi with a grey symbol, which allowed me to access websites on the browser. However, Google apps like Gmail or the Play Store wouldn't come up until the symbol turned blue. Hence the description in the manual that blue 4G or wifi symbols indicate connection to the Google servers.

 

[ChromeJob]

Re: What does the various states of the Wifi indicator mean?

Unfortunately this is on my tablet, so I can't compare with cellular indicators (until I get a N4). And the HTC Sense overlay makes the indicators white anyway.

 

[ChromeJob]

Re: What does the various states of the Wifi indicator mean?

Similar threads:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/verizon-galaxy-nexus/191164-grey-signal-bars-wifi.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/ve...6848-no-data-when-my-signal-bars-go-grey.html
http://forums.androidcentral.com/sprint-photon/115300-blue-vs-gray-signal-strength.html

 

[ChromeJob]

Re: What does the various states of the Wifi indicator mean?

Documentation found!

Connecting to Wi-Fi networks - Android OS Help

Network status icons turn blue if you have a Google Account added to your tablet and the tablet is connected to Google services, for syncing your Gmail, Calendar events, contacts, for backing up your settings, and so on. If you don't have a Google Account or if, for example, you're connected to a Wi-Fi network that is not connected to the Internet, the network icons are gray.

Also... (Peek at new advanced controls in 4.2)
Connect to Wi-Fi networks - Nexus Help