Fiber Color Code: How is it in Fiber Cable, Connectors & Assemblies?

What is Fiber Color Codes?

Fiber color code is a standard for quickly identifying fibers, cables, connectors and fiber optic assemblies. The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) especially launched the TIA-598 standard. This standard addresses the manufacturer’s fiber color codes to follow and reference.

Let’s introduce fiber optic color codes from this 3 main aspects. We also believe this PDF from TheFOA.org code codes is helpful, You can also download it.

Why Use Fiber Optic Color Codes?

Using the right fiber color codes makes it easier for technicians to handle and fix fiber optic cables quickly. Network managers can easily tell apart different fiber types and get their details just by checking the color code. This avoids unnecessary checks and cuts down on the time it takes to set up and maintain things.

In today’s fast-paced data centers, where cables with many fibers are common, keeping track of all these connections is crucial. A single device might be linked to dozens or even hundreds of fibers. So, being able to identify each fiber easily is very important. Good color coding of fibers helps keep the network running smoothly, lowers the chance of it going down, and makes the network more reliable. Plus, it makes adding to the network or upgrading it much simpler.

Standards For Color Codes

There is a color code standard in TIA, TIA-598 that addresses fiber optic color codes, which most manufacturers adopt and reference, although there are many exceptions based on customer requirements or preferences. Here is what TIA-598 recommends:

EIA598-A Individual Fiber Colour	DIN VDE 0888 Individual Fiber Colour	IEC 60794-2 Individual Fiber Colour	IEC 60304 Individual Fiber Colour
1 Blue	1 Red	1 Blue	1 Red
2 Orange	2 Green	2 Yellow	2 Green
3 Green	3 Blue	3 Red	3 Blue
4 Brown	4 Yellow	4 White	4 Yellow
5 Slate	5 White	5 Green	5 White
6 White	6 Slate	6 Violet	6 Slate
7 Red	7 Brown	7 Orange	7 Brown
8 Black	8 Violet	8 Slate	8 Violet
9 Yellow	9 Aqua	9 Aqua	9 Aqua
10 Violet	10 Black	10 Black	10 Black
11 Pink	11 Orange	11 Brown	11 Orange
12 Aqua	12 Pink	12 Pink	12 Pink
13 Blue*	13 Red*	13	13 Red*
14 Orange*	14 Green*	14	14 Green*
15 Green*	15 Blue*	15	15 Blue*
16 Brown*	16 Yellow*	16	16 Yellow*
17 Slate*	17 White*	17	17 White*
18 White*	18 Grey*	18	18 Slate*
19 Red*	19 Brown*	19	19 Brown*
20 Black**	20 Violet*	20	20 Violet*
21 Yellow*	21 Aqua*	21 Buffer 1 Red	21 Aqua*
22 Violet*	22 Transparent	22 Buffer 2 Green	22 Transparent*
23 Pink*	23 Orange*	23 Transparent	23 Orange*
24 Aqua*	24 Pink*	24 Transparent	24 Pink*

Fiber Color Code for Inner Fiber ( By Fiber Counts )

Fiber Color Code for Fiber Connectors & Assemblies

Fiber Color Code for Fiber Connectors such as SC LC FC ST

As FC ST is of metallic body, so the color you can see is their boot.

Fiber type	Connector Body	Strain Relief/ Mating Adapter
62.5/125	Beige	Beige
50/125 OM2	Black	Black
50/125 laser optimized (OM3, OM4)	Aqua	Aqua
OM5 wideband fiber	Lime	Lime
Singlemode	Blue	Blue
Singlemode APC	Green	Green

Fiber Color Code for Cable Jacket

Simple but Valueable Table for Fiber Assemblies Color Code

Color codes make it easy to tell what kind of connector a fiber optic patch cord has. For example, the older types of multimode fibers, OM1 and OM2, are usually beige or black. The newer, better performing OM3 and OM4 fibers are colored aqua and magenta.

For single mode fibers, blue means the connector is UPC, and green means it’s APC. It’s really important not to mix UPC and APC connectors because they won’t work well together.

Fiber Connector	Polishing Type	Fiber Type	Connector Color	Fiber Color Code
LC	UPC	Singlemode	Blue	Yellow
LC	APC	Singlemode	Green	Yellow
SC	UPC	Singlemode	Blue	Yellow
SC	APC	Singlemode	Green	Yellow
ST	UPC	Singlemode	Black	Yellow
ST	APC	Singlemode	Black	Yellow
MTRJ	UPC	Singlemode	Green	Yellow
MTRJ	APC	Singlemode	Green	Yellow
FC	UPC	Singlemode	Metallic	Yellow
FC	APC	Singlemode	Metallic	Yellow
LC	UPC	Multimode	Aqua	Orange
LC	APC	Multimode	Aqua	Orange
SC	UPC	Multimode	Aqua	Orange
SC	APC	Multimode	Aqua	Orange
ST	UPC	Multimode	Black	Orange
ST	APC	Multimode	Black	Orange
MTRJ	UPC	Multimode	Green	Orange
MTRJ	APC	Multimode	Green	Orange
FC	UPC	Multimode	Metallic	Orange
FC	APC	Multimode	Metallic	Orange

Conclusion

For beginners, understanding the basics of fiber color codes is key. It lets us quickly tell different fiber types apart just by looking at the color of the fiber optic jacket, the fiber inside, and the connectors. More importantly, getting good at this can make working with fiber cables faster and reduce the time needed for tasks.

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