The inverter is the part of your solar system that turns the DC power from your panels into AC power your home can use, and it's the component most likely to complain. When it does, you'll usually see a red or orange status light, a fault code on the screen, or a monitoring app that shows production dropping to zero.
A fault light doesn't automatically mean the inverter is broken. Common causes include a grid voltage problem that made the inverter shut down for safety, a ground fault somewhere in the array wiring, a failed optimizer or connector on the roof, or a tripped breaker or open disconnect. In North Texas, inverters on sun-exposed walls also shut down when they overheat on summer afternoons.
There are a couple of safe things you can check yourself: make sure the solar breaker in your service panel hasn't tripped and that any AC disconnect near the inverter is switched on. Don't open the inverter or work on the DC side of the system. Solar circuits can carry dangerous voltage even when the inverter is off.
If those checks don't clear it, write down the fault code or take a photo of the screen and call for a diagnostic. The code tells a technician where to start, and testing confirms whether the inverter itself has failed or whether something upstream is causing the shutdown. Replacing an inverter that isn't the problem is an expensive way to find out.