How often do you or should you reboot your router

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Just out of curiosity.

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If it’s ADSL, probably never in normal use. Too many restarts and it will think there’s a problem with the phone line, and slow the connection down to make it stable.

I don’t know if that applies to cable/fibre routers.

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TaskForce141, Microfix, SueW

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With ADSL in my experience, ISP’s monitor connections and if restarted too often the SNR (signal to Noise Ratio) fault kicks in and neuters your connection speed forcing you to phone the ISP (usually lengthy router/OS settings tech talk) to get the speed back up to normal.
I learned the hard way years back after switching off the 8mbps adsl router every night for around a week.

Edit: This is probably a good opportunity to stick a link in for more things router related:
https://routersecurity.org/index.php

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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TaskForce141, Hopper15, Bluetrix

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? says:

whenever Google/iPhone figure out where i “really,” am!

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Hopper15 wrote:

Just out of curiosity.

Never 🙂

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zero2dash

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Well I guess I’m different because I only turn my DSL modem/router on when I intend to go on the Web or do email which is usually once a day.  It’s just my wife and I, the kids are gone, so I see no reason to keep it running and generating heat.  The same goes for my computers.

Even astrophysicist Carl Sagan when speaking astronomically used Billions, not Trillions.

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Hopper15

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I have an old Linksys router and I turn it off every night before bedtime and turn it back on when I get up in the morning. I never saw any reason to leave it on overnight.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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wavy, Kirsty

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I used to turn it off every night when also turning off, first the PC and then myself (do not mean that literally: “I am not a robot”.) A couple of years ago, I stopped doing that and have kept it on permanently ever since. So far, except for three or four times that it stopped working and I had to reboot it, plus after a few local power blackouts, it has continued to work just as flawlessly as before. As a precaution, I have it connected through a surge protector. So: is there a good reason for turning it off when not needed (other than problems with not doing that specific to some makes and models)? If there is one (except for, I think, a very minor saving of electrical power) I would also like to hear about it. Because I have not found any myself, so far.

Ex-Windows user (Win. 98, XP, 7); since mid-2017 using also macOS. Presently on Monterey 12.15 & sometimes running also Linux (Mint).

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I use a very basic ISP-supplied broadband router. (If I had kids around I would reconfigure it to modem-mode only and piggy-back a better router to it.)

Every so often I lose my external (i.e. internet/WAN) connection, although internal (i.e. LAN) connections remain steady. I’ve noticed that this happens more frequently if I’ve watched a lot of YouTube videos. My theory is that there’s a chip inside the router that acts as a buffer to handle incoming data and my internet usage just floods it after a time.

The fix is to reboot the router. Five minutes later (yes, it’s *that* slow to self-test and re-establish all LAN/WAN connections) and I’m back in business.

As an addendum… I have the router positioned high up… so it involves standing on furniture to reach it. As a result I now have an AutoHotkey script so I can reboot it from my desktop. I can no longer paste it inline here (so annoying!) so – if you’re interested – I’ve attached it as a text file. If you want to actually use it, just rename its file extension from .TXT to .AHK.

router-rebooter
(Tested with Virgin Media SuperHub 2 router)

Hope this helps…

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Lugh

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[jabeattyauditor]

I use one of these: 

• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by jabeattyauditor.
• This reply was modified 5 years, 10 months ago by jabeattyauditor.

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I’ve never seen the need. Mine loses connection and reboots itself once in a while – every 2-3 days is fine and probably normal; if it happens more than 3 times a day, I complain. There’s no reason for me to interfere and complicate my ISP’s readings.

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Thanks, I plan to try that tip next time my Wi-Fi disconnects from the ‘net. But my situation is different, I use Wireless DSL Internet service and its Modem is separate from the Router, can be used with 1 computer without the Router at all but that shuts down my internal LAN.

Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?"

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Only when I lose my internet connection and it doesn’t re-acquire it.  The cable infrastructure to which I’m connected was originally installed in ’87.  Comcast/Xfinity has been slowly working their way through upgrading it, including replacing amplifiers.  I use a Motorola MG7550 cable modem/router.

I have a Netgear N750 modem/router on which I’ve flashed the firmware to DD-WRT to turn it into a router only.  Its WAN port is connected to the Motorola.   DHCP is disabled on the Netgear, and everything is handled by the Motorola.  Both have dual-band WiFi, and I have them setup on different channels, so my WiFi coverage is good throughout the house and out in the yard.

My network is setup to duplicate a lot of stuff across PC’s in the wee hours of the morning using Task Scheduler, so nothing ever gets turned off, just signed off.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

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If the best end result occurs after firmware update is installed these microcomputers will automatically reboot. Many service providers can push an firmware update, sometimes causing a reboot during the daytime. 🙂

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I reboot my Netgear Router about once a month.

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Once /night with the remote surge protector switch. unit I bring Alexa down to the bedroom
so I can hear NPR pod casts at will.
The cable modem, just when trouble strikes, too many unknowables there….

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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Not to nitpick terminology, but a router knows nothing about ADSL. Modems do. Routers and modems are different things. A box that does both is normally called a gateway.

A good router should be able to run for years without needing a reboot. However, a consumer router should be re-booted every now and then, just in case. Some malware can be removed by rebooting the router (very few people can detect malware on their router). And, a fresh start to the router operating system, can’t hurt. There is no one right answer, but my best guess would be to power cycle a router once a month. If you find that you *need* to reboot a router, it is time for a new router.

Get up to speed on router security at RouterSecurity.org and Defensive Computing at DefensiveComputingChecklist.com

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Nibbled To Death By Ducks, Neal Traven, wavy

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With the power going out around here on an average of once a month…the question would be moot if I didn’t have it all going into a 500 watt UPS/Line Filter!

Seriously, unless there’s something really haywire, leave it. I left my old Linux-based Linksys on for months without any hassle.

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