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Leave router permanently on?


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The AOL/Talktalk guy just rewired my phone socket and gave me a new router, and he said- "Never switch the router off, leave it permanently on"

I'd never heard that before so I said "Are you joking?" to which he replied "No, it's best if routers are never switched off", and then gave me some techno babble which I didn't understand.

Did he really mean leave it on 24/7 day and night all year round even when I'm asleep? Won't it overheat or wear out quickly?

What about my PC and monitor, shall I leave that on too?

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Unless it's poorly designed, or you have sitting on top of a space heater, it isn't going to overheat or wear out. I leave my router on 24/7 and never have trouble with it. The bigger concern is keeping it fully patched and secure (strong passwords and no admin access from the internet) as it is exposed to the internet while it's running.

 

I tend to leave my PC and monitor on too, although they are set to into sleep mode after a short period of inactivity. Probably the biggest concern with them is electricity costs, as even when in sleep mode they can use a small amount of power that adds up over time.

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I've been working electronics (F-4II RADAR, along with a lot of other stuff) since the late '70's, and I've noticed that overall, electronics tends to fail when first turned on. It seems to last a lot longer if left on all the time than if turned on/off, on/off, like a neon sign flashing. If it's designed properly, and has adequate cooling/airflow available, it will last a lot longer left on.

I leave my home's router/modem on 24/7/365, and they last about 6 years a pop. So far...

Pat☺

[sIGPIC][/sIGPIC]

Had a thought...then there was the smell of something burning, and sparks, and then a big fire, and then the lights went out! I guess I better not do that again!

Sgt, USMC, 10 years proud service, Inactive reserve now :D

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The AOL/Talktalk guy just rewired my phone socket and gave me a new router, and he said- "Never switch the router off, leave it permanently on"

I'd never heard that before so I said "Are you joking?" to which he replied "No, it's best if routers are never switched off", and then gave me some techno babble which I didn't understand.

Did he really mean leave it on 24/7 day and night all year round even when I'm asleep? Won't it overheat or wear out quickly?

What about my PC and monitor, shall I leave that on too?

 

I've always kept mine on all the time. They draw so little power nowadays that it's fine. Like mentioned previously, it's turning them off and on which causes most failures;).

 

Cheers

 

Dom

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Mine is powered off at the modem, and switched off at the wall at bedtime, or when I leave the house. The modem is an el cheapo giveaway from the ISP – it’s now four years old, and hasn’t failed yet. Incidentally, all my gear (computer, monitor, scanner, printer, modem, and sound box) is powered off at the equipment (where practicable) and at the wall switch as above. It’s not a lot of effort/inconvenience for the peace of mind it affords me.
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I agree with most of the comments on this thread. You don't need to turn it off at all, it draws so little power that it wont overheat, nor will you notice it on your power bill. The only time you may need to turn it off is if you start to get a slow internet speed, then a simple reset is usually enough to fix that problem.

They were designed to be powered on 24/7.

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Depends a little bit on the ISPs technology.

 

1. The DNS and DHCP servers may "forget" your router if you keep it turned off for longer periods of time.

2. In my country we are all being switched to IP telephony. I need to keep the router turned on, or else no phone...

3. Finally, the router's internal memory may need a battery if it is disconnected from power (like the BIOS in your puter) unless it is of the flash type . When the battery finally gets old, the router may not make it through the night...

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  • 2 months later...
Thanks guys, just one last stupid question- what does "reset" mean, and how do I do it?

 

Reset is like pressing Start/Turn off Computer/Restart on your computer as opposed to hitting a main power off switch or an unplug-count to 30-plug it back in(Hard reboot).

A reset will set your router back to factory specs. Doing the hard reboot should not change the settings.

 

http://setuprouter.com/networking/how-to-reset-your-router/

 

If all else fails, have a cup of coffee and a couple of Mcvities digestives! I love those things! Gotta go buy some.

Still thinking about a new flightsim only computer!  ✈️

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