People are just realising their Wi-Fi speed is so much faster when they make a simple change every month
Wi-Fi can be a fickle beast – a solution to slow internet problems may work one week but not the next.
In this case, it may be best to stick to the basics and not overlook one of the easiest and quickest remedies.
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A router that has been turned on and used for a long time can become overloaded.
“Just like your smartphone, tablet or laptop, your router also has a central processor, memory and an operating system,” say the experts at Internet provider CenturyLink.
“Because routers are typically on and operating 24 hours a day, we tend to place higher demands on them than we do on most other personal electronics—except perhaps our overloaded cell phones.”
“Like our computers, routers need to be rebooted.”
A WiFi router with parental controls stores cache and network information, just like a computer.
If an error is stored in this cache, it can cause the router to malfunction and even the Internet connection to be lost.
But usually the router just becomes sluggish if it is not released for a while.
It’s important to wipe this clean regularly, say CenturyLink experts.
“Depending on the age and condition of your router, rebooting should occur monthly to daily,” they add.
“This is sometimes referred to as the ‘power cycle’.”
“Restarting your router clears the device’s short-term memory (also called cache) so it runs more smoothly.
“Plus, the router can reselect the least congested channel for each frequency, meaning a stronger connection to your devices.”
How do I restart my router?
To manually restart your router, simply unplug it from the wall, press the off switch on the outlet, or press the off button on the side of the device.
Then wait a minute and turn it on again.
It usually takes a few minutes for the router to reactivate and reconnect to the network.
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