Turn Router off when not in use or Not?

the182guy

There is no technical 'issue' that can occur as a direct result of turning a home router off at night. That's like saying you will never buy a computer because should there ever be a large power surge it might kill it. It really is ridiculous. There is no evidence whatsoever other than Internet forum engineering quotes.

Most often it appears to be nothing but excuses for indolence.

Lil306

There will always be debates about it being right or wrong, it's just down to opinion and if the person using it believes it or not.

At the end of the day the only people who switch off their router are those who are worried about their electricity bill nothing more.

This is the best suggestion I've found on another forum
Check your current download speed and then turn off your router. Then wait for an hour or so and turn your router back on and recheck the download speed. If it is still about the same you might as well turn the router off when you are not using the internet for any length of time. This will not only save a small amount of electricity but also reduce the risk of any possible damage from overheating or an electrical fault. The risk may be slight but you can never be too safe.

poppy10_2

The average router consumes 3 watts of power - one twentieth of the power a standard 60W lightbulb uses. Even if you kept the router switched off 12 hours a day, every day, you would only be saving just over a pound each year.

0.003kWHrs x 12 hours per day x 365 days a year x average cost of £0.10p per kWHr =£1.31 savings over the course of the year.

It's just not worth it, particularly given the fact that depending on your ISP, they might see the switching on and off as a sign of instability on your line, and therefore drop your broadband sync to a lower speed. PlusNet are particularly bad for this.

the182guy

Lil306 wrote: »

There will always be debates about it being right or wrong, it's just down to opinion and if the person using it believes it or not.

Agree on this.

Lil306 wrote: »

At the end of the day the only people who switch off their router are those who are worried about their electricity bill nothing more.

Disagree on this. I turn my router off, but I don't worry about the bill, I'd just prefer not throw money down the drain. I tend to invoke common sense when presented with situations like this.

Lil306

poppy10 wrote: »

PlusNet are particularly bad for this.

I call your PlusNet and raise you BT

I forsee the people with most problems are going to be the ones who live far as hell from the ISP Exchange, or have a crappy ISP (BT, PlusNET, Aol, etc)

the182guy

poppy10 wrote: »

The average router consumes 3 watts of power - one twentieth of the power a standard 60W lightbulb uses. Even if you kept the router switched off 12 hours a day, every day, you would only be saving just over a pound each year.

0.003kWHrs x 12 hours per day x 365 days a year x average cost of £0.10p per kWHr =£1.31 savings over the course of the year.

It's just not worth it, particularly given the fact that depending on your ISP, they might see the switching on and off as a sign of instability on your line, and therefore drop your broadband sync to a lower speed. PlusNet are particularly bad for this.

Well, a Google search returns about 700,000 results for this kind of data. In comparison, yours appears to be largely disproportionate to the rest, coincidently though most of the rest are also random statements on Internet forums.

As said earlier in this thread, we're not talking about turning the router off every 10mins which may raise alarms as you predict, it's more like turning it off if it's not going to until the following day.

Shrimply

Lil306 wrote: »

and yes, my TV is left on Standby because I'm not a tree hugger.

I actually found this comment a bit insulting, like you look down on people who're prepared to do every little thing they can to reduce their power consumption. Especially for things that won't in anyway make your life more complicated.

It always seems strange that so many people are working hard to try and ensure that mankind will be able to survive, and live in comfort and people aren't prepared to make a few small changes to give them more time.

Richie-from-the-Boro

rolo1 wrote: »

Hi All

I have a Thompson wireless router which I turn off (from button at back of Router) when computer is turned off - Never had any problems so far -Touch wood.

However a friend has told me that it should never ever be turned off. Am I asking for trouble by turning it off each time when not in use, or is this advice just nonsense?

Turn it off if you want to save leccy, leave it on if you don't care!

Most ISP's send a control check [ DIN script licence ] to your router every 24HRS or so to make sure your legal, so like I say, makes no difference either way, my old BUFFALO router is 11 years old - same wall wart - going strong - not a problem - the first five years running a ' farm ' it was never turned off, the last six or so turned off every night.

IAmTheOne

I never switch my router off. Ever. And the only thing that can possibly happen when you switch off your router, is that your IP changes if it is dynamic.

-Iamtheone

Leopard

So many people sloppily use the words "my router" on MSE when what they actually mean is modem/router, or wireless (non-modem) router, or wireless/modem/router, that I've found it fairly pointless to engage in these discussions any longer because everyone winds up talking at cross-purposes; they all misunderstand what actual piece of kit the other people are talking about.

Anyway...

Personally, I prefer to keep all the network components separate, rather than have a single, combined all-singing, all-dancing, wireless/modem/router. For much the same reasons as I prefer to have my AV kit in separate components.

Yes, it uses more power, overall, but the advantages are:

1) You can switch different bits of it on and off, according to when you want to use them.

2) It's easier to configure, and also to trouble-shoot, if you know which device is doing what.

3) It's much more versatile.

4) If one device fails, it's simple to take just that one out of the system and replace it with a spare one while you get it fixed.


A single wireless/modem/router is a horribly inflexible device to have.

I've found it much better to have, as a system backbone, a Cat6 cable running from downstairs to upstairs, and the length of the property, with a Gigabit switch at each end. Then plug all the different bits of the system into those with Ethernet. When and where necessary, this can be extended or filled in with a couple of powerline adaptors.

So, the ADSL modem (a Draytek 100), plugs into a powered, non-wireless, router. (The backup for both is a Netgear DG834 modem/router). Either way, the router then plugs into the downstairs Gigabit switch. Then, our various wireless (non-modem) routers are plugged individually into the Gigabit switches and left in "Bridge" mode only.

This way, one can control exactly which components are on and which ones are off. That depends on who's at home, and when. Above all, for reasons of security as much as for power consumption, it enables either the 2.4 GHz wireless network or the 5 GHz wireless network (or both) to be switched off when not in actual use, while still leaving the router and the wired network running if desired.

All of that may sound profligate in power consumption but it isn't, because we only have running the bits that we actually need, when we need them.

(I suppose, however, I should add that they're all plugged, electrically, into uninterruptible power supply units... (Sorry, Martin . Forgive me, planet .)

What's never been clear to me is whether, to keep the BRAS happy, it's alright just to leave the modem (the bare, simple, non-router, non-wireless modem) permanently on, and switch the router (the bare, simple, non-modem, non-wireless router) off – or whether the router ought to be left on, too. (I can't see why it should, if everything connected to it is switched off.)

Does anyone know the techie answer to that?

Will the modem, alone, keep the BRAS nourished or does the router, even when everything else is switched off, need to send something important to the ISP via the modem?

Think about that one and let me (and everyone else) know.

Me, I'm off to bed now – so I'll just press some buttons on the landing to switch the wireless routers off. (Yes, ecology apology time again; they're operated by radio-controlled plugs... .)