BT HomeHub equipment warm - safe to leave on when away?

Roger1

Thanks to all for very helpful advice!

I have learnt that it's safe even preferable to leave the units switched on. Units are well ventilated. I'll do this, except when away for a week or more.

anotheruser

Funny that people leave the fridge on, yet that's just as likely to blow than anything else...
It's not really an option to turn it off but it shows that leaving on a few items while away is fine.

We're going away for 4 days. Router will stay on. The electricity saving will be pence in the scheme of things.
More than 7 days, I turn it off.

bsod

Fridges and freezers are left on because the food inside will spoil otherwise, that doesn't apply to routers and a wide range of other electrical appliances which routinely get switched off for holidays. If no-one is going to use the internet connection, there is no reason to leave it on.

Turning off a router periodically does not harm the connection speed, as anyone who has tried it will know. Anyone suffering with a low connection speed would be well advised to do just that.

Lumstorm

Strider590 wrote: »

No, and another reason not to turn them off is they're set to auto pick a WiFi channel (1 to 13) when they're turned on, which invariably screws up all the other neighbours WiFi (espeically as some routers are known to pick the busiest channels for no good reason).

This is why your router shouldn't be set to auto. You should check what channels are being used around you and pick the best option from channels 1,6 or 11.

GunJack

Lumstorm wrote: »

This is why your router shouldn't be set to auto. You should check what channels are being used around you and pick the best option from channels 1,6 or 11.

..or 8, which just happens to be the optimum 2.4GHz channel with the least interference in my house

Dreamnine

I spent 2 months in hospital and didn't come home to a fire so I would say, yes, perfectly safe.

andygb

pollypenny wrote: »

Oh, heck. I put it off every night. I take it that I shouldn't.

We have had our Sky hub for nearly a year, and we turn it off at the mains every time we go out. I regularly check the connection speed using Ookla, and it is consistently fast.

RumRat

I haven't turned a router off, other than the occasional refresh, for at least 15 years.....Never had any problems and the house hasn't been consumed in flames.
I know some people like to turn them off when they go on annual holiday etc. and that's a personal choice and certainly not a requirement.

Lumstorm

Lumstorm wrote: »

This is why your router shouldn't be set to auto. You should check what channels are being used around you and pick the best option from channels 1,6 or 11.

GunJack wrote: »

..or 8, which just happens to be the optimum 2.4GHz channel with the least interference in my house

If you are on channel 8 you will get and cause interference for anybody on channel 6 and 11. There are on 3 channels that don't overlap 1,6 and 11 for the good of everybody any wifi should stick to these channels.

DoaM

So what's the point of all the other channels then?