Turn off Virgin Router to save electricity?

nelliedeen

I did start turning the router off when I was not using the internet but I have been switched to fibre phone so my router needs to be on all the time anyway so my phone will work.

I never noticed a reduction in my electricity usage anyway.

ariarnia

i'm tempted to try this just so to turn us of staying up for one more article or you tube video. the hole family is guilty of it (me included) but then i remember everyone has smart phones in there rooms so they'd probably only hot spot anyway and that would use the extra charge so probably cost more in the end than one router!

Qyburn

Reed_Richards said:

Time was, if you turned off your router too often then the equipment at the other end was liable to misinterpret that as an instability on the line and dial down your broadband speed to try to compensate.   I have no idea if that still happens or indeed if it ever happened with a cable router.     

That was never a real issue, it would take multiple disconnections per day before that was taken into account. Some detailed figures here ..
https://kitz.co.uk/adsl/DLM.htm

victor2

ctdctd said:
.....

I'm not sure how well the TP-Link Tapo plugs would work as they connect to the internet - and when you switch the router off, bye bye internet!

They work for scheduled tasks without an active internet connection. Been there and tried it. 

Scot_39

nelliedeen said:

I keep hearing about not turning off routers overnight because it takes time for them to re-syncronise but what about Virgin cable routers, can they be switched off when not being used withiout causing any problems?

ADSL - old analougue routers can face line resync issues if the service is interrupted - frequently - just as it could be for noise on the line.

I was told by a BT Engineer - never to switch it off for less than say 20-30sec - as short disconnects were far more likely to cause issues.

FTTC and FTTP probably less susciptable to noise - switching on /off ?.

But they typically only use around 10-20W max.  (Mines is 12V 1.5A max = 18W - but sure it doesn't use that much ) Or about 0.3 - 0.7p / hour at current SR EPG levels..

Even over 7 hours 2-5p.

SnakePlissken

Coffeekup said:

I can't go into money savings, as I hear it's miniscule, unless the current price quadruples.
But I been running mine off every night almost for 7 months, no noticeable difference.

Looking back I had more issues years ago when it was plugged in all the time... You'd call up and they would say "unplug it for 30 seconds and it'll be fine" which it was. I used to tell friends and family the same unplug it to re-sync it. 

Years ago they were called old wives tales...
Anyway what's the worst that could happen? You'd be without the internet for 2 days and they'd send you a new router.

Ideally a modern router should be restarted weekly, just like tvs and computers.

SnakePlissken

nelliedeen said:

I did start turning the router off when I was not using the internet but I have been switched to fibre phone so my router needs to be on all the time anyway so my phone will work.

I never noticed a reduction in my electricity usage anyway.

Yes if you have been moved to an ip phone, then you should leave your router on, apart from a weekly restart. Though if its a virgin one in modem mode then will not need a weekly reboot. But your wifi router will.

Mstty

SnakePlissken said:

Coffeekup said:

I can't go into money savings, as I hear it's miniscule, unless the current price quadruples.
But I been running mine off every night almost for 7 months, no noticeable difference.

Looking back I had more issues years ago when it was plugged in all the time... You'd call up and they would say "unplug it for 30 seconds and it'll be fine" which it was. I used to tell friends and family the same unplug it to re-sync it. 

Years ago they were called old wives tales...
Anyway what's the worst that could happen? You'd be without the internet for 2 days and they'd send you a new router.

Ideally a modern router should be restarted weekly, just like tvs and computers.

Why? What is the benefit of this?

Swipe

SnakePlissken said:

Coffeekup said:

I can't go into money savings, as I hear it's miniscule, unless the current price quadruples.
But I been running mine off every night almost for 7 months, no noticeable difference.

Looking back I had more issues years ago when it was plugged in all the time... You'd call up and they would say "unplug it for 30 seconds and it'll be fine" which it was. I used to tell friends and family the same unplug it to re-sync it. 

Years ago they were called old wives tales...
Anyway what's the worst that could happen? You'd be without the internet for 2 days and they'd send you a new router.

Ideally a modern router should be restarted weekly, just like tvs and computers.

My BT Home Hub auto-reboots fortnightly (and no way to turn it off) and always at the most inconvenient time

SnakePlissken

Mstty said:

SnakePlissken said:

Coffeekup said:

I can't go into money savings, as I hear it's miniscule, unless the current price quadruples.
But I been running mine off every night almost for 7 months, no noticeable difference.

Looking back I had more issues years ago when it was plugged in all the time... You'd call up and they would say "unplug it for 30 seconds and it'll be fine" which it was. I used to tell friends and family the same unplug it to re-sync it. 

Years ago they were called old wives tales...
Anyway what's the worst that could happen? You'd be without the internet for 2 days and they'd send you a new router.

Ideally a modern router should be restarted weekly, just like tvs and computers.

Why? What is the benefit of this?

Like a computer they will get sluggish due to memory registers needing refreshed and for some the error  logs cleared etc.

(Though if in modem modem mode, then may need this less often as its running in dumb mode, with additional features like wifi and routing not being used.)