Summer is well and truly here, with temperatures expected to soar above 32 degrees this weekend. The balmy British weather is great if you are thinking of having a family BBQ or fancy topping up the tan. However, one thing the heat won’t help is your Wi-Fi. Routers that get too hot under the collar run the risk of slowing down or shutting off completely and that could end your summer box set binge or weekend FaceTime call to the family.
If you don’t want an internet nightmare and your Wi-Fi is sat by the window or in direct sunlight, you should move it without delay.
Explaining more about the issues of overheating routers, Virgin Media said: “Although we test our Hubs carefully at a range of temperatures, they are better off out of bright sunlight, just like your phone or laptop.
“If the Hub gets too hot, it could slow down your connection or even grind to a halt altogether.”
Now, before you start tucking the router somewhere dark and cold be careful as placing in a cupboard or behind the TV can have similar broadband-breaking consequences.
These flashing black boxes hate having their signal blocked and should always be positioned out in the open for the best speeds.
“Good placement of the Hub could also mean greater WiFi reach,” Virgin added.
“Don’t stick the Hub in a cupboard or hidden behind your TV either.”
Other things that can wreak havoc with the Wi-Fi include baby monitors, cordless phones and even fishtanks – yes Wi-Fi hates water.
So, the advice is simple, keep your router as high up as possible, don’t let it get too hot and never block the signal – this should mean better broaband is whizzed to every room.
If you follow all of these rules and things still aren’t running properly then it’s a good idea to give the box a quick reboot. Turning things off and on again will clear any issues and hopefully bring things back up to speed.
“The firmware in your Hub monitors the security for your network, so it’s good to reboot your router once a month to make sure it’s running with all the security patches and updates it needs.”
Just beware, when you turn things off and on again it can take up to 5 minutes for the Wi-Fi to start working again so don’t before a reset if you are waiting for an important Zoom call from the office or are in the middle of download.