Summer is coming early this year. UK temperatures are expected to soar towards the end of the week, with parts of Britain seeing the mercury hitting 27 degrees by Thursday, as we see the hottest April in seven years. Although this weather is great news for sun worshippers and BBQ fans it’s not so good for anyone wanting perfect broadband speeds. In fact, UK Internet Service Provider (ISP) Virgin Media says it could bring things “grinding to halt”.
Those broadband woes could be caused by your router getting way too hot, as, like any tech, these devices hate heat.
“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,” Virgin explained.
“If the Hub gets too hot, it could slow down your connection or even grind to a halt altogether.”
With the weather set to get warmer as the week goes on, now is a very good time to check it’s out of direct sunlight and not placed on the window ledge.
Although you need to get it away from heat, Virgin also warns against tucking it away somewhere cold and dark, as this could be just as bad for the connection.
“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.”
“Keep the Hub at least 1m away from cordless phones or baby monitors, and as far as possible from big obstructions like cupboards and fish tanks.”
If you follow these rules, you should be able to enjoy the unexpected Spring sunshine without facing a broadband blackout.
One final top tip to make sure your internet keeps pace with your digital neeeds is to give your router a quick reboot.
Virgin recently issued some new advice which recommends switching off the flashing black box at least once a month.
Powering the router down will also ensure that the Wi-Fi receives all the patches and updates it needs. Just reach around the back of the box, tap the power switch to the off position and leave things shut down for a few minutes. Then turn things back on again.
“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.”