There’s some important advice for UK Wi-Fi users and ignoring it could leave your broadband exposed to worrying bugs and much slower speeds. As most homeowners will be well aware of, energy prices have just risen again and that’s terrible news for those monthly bills. The recent increase in costs could mean you are now looking at ways to reduce your usage, and whilst it’s a good idea to switch off your lights and turn down the thermostat, one thing you want to leave well alone is your Wi-Fi router.
Hitting the power button on your broadband might seem harmless enough, but it can wreak havoc with speeds and make things much less secure—it’s simply not worth the energy savings you’ll receive in return.
So why is it such a bad idea to switch off the Wi-Fi? There are two big reasons why you must leave those lights flashing on the box 24 hours a day.
Firstly, when the power gets cut, the router cannot receive vital security updates. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) almost always pushes out these upgrades during the night and usually includes bug fixes and patches. If your router doesn’t get the new software, it could leave things far less secure and working less efficiently.
If that wasn’t bad enough, there’s another big problem with flicking the switch. When the broadband connection constantly appears to be lost and regained, it sends bad signals to your ISP who may then think there’s an issue with the broadband line. ISPs may then put emergency speed restrictions in place which means you get the downloads you are paying for.
“Constantly switching off the hub makes the line look unstable, meaning that your speed may be automatically reduced to improve the reliability of your broadband connection,” BT explained.
Along with BT, Sky has also explained in the past why it doesn’t recommend hitting the off switch. “We know our routers are put through their paces during the day – whether on video calls, streaming the latest show, or online gaming. That’s why our routers run firmware updates during the night, to avoid any unnecessary disruption during the day,” the company said.
“Switching off your router overnight can affect automatic software updates and optimisations which in turn can impact the overall performance, speed and stability of your Broadband.”
Of course, killing the energy to your router will shave some money off your monthly bills but if you want to keep things safe, secure and running smoothy, do not switch it off before you head to bed.
