You Should Be Using a Smart Plug to Restart Your Router

A router power transformer plugged into a smart plug. — Jason Fitzpatrick / How-To Geek

Energy-cycling your router and modem to repair connection points is a trouble. However with an affordable smart plug, it doesn’t must be.

Why Do I Wish to Restart My Router?

Any time you name your ISP to complain about an issue along with your connection, they are going to inevitably let you know to unplug your router and modem for thirty seconds and plug them again in. As annoying as it’s to get the identical recommendation each time you name, they ask you to unplug your router as a result of doing so totally discharges the capacitors, clears out the reminiscence cache, and normally solves the issue.

In case your router is correct subsequent to your desk, and it’s easy-peasy simply to lean over and wiggle the facility twine out of the again, you won’t discover the argument we’re making significantly compelling.

But when your router is positioned in some far-flung space of your property, perched on a excessive shelf, or in any other case a trouble to entry, then automating the facility cycle motion with a smart plug is a very helpful hack. Somewhat than fuss with the plug, you may merely faucet in an app in your smartphone to chop the facility to the router.

And even when your router isn’t too tough to get entry, maybe you’ve seen that there’s a sample to points along with your router. If you end up manually rebooting the router through energy biking semi-regularly, why not automate it? With a wise plug, it’s completely trivial to arrange a schedule to do it in your mechanically.

What You Must Automate Rebooting Your Router

You solely want one factor to automate energy biking your router and modem: a high-quality smart plug. We emphasize the high-quality half right here not as a result of {the electrical} calls for of residence community gear are excessive however as a result of low-cost sensible plugs typically lack a vital part: an inside reminiscence cache to retain schedules and timer settings. In any case, you don’t need a sensible plug that turns the router off (and turns the Wi-Fi off with it), however then can’t flip it again on.

To that finish, we suggest the rock-solid sensible plugs from TP-Hyperlink’s Kasa line. You should purchase a single Kasa smart plug, however the 4-packs are so economical it actually is senseless to pay $25 for one plug when you will get 4 for $30.

In addition to, there are many different issues to do with sensible plugs round your property, like automating holiday lights or saving money on your electric bill by eliminating phantom loads. I’ve discovered Kasa sensible plugs to be so indispensable round my sensible residence that anytime I see one of many 4-packs on sale, I normally purchase them simply to have them available.

Talking of a number of sensible plugs, when you have a separate modem and router (as an alternative of a mixture unit), there’s no want to make use of one sensible plug for every in the event you want to energy cycle each your router and modem collectively. We use power cord splitters to fit more plugs on a power strip, and they’re simply as helpful to share a single sensible plug with a number of gadgets.

As for establishing your sensible plug, as soon as it arrives, it’s only a easy matter of setting it up with the Kasa app. Then you may both restart your router manually by turning the sensible plug on and off within the app or automate the entire course of. Or, higher but, you may set a schedule.

Scheduling a smart plug in the Kasa app.

Whereas one thing like automating your lights to increase security while you’re on vacation requires a number of schedules or randomization options, for energy biking your router, you simply want a easy on/off schedule. Decide a time when no person is residence or utilizing the web, similar to the center of a piece day or the midnight.

Our pattern schedule above turns the facility off at 3:00 AM on Sunday and again on one minute later at 3:01 AM. This once-a-week energy cycle received’t disrupt something, and also you’ll seemingly by no means must manually energy cycle your router once more.