The first thing you’ll be asked when you call the customer support line of your internet provider is whether you rebooted your modem and router when you got disconnected from the internet. If you say no, they’ll ask you to do it and call them again if the problem isn’t resolved.
In more than 75% of the cases, people don’t call back because this was the issue, and it was solved by simply rebooting. But why every IT expert will ask you to reset the modem and router before doing anything else. What’s the trick with this magic button? Keep reading if you want to know more about it.
How to properly reset your modem and router?
Although this task seems like nothing’s more simple, you should still know how to do it properly. Most devices have their reset button that needs to be pressed with a needle, but you can always use the old-fashioned way – taking out the cord from the power socket and living it without electricity.
The important thing is to wait for at least 30 seconds or more. After waiting some time, you can plug it back on, and the device itself will do the rest. We’ll explain below why this is crucial.
1. Rebooting clears the cache
Like any other device, the modem and the router devices have cache memory and collect essential data to work properly. When you’re resetting the device, you’re actually clearing the cache that was collected, which may cause some malfunction.
The cache will be deleted, and your device will go back to its original factory setting and continue working flawlessly. Cache memory can often cause obstructions and malfunctions in operations.
2. It also cleans RAM
The RAM, or the Random Access Memory, is the memory needed for working the device. Without it, no device can work fast enough. The RAM takes care of the multitasking mode of the device, and although modems and routers do not have other tasks than transferring information, RAM can still be exhausted after some time.
3. The reboot cools your device
When you turn off the device, you’re making it shut down. Shutting down means it is not working, it’s not wasting any energy, and it is not producing heat. The modem or the router will stop working and immediately start cooling down when you do this.
When they are overheated, they don’t work properly. They’ll work slowly, show fatigue, and risk burning or destroying themselves. A simple turn-off – turn-on will make the router and the modem relax for a second and give them the chance to continue where they stopped.
4. Prevents additional damage
As we just mentioned, leaving it on for a long time may cause overheating and make it burn off. You don’t want this to happen. Why buy new devices every month or so when you can prevent them from ruining with a simple rebooting. All you have to do is take power out for a while and turn them on again. It’s not rocket science, nor is it something that takes too much time. Just a couple of minutes are enough.
5. Provides faster internet
A simple reboot provides faster internet instantly. When you connect to the internet, you get a flow of information that is much bigger and much faster than anything else for the first few seconds. This is entirely normal.
As time passes, the internet connection becomes slower and slower, resulting in the overwhelming amount of information that is going back and forward. A quick reboot will give you a new data flow and make your internet much faster.
6. Makes sure you don’t pay for IT experts to fix it
Some people will instantly call the IT experts to come and fix the problem. They don’t realize that this may be a problem that’s too simple to solve. The arrival of the IT experts will cost you money, of course, and not every one of us lives with an unlimited budget.
You’ll have to pay for their service, and all they’ll do is literally pull the plug and get it back in after 30 seconds. This intervention may cost you $100. For some people, this is a change, but why do it when you can reboot your modem?
Conclusion
These are some of the most valuable pieces of information when rebooting your modem or router is in question. As you can see, all you need to do is give them a little time off to see them continue working flawlessly.
A simple rebooting will do the job instead of calling the pros and spending money, time, and energy on this. Every modem and router need periodical rebooting if you want to see them work properly. Just 30 seconds per week will do the job.
