Is it OK to leave the router on for a long time? Is there any harm if I don't turn it off?

Some people say that WIFI is the vitamin of the Internet age, and a home is one that can automatically connect to WIFI. The carrier of WIFI, the "wireless router", has become a standard necessity for every family. Most people's routers are turned on 24 hours a day, so is it okay to keep the router turned off? What are the effects and hazards of not turning it off for a long time on the router? Let's talk about this topic today.

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Wireless router

1. Is it OK to leave the router turned off all the time?

As a node for establishing logical subnets and connecting all the data transmitted by the subnets, the router was designed with full consideration of long-term and low-power working characteristics. Its internal mechanism has been specially optimized, so in theory, the router can work continuously for a long time. However, "long time" obviously does not mean that it is not turned off all the time, and the hardware workmanship of current home-grade routers cannot work in a stable working state for a long time. In addition, some low-end routers have their own workmanship and material selection, and their stability is even worse in the high temperature environment in summer.

2. The harm of leaving the router off for a long time

1. Overheating

As long as there is power consumption, heat will be generated. When the internal heat accumulates to a certain level, especially in the high temperature environment in summer, the router is prone to overheating, which may affect the operating speed of the router. The most obvious manifestation is that even if no one is using the Internet, the WiFi network becomes very stuck and slow.

The solution is to turn off the router for about ten minutes. In addition, the router should be placed in a place where heat dissipation is more convenient, especially in summer when the ambient temperature is relatively high. Here are a few more words: many Taobao stores now provide the service of installing fans when purchasing routers. I personally think that this is unnecessary. First, after installing a fan, the inside of the router is more likely to accumulate dust. Second, the fan itself is prone to problems. Once it stops, it will also cause power supply problems for the router.

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2. Cache

As an intermediate node in data link transmission, the router itself has a data cache area (similar to computer memory). Long-term operation will increase the occupancy rate of the buffer, which will also affect the data transmission speed of the router itself when accumulated to a certain extent. In other words, it will also cause the network to become stuck. (Restarting is a more thorough cache release method than clearing DNS code)

3. Accelerated equipment aging

If the circuit is in working state for a long time, it will inevitably accelerate its aging speed, which is actually a common problem of almost all electrical equipment.

4. Power consumption

The reason why this point is ranked last is that the power consumption of home routers is generally not large, and this issue has been controversial online. Each router has its voltage and current description on the body. We can use the formula: voltage x current x time to calculate the power consumption of a router: for example, a router using a 9v 0.6A adapter has a power of 5.4 watts. Note that the time unit here is hours. 5.4X24=129.6 watt-hours is the power consumption of this router in one day. Calculated at 0.5 yuan per kilowatt-hour, the annual electricity bill is 23.3 yuan. Therefore, it is not necessary to turn the router on and off every day just to save power (the CPU occupancy rate of the router is usually very high when it is turned on, which consumes more power than normal working conditions), so it is not recommended to turn the router on and off every day. What are the differences between routers of different grades that are not turned off for a long time? When high-end routers and general routers are not turned off for a long time, the problems encountered are nothing more than the overheating, cache backlog, power consumption and other problems listed above. However, due to the difference in hardware performance, the stability of high-end routers is obviously better.

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Like computers, mobile phones and other hardware devices, router CPUs, flash memory, and antennas also have different performance levels. High-end products naturally have stronger hardware configurations than ordinary routers. If we have to list a disadvantage of high-end routers, there is probably only one - power consumption. Currently, most routers in home environments use a voltage of 9V, while some high-end routers usually use a voltage of more than 12V, and some enterprise-level routers use a voltage of more than 19V. Their power consumption is naturally much higher than that of ordinary routers.

Summarize:

Regarding the question of whether to shut down the router for long-term use, the editor recommends that you restart the router regularly, such as once a week (many routers can be set to start and stop at scheduled times, which can be set once a week. According to the family's work and rest time, you can flexibly set it to shut down in the early morning and automatically start in the morning); and there is no need to frequently turn the router on and off to save electricity (if you are away from home for a long time, it is another matter, and it is recommended to turn it off). In addition, there is no need to install a cooling fan inside the router for heat dissipation. In fact, it is more practical to place the router in a place with good air circulation.