Routers, Any Benefit To Powering Off When Not Used?

[Jingthing]

The title is self explanatory. I know some people power their computers all the time. I wouldn't do that in Thailand for the sake of letting it cool off alone.

How about routers? I doubt they use much power when idle, but do you think powering them off when not being used would make them last longer?

[Spoonman]

Im guessing here, but I cant see shutting it down to be a bad thing, Infact it "may" help it live longer, having said that my PC gear is on 24/7 in a AC'd room and the PC is watercooled.

[Pib]

Im guessing here, but I cant see shutting it down to be a bad thing, Infact it "may" help it live longer, having said that my PC gear is on 24/7 in a AC'd room and the PC is watercooled.

Having been in electronics services/repair for many years I don't think it makes a differences. Many techs will tell you the surge of turning electronic "completely" off and on does more harm through the on/off surges generated than just letting the items run completely on or in standby mode. Personnally, since a router is a low wattage/low heat/low current drawing item, I would just leave it on all the time; this also makes it ready to go/give you "right-now" internet access vs waiting a minute or two for it to go through its power-on sequence.

[Crossy]

I've had problems with my Zyxel router cooking up and stopping (it's on 24/7 in a non-AC room). Solved with a small 12V fan.

In the past the on / off surge certainly caused more failures, even now 90% of failures occur at power on, but modern kit is infinitely more reliable.

If you don't need it all the time turn it off and save the planet one Watt at a time

[Supernova]

I also leave my computer running 24/7 in a non-A/C room. However, I do unplug the PC and router during a thunderstorm.

Everest sensor readings:

This is an older PC fitted with a cheap heatsink and 3 case fans. The Athlon CPU runs hot even with an open computer case.

[sbk]

We've had problems with condensation forming on our mainboard, 20 feet from the ocean and in a non-ac room, the mainboards have actually ended up sticky.

So, computer stays on all the time, so does wifi modem/router. But, I have to say, it does get really darn hot which makes me a tad concerned.

[jcbangkok]

Keep it on unless you are not going to use it for a significant time period. Turning it on and off with each use is going to lower its life span and it is such a low voltage items that you will never notice the difference in your electric bill if you left it off the entire month.

Same with your PC, set it to go to sleep or hibernate (fan will go off because it is not generating any real heat) unless you are not going to be using it for prolonged periods. Even external monitors nowadays go into a hibernate mode if the computer goes to sleep.

However, it is a good idea to do a restart of your PC every once in a while to clear out things that may be running in the background or residing in your ram.

Also, I have to assume you are talking about your DSL router since there are few cable options in Thailand and I doubt you are using a router for networking multiple computers. If that is the case, why care how long it lasts. Isn't it your service provider's routers. Even if you powered it off numerous times a day, there will be a better model available well before that one burns out.

By the way, it doesn't hurt to reset or unplug the router every once in a while too such as once a month or anytime you think it might be acting buggy.

Electronics DO NOT like heat. And a router will get warm. As one poster mentioned, a little fan will help if you are not in an air conditioned room. Same with your PCs .. if a laptop, be careful when using it on not hard surfaces such as your bed where the blanket may cover the vents and cause the unit to overheat. If a desktop then make sure it is in a ventilated space (no small cabinet) and the vents and fan are not obstructed. Desktops are designed to pull air over the areas needing cooling. So, never run the desktop with the case open or face plates off as you will defeat the engineered cooling of the system.

But again ... as one poster mentioned, external fans really do help. Electronics always run better when cooler but don't get overly concerned if the bottom of your laptop or router is warm or the exhaust fan is blowing warm air from your PC. This just means the the unit is dissipating heat the way it is designed to do through air and heat sinks.

If you are in a dusty area then be sure to blow out the units and keep the vents clean.

[jcbangkok]

We've had problems with condensation forming on our mainboard, 20 feet from the ocean and in a non-ac room, the mainboards have actually ended up sticky.

So, computer stays on all the time, so does wifi modem/router. But, I have to say, it does get really darn hot which makes me a tad concerned.

If you haven't already, you should check more into using electronics in your environment. You not only have condensation to deal with but salt which can build up not just causing overheating and corrosion but salts also can conduct electricity and can short out equipment. Electronics like cool and dry and salt is just evil to metals. No clue what steps you can take beyond A/C but I do know they cover all electronics on boats when not in use to prevent moisture and salt from getting in them. I'm guessing there has to be articles on the net with advice.