Wireless Router - leave it turned on?

[vernon44]

I have NTL broadband and have a wireless router (Netgear). At the moment
I leave it plugged in all the time. Do I need to leave the router and modem plugged in all the time? Or should I unplug it when I'm not on-line? Is it a pain to "re-boot" each time? I'm thinking it's easier to leave them both on, but am I wasting money on electricity bills?

[solidamber]

I had exactly the same setup as you and always turned off before going to bed, remember to power up in order I think it is Modem wait 1 min then router wait 1 min then PC.

but now I have an Orange Livebox Which I leave on 24 hours,

Power wise I think the drain is under 2 Watts, so not really an issue.

[BountyHunter]

It isn't so much of a pain if you do switch it off, as solidamber said, it's just the case of switching the modem on first then wait 30secs-1min then switch the router. Personally i leave my wireless netgear router on just for ease and pure laziness ;) And i wouldn't worry about electricity, both the ntl modem and router only use a few watts so i doubt you'll notice it on your bill :)

[warrej]

I had exactly the same setup as you and always turned off before going to bed, remember to power up in order I think it is Modem wait 1 min then router wait 1 min then PC.

but now I have an Orange Livebox Which I leave on 24 hours,

Power wise I think the drain is under 2 Watts, so not really an issue.


If I switch mine off (at the socket), I switch them all on together. Never had a problem

[Cable Monkey]

As a security measure, and to restrict the hours my teenager spends on the web I have a timeswitch that clicks the wireless off at midnight and comes back up at 6. Modem remains on. It seldom fails to negotiate correctly with the modem and is pretty much seamless.

[GaryMo]

If I switch mine off (at the socket), I switch them all on together. Never had a problem

Ditto as in never had a problem switching both on together, it really doesn't matter which order they're powered up in.

[DavidT]

It's best to leave both router and modem on 24hrs. The process of switching power constantly will only lead to premature failure.

David

[allengn]

I tend to leave mine on 24x7, but when I do switch them off, I do so at the socket, and likewise turn them back on together. Never had any problem.

However I think there are 2 further considerations. These days we are supposed to be more 'energy friendly', and so, even if the modem and router only consume small amounts of energy, they are using energy needlessly. Secondly, security. Whilst I'm sure we all have configured our wireless modems to afford maximum protection, the securest form has to be to turn it off when not in use. Clearly I don't mean turning it on and off every time you use your PC, but if, like me, you only tend to use your PC for an hour or so each evening, then it clearly doesn't take much to turn off the modem / router when finished, and to turn it on again prior to the next session. At least you know your 'friendly' neighbour isn't pinching your bandwidth whilst you're out at work.

Perhaps it's time for me to start practicing what I preach and turn them off each time.