You might already know that rebooting your Wi-Fi router once in a while is a good security practice. However, rebooting the Wi-Fi router at a convenient time can be a hassle. You don’t want to go to another room just to reboot the router, right? You can use automatic/scheduled rebooting for your Wi-Fi router, though.
I have prepared a comprehensive guide on how to set up scheduling and remote reboot options on your Wi-Fi router.
Why Is Scheduled Reboot Required?
When you buy a Wi-Fi router, you expect near-perfect uptime, right?
However, running a router 24/7 for weeks or months may cause performance, security, and reliability issues over time. Rebooting your Wi-Fi router at recommended intervals can solve the problem, though. It can help you increase the longevity and security of the router as well.
A scheduled reboot offers some additional advantages:
- You can get all the benefits of a router reboot without downtime during peak hours since you get to choose the right slot.
- A schedule ensures that your Wi-Fi routers are constantly reliable and reduces the chances of human error.
- Your network would continue to stay secure and well-performing even if you are not in the vicinity (a vacation or something).
What’s more? You can choose between a few ways to schedule a Wi-Fi router reboot.
How to Choose the Best Time for a Scheduled Reboot
When you choose the time for a scheduled reboot, you should pay attention to the following:
- It should be a time when you (or your business) can afford Internet downtime.
- If you are setting things up during a workday, you may have to check the logs to recognize peak and non-peak usage times.
For offices, the easiest option would be non-working hours. Even if your router takes up some time to boot up, everything should be fine. For homes, you may want to choose the earliest hours of the morning, like 3 AM or 4 AM. Just make sure that everyone’s asleep.
Manual vs Scheduled Reboot
Are you still confused about the benefits of a scheduled reboot? Here is how a scheduled Wi-Fi router reboot compares with a manual reboot.
Aspect | Manual Reboot | Scheduled Reboot |
|---|---|---|
Consistency | Inconsistent | Automatic & regular |
User Effort | Requires manual action | No user action needed |
Convenience | Low | High |
Timing Control | Potential disruption | Can be set during off-peak hours |
Problem Solving | Reactive | Proactive |
Remote Use | Not ideal | Ideal for remote locations |
Reliability | Depends on user | Reliable & hands-free |
Setup Effort | Repeated effort needed | One-time setup |
As you can see, there are plenty of benefits to scheduled reboots, especially on the convenience, reliability, and security fronts. Even if you are in it for something specific (say, regular network healing), setting up the Wi-Fi reboot schedule is worth the effort.
If it makes things better, setting up an automatic/scheduled reboot for a Wi-Fi router is not rocket science.
How to Set up Automatically/Schedule Reboot for a WiFi Router
You can use two major methods to set up an automatic reboot schedule for your Wi-Fi router.
Scheduled Reboot Function on Router
One, you can use the reboot schedule feature on your Wi-Fi router. It is a universal feature, and I have found it on almost every Wi-Fi router on the market. Even those $30-something 4G Wi-Fi dongles have a built-in option for scheduled reboots. Although customization features may vary, this option provides best-in-class reliability.
As this feature uses the router’s internal clock on most models, the reboot would work even when there is no Internet connection.
Smart Plug
Two, you can use a smart plug to automate the reboot process. You can set up a smart plug to turn off at a specific time and turn back on after a minute or two. The lack of power supply will trigger a hard reboot of the Wi-Fi router. The problem? You may need a Wi-Fi network for some smart plugs to work. So, though you can turn off the router using the smart plug, the plug cannot turn it back on without an active connection.
Considering that the second option is quite complex, let’s focus on the first option.
As you probably know, different Wi-Fi routers have unique steps for setting up scheduled reboots. I cannot give you those steps for all models. Instead, I will take you through the steps to set up scheduled reboots on a Linksys router. Rest assured, you can use the same way to find the same option on most models.
- Open a web browser using a computer that is connected to the Wi-Fi router’s network.
- Enter the default router IP address for the device. It is an IP address like 192.168.1.1, and you would find it on the router label or the box the router came in. Alternatively, you can find the default router IP address by going to Network Settings on your computer.
- Once you see the login page, authenticate the account using the username and password. You would find these credentials on the router panel as well.
- After you see the router dashboard, navigate to the Troubleshooting menu.
- Choose the Scheduled Restart tab, where you can find information about scheduling router restarts.
- You can choose between Weekly and Monthly restarts and choose the desired timings. The exact set of options may vary depending on the router model.
If you have a basic model, a Weekly restart schedule means the Wi-Fi router will reboot every Saturday. If you choose the Monthly option, the reboot will happen once on the first Saturday of the month.
With ASUS routers, you get more options, though. These routers allow you to choose the date and time you want the reboot to happen. For instance, you can set up the router to reboot every Friday at 3 AM.
How to Reboot a Router Remotely
Let’s say that you prefer having control over the reboot process even when away from home or the office. You may have to consider remotely rebooting a Wi-Fi router. Depending on the router model and skillset, a few options are available.
Router’s Web Interface
You should check whether your Wi-Fi router offers a remote connection option. If not available on its default firmware, the option will be available through a third-party firmware. You can use this feature to remotely turn on and off the Wi-Fi router as long as you have an Internet connection. These routers are designed to connect to the Internet as soon as they turn back on. So, there are no reliability concerns.
Using SSH or Telnet
If you have the right technical skillset, you can use SSH or Telnet to remotely reboot a Wi-Fi router. You must configure everything from scratch, though. Security may be a serious concern during the setup, and you need to set up an authentication system to prevent unauthorized access.
With Smart Plug
Using a smart plug is the easiest way to remotely reboot a Wi-Fi router, in my opinion. The only concern here is setting up a backup network that your smart plug can use. That is, the smart plug should not rely on the Wi-Fi router network that you are going to turn off. Once you have a successful setup, you can use the smart plug app to turn off the router and turn it back on.
Security Considerations for Remote Rebooting
No matter the method you use for remote rebooting, you need to secure the process. Make sure that:
- You are using an encrypted route to access the Wi-Fi router
- The firewall and authentication system on the Wi-Fi router should be active
- You choose a reliable smart plug from a trustworthy company
With these steps in check, you can get all the benefits of remote/automatic router reboot without concerns over security.
Conclusion
I hope this guide gave you an idea about automated, scheduled, and remote ways to reboot your Wi-Fi router quickly and easily. When used properly, these steps can improve the network performance. However, make sure you don’t overdo these reboots. Not that it can harm your Wi-Fi router, but there is no viable reason to do so.
