If the network tends to slow down, freeze, or disconnect, once a week is a reasonable preventive schedule to reboot your router for most homes. A modern stable router may not need scheduled reboots at all, but an older or heavy use router can benefit from more frequent reboots. If you find yourself rebooting it every time, there might be a more serious issue with the router, modem, power supply or internet connection.
The pragmatic answer is to watch your network behaviour. If the performance degrades slowly and then comes back after a reboot, you may want to try a weekly schedule. Better yet, an automatic router rebooter can handle scheduled maintenance and react when the connection actually goes down.
Why You Should Reboot Your Router Regularly
Your router is a tiny computer that runs 24 hours a day. It handles traffic, allocates local network addresses, sustains links, and keeps phones, computers, televisions, security cameras, and smart devices connected.
Most routers are designed to operate 24/7. Still, temporary software issues can sometimes build up or leave the router in an unstable state. Reboot simply restarts the device, but doesn’t clear the saved configuration
Empties memory and clears temporary errors
A router uses temporary memory to control connections and network traffic. Sometimes it’s because of software bugs, failed connections or processes that don’t close properly.
You might discover:
- Browsing at a slower pace
- Random disconnection of devices
- WiFi says “connected” but no internet
- Streaming disruptions
- Delays in loading websites
- Smart devices going off line
Turning the router back on will close any open processes and reload the operating software. This can clear a temporary fault and return the system to normal operation.
A reboot doesn’t fix broken hardware or an unreliable Internet service. But, if the problem is a temporary software glitch, a reboot is often all that is needed to get the network up and running again.
Updates your IP address
If you reboot your router, it may connect to the modem or Internet provider with a new connection. It can also renew local connections between the router and devices around your house.
But a reboot doesn’t always mean your public internet address will change. Internet providers allocate addresses differently and many will give the router the same address again.
The real advantage is not necessarily obtaining a new public IP address. This is allowing the modem, router and anything connected to them to create new network sessions.
This is useful when a device is stuck on a bad local connection, or when the router is no longer communicating properly with the modem.
Performs firmware updates
Some routers automatically download and install firmware upgrades. Depending on the model, an update may require a reboot to fully roll out.
Firmware updates may include:
- Security fixes
- Improvements in stability
- Compatability bug fixes
- Performance enhancements
- New management features
A reboot will not automatically update all routers. You should still check the manufacturer’s app or admin page to see if there is new firmware available.
If your router is no longer receiving security updates, scheduled reboots will not make it secure. That could be a sign that it’s time to replace the router.
Rebooting: How Often Should You Do It? Expert Advice
There is no schedule that fits every router.
A newer router that runs reliably may stay online for months without needing a planned reboot. An older router, crowded home network, or unstable connection may benefit from a weekly schedule.
The best frequency depends on whether rebooting actually improves your network.
Weekly reboots for most home users
For households that occasionally experience slowing, freezing, or unexplained connection drops, rebooting once a week is a practical starting point.
A weekly router reboot schedule may help if:
- Performance gradually worsens over several days
- Connected devices stop responding occasionally
- The router recovers fully after being restarted
- You use older networking equipment
- Your home has many connected smart devices
- You want to perform maintenance during a quiet period
Weekly does not mean mandatory. When the router remains stable, there is no technical need to interrupt the network simply because seven days have passed.
Think of a weekly reboot as optional preventive maintenance, not a requirement for every network.
Daily reboots for heavy users and home offices
A daily reboot may be useful in a temporary troubleshooting situation, but a healthy router should not normally require one every day.
Heavy users may include:
- Permanent video calls in home offices
- Properties with lots of security cameras
- Smart homes connected with hundreds of devices
- Small offices
- Vacation homes
- Older Internet equipment in distant locations
If performance drops consistently within 24 hours and a reboot brings it back up, a daily schedule can reduce interruptions while you look for the cause.
But don’t confuse the schedule with a permanent solution.
A router that has to be rebooted every day could be:
- Overheated
- Old firmware used
- Overloading from devices connected
- Running with a bad power adapter
- Battling wireless interference
- Too old for the channel
- losing connection due to modem or ISP
Daily reboots are a quick fix for reliability, but you should be digging into the root cause .
Never reboot – why this is a problem
Never rebooting is not necessarily bad. A good router should run 24/7 without a hitch.
The problem is ignoring obvious signs that the equipment has become stuck.
You should consider rebooting when:
- ISP is available but Internet access is unsuccessful
- WiFi devices do not reconnect
- Router administration page hangs
- Sudden and significant reduction in speeds
- Local network access for connected devices is lost
- The router has not come back from an outage but the modem has.
If the router is stable and works fine, then let it run. If it goes unresponsive repeatedly. then rebooting can restore service but repeated failures should be investigated further.
When is the Ideal Time to Reboot? (Hint: 3am)
The best time to reboot your router is when nobody is using the connection.
For most homes and small offices, that means around 3:00 a.m. There will likely be fewer people working, streaming, gaming, using internet phones or on video calls at that hour.
It doesn’t even need to be exact time. Pick a time of low usage that works for your home or business.
Prior to scheduling, think about any devices that still need to use the internet overnight:
- Surveillance cameras
- Alarm systems
- Backups to the cloud
- Intelligent Locks
- Medical or monitoring devices
- Nightly file transfers
- Point of Sale (POS) System
- Utilities for remote access
A reboot typically only causes a brief interruption, but it can take several minutes for the router and modem to reconnect. Then the devices can reconnect one at a time.
Don’t assume it’s always safe to schedule maintenance at 3:00 a.m. Schedule maintenance for a vacation rental, office, or remote property during times of expected non-use.
Setting up automatic scheduled reboots
You can automate router reboots through the router, or by using an external device.
The correct method depends on the model of your router and whether you only want scheduled maintenance or automatic recovery in case of no internet access.
Built-in Scheduler (if available) of the Router
Some routers come with a scheduled reboot feature in their app/web admin-panel.
The setting may be found under:
- Administraion
- System
- Maintenance
System Tools - Reboot (planned)
- Auto-Restart
Schedule of Reboots
A typical set-up process would be as follows:
- Access your router’s admin page or app.
- Log on with administrator credentials.
- Locate the system or maintenance settings.
- Watch for a reboot schedule.
- Pick the day and time.
- Save configuration.
- Verify that the router reboots as expected.
Not all models are capable of this. These options are also subject to change with firmware updates.
A built-in scheduler is convenient because it doesn’t require additional hardware. But it can only restart the router itself. Not much help when the router gets so locked up that the internal scheduler stops working.
It also normally cannot power cycle a separate modem.
Maintain Connect Automatic Scheduled Reboots
Keep Connect is a plug-in router rebooter that power cycles the connected network equipment automatically without having to physically unplug it.
Plug the router or modem into the Keep Connect outlet and configure it for your network.
Depending on your configuration, Keep Connect supports scheduled resets and automatic recovery when a connection failure is detected.
Which makes it useful for:
- Houses
- Home offices
- Holiday rentals
- Security Camera Systems:
- Local Businesses
- Remote properties
- Intelligent homes
- Places where no one is there to restart the router
A typical schedule will reboot the router whether it needs it or not. Connection monitoring adds another layer: the device is able to respond when the connection actually goes down.
That’s particularly helpful when the property isn’t occupied. The recovery process can be automatic instead of having to wait for someone to see that there is an outage, go to the location and manually unplug the router.
If you need help properly resetting your devices, check out our guides to power cycling your router and modem and restarting your router without resetting it.
Schedule automatic router reboots any day – weekly, daily or custom. Set it once and never worry about it again.
FAQs
Will resetting the router wipe anything?
No. A normal reboot will turn the router off and on again but will not erase the WiFi name, password, parental controls, port-forwarding rules, or other saved settings. Rebooting is not the same as holding down the factory-reset button. Factory reset can erase the router configuration and restore it to the default settings.
Can rebooting improve my internet speed?
If it’s a temporary problem, rebooting the router can solve slow speeds. It can reset a software fault and rebuild connections. It can also help disconnected devices reconnect. It won’t increase the maximum speed of your internet plan or fix weak WiFi coverage, damaged cables, provider congestion, or inadequate router hardware.
Should I reboot my modem as well?
Reboot the modem too when the entire internet connection is down, the modem’s online light is abnormal, or restarting only the router does not solve the problem. For separate devices, turn both off, power the modem on first, wait until it reconnects to the provider, and then power on the router. If the issue only affects local WiFi while the modem remains online, restarting the router alone may be enough.
