Before you rage at your internet service provider (ISP), try restarting your wireless router to see if a refresh fixes your issue. Who knows, this simple fix could mean you don’t have to call customer support. That’s a win if we ever heard one. Ready to give it a go? Let’s fix that internet and get you back online, pronto! Resetting your router will completely wipe any configurations you’ve saved and restore your router to its factory default router settings. That means you’ll have to set up your password, network name (SSID), and more all over again. Restarting your router, which we’re covering in this guide, lets your equipment flush out any issues stored in the memory and cool off. All your configurations are still saved after a restart. Then it’s time to step away. You want your router and modem to rest for a bit so the equipment’s memory has time to refresh. This will take about a minute or two—but letting your equipment rest for longer won’t hurt it. Go make a cup of coffee, chat with a family member, or take your dog out for a walk while you wait. We repeat, plug your modem’s power cord in first! Don’t plug your router in just yet, and don’t hook up any other connections. Now give your modem about a minute to power up. You’ll see the lights on the front of it blink or turn on and off, and this is normal. Once most or all of your modem’s lights steadily glow green, you’re ready for the next step. Once you’ve plugged your router back in, give it a minute to power back up. Again, you’ll probably see lots of flashing lights at first—this is still normal as the router goes through the process of starting all of its processes back up again. Why should you update the firmware? Well, firmware contains updates for your router and modem that keep them running smoothly. These firmware updates might squash any performance problems and may even boost your internet speed. We also recommend updating your equipment’s firmware and apps to make sure you have the latest technical issue fixes and optimizations. Updated firmware can help you get faster internet speeds, and who could say no to that? Also, if your internet is moseying along at a snail’s pace, go ahead and restart your router even if it hasn’t been a month yet. If your router seems to be slowing down your internet, it’s worth checking to see if there’s a firmware update on the official manufacturer’s site. Power cycling, just like restarting your router, should help your equipment refresh itself and clean up any errors in its internal memory that could cause your internet to slow down.
