These devices are somewhat special, because although we are not actively using them, it may happen that there are devices in our house that are. In this sense, it may also be that there are very contradictory opinions regarding whether or not it is convenient to turn off a router, but below we are going to try to give you some reasons why you should turn off your router when you are not using it, and others why perhaps not such a good idea.
Pros of turning off the router when not in use
We start by talking about the pros of turning off the router, a device that, as we have said before, is thinking so as not to stop working even for a minute a day. This does not mean that we never have to turn it off, since in the end it is an electronic device that is consuming electricity even when we are not using it.
Light consumption
As we have just said, the router is a device always connected to the current, so as is logical, it will be consuming electricity 24 hours a day. This is not something exclusive to routers, since any device connected to the current that has a light on will be doing it in the same way.
Logically, we cannot speak of a general consumption for this type of device, since it will largely depend on the type of device and its brand, as well as the time period in which it is connected. It is true that the consumption of these is practically zero, and you may not save more than a few euros a year on your electricity bill, but even so, it is clearly a pro to turn it off when you are not using it.
Security
Security is possibly the biggest pro to turn off your router that you will find, especially if you have a strong WiFi network at home with devices such as mesh networks. It is a fact that our WiFi network can be the target of attack by anyone who can find it by doing a simple search, something that obviously will not happen if we have our device turned off.
Now in summer we all spend more time away from home, so you should turn off your router every time you leave your home, preferably those times you plan to do so for a long time. Imagine that during the time you are away from home, a security hole appears in your router model. If this were the case, any person with knowledge could attack our entire network without us noticing, and for that there is no better solution than having our device turned off.
Wear
Like any electronic device, using it will cause its useful life to fade little by little. The same is going to happen to you with any device, be it a television, a mobile phone or a computer, just to name a few examples.
In this sense, the theory says that if you are not going to use an electronic device, it is best to have it turned off, something that will increase its useful life. However, experts do not agree on this with routers, since, as we will see a little further down, they are devices that are designed and manufactured to work longer than others.
Cons of turning off the router when not in use
As if it were a coin with both sides, there are also cons that tell us not to turn off the router when we are not using it. We must bear in mind, as we have said before, that there are some devices that we have connected to the router that may depend on it, so if we turn it off, we will also be losing them and that may not interest us.
Are ready for it
In the pros we have placed the wear, and although it seems contradictory, in the cons we must add that they are devices that are designed to work 24 hours a day. These, in fact, have a very long useful life and it is more likely that you will end up changing it for a newer router than because it has ended up breaking due to wear.
When the routers suffer the most is when they have the most activity and, obviously, this is something that does not happen when we are not using them. In fact, continually turning the router off and on can be worse for its components than simply leaving it on, even if we are not at home. This also goes for router reboots.
Not being able to control smart plugs and the like
Devices such as smart plugs or security cameras need the Internet to be able to work and, obviously, that means that the Wi-Fi of your router cannot stop reaching them. In this sense, if you have any of them or other home automation devices in your home, you will need them to always have Internet, so it would not make much sense to turn off your equipment.
This is especially important if you are one of those people who like to have the air conditioning on when they get home, or if you go on vacation and want to have your home controlled with the smart cameras that you have installed in it.
Goodbye to the landline
The fixed telephone is an element more and more forgotten by people, since, in fact, more and more operators are not offering it together with fiber optics. However, if you are a person who continues to use it, you should know that you will not be able to turn off the router if you want to continue being able to make or receive calls.
Our landline phone works under VoIP, so it will be absolutely essential that our router continues to receive electricity to be able to use it. On the other hand, you can turn off WiFi, since it has no influence on the landline phone.