The UK is in the grip of a much colder spell of weather and those looking to save money on their energy bills would be wise to take notice of warnings from BT and Sky. Britain is heading into another cold snap which means bad news for those already inflated energy bills. With temperatures expected to drop well below freezing and the sun still setting early, consumers will be looking for easy ways to reduce their usage.
Turning down the thermostat, switching off lights and enabling energy-saving features on TVs and set-top boxes can all help shave a few pence off of bills but one thing you don’t want to do is start meddling with your Wi-Fi router.
Turning this flashing box off before you head to bed can wreak havoc with your broadband speeds so it’s vital that you leave the power button firmly switched on. The first reason that turning off the broadband is a bad idea is that it won’t receive important security updates which are often pushed out overnight to clear any issues or fix internet-breaking bugs.
If the router is off, the firmware changes won’t get installed.
Next up, you’ll want to keep things running 24 hours a day if you don’t want speeds to be slowed down by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).
When you start constantly turning off the router, your ISP can start to think there’s a problem with the line.
In a bid to keep you connected, speeds can then be throttled which means you won’t get the service you are paying for.
“Constantly switching off the hub makes the line look unstable, meaning that your speed may be automatically reduced to improve the reliability of your broadband connection,” BT explained.
Clearly, switching off the router will save you some money but it’s probably not worth taking the risk.
Explaining more about the issues with broadband routers and why it’s a good idea to keep them on, Aman Bhatti, Director of Propositions, Sky Broadband told Express.co.uk: “We know our routers are put through their paces during the day – whether on video calls, streaming the latest show, or online gaming. That’s why our routers run firmware updates during the night, to avoid any unnecessary disruption during the day.
“Switching off your router overnight can affect automatic software updates and optimisations which in turn can impact the overall performance, speed and stability of your Broadband.”
