Keeping my router switched on all the time

seun · May 17, 2013

I recently changed from BT to Sky for my internet so obviously have a new router. When I signed up, they told me to leave it switched on for a couple of weeks (something to do with the speed of my connection). There's a sticker on the side of the router which says to keep it switched on all the time.

Do I actually need to do this? Seems like a waste of power to me. I'm not online at home all the time. For example, I haven't been online since last night and won't be until tomorrow morning so to my mind, it's just sitting there using power when it doesn't need to.

I've had it about ten days without any problems. Good idea or not to turn it off when it's not in use?

Kerosene · May 17, 2013

Turning it off might save you $1 a year in electricity and might complicate your connection when you turn it back on. So, leave it on.

Almost all of your electricity is eaten up by refrigeration (aircon/heater) and appliances. The dinky router probably takes less than a small light bulb.

Torgo · May 17, 2013

seun said:
I recently changed from BT to Sky for my internet so obviously have a new router. When I signed up, they told me to leave it switched on for a couple of weeks (something to do with the speed of my connection). There's a sticker on the side of the router which says to keep it switched on all the time.

I have a Sky router and I think for the first couple of weeks they're calibrating your connection - it's something to do with bandwidth management - so it's probably a good idea to do as they suggest. After that point, turning it off now and again may not matter - but I don't think a router uses a lot of juice.

seun · May 17, 2013

I don't pay my bill in dollars.

It's not so much the cost; I just don't like wasting power. Does it do anything in terms of receiving updates or anything like that even if the computer is switched off?

seun · May 17, 2013

Torgo said:
I have a Sky router and I think for the first couple of weeks they're calibrating your connection - it's something to do with bandwidth management

Yeah, I think that's what they said to me. So far, it's a consistent service unlike BT's.

Torgo · May 17, 2013

seun said:
Yeah, I think that's what they said to me. So far, it's a consistent service unlike BT's.

Yes, it's only gone down a couple of times over the last few years for me, and then only in the middle of the night.

Fran · May 17, 2013

Yep, Sky need it left on so they can make sure the connection's stable. They check what's happening with it so if you phone the call centre about your connection they can see what's going on. If it's flying all over the place they might need to send the engineer back out.

I'm with Virgin and my router's on all the time, and I'm a lights off, unplug stuff I'm not using kinda person. It doesn't seem to make much difference. My TiVo box is an energy monster, though, as is a Sky+ box. I can't remember if you got the TV or not but putting your Sky+ box on standby at night is a good idea. If you do unplug it completely you might have to start doing manual updates and they're a pain in the arse. Just make sure it's not due to record anything if you do decide to unplug it, or there might be trouble.

seun · May 17, 2013

I turn off stuff if it's not in use. The telly's off and the Sky+ box is on standby if we're not in. It's not hooked up to a phone line since the jack is nowhere near it. The guy who installed it said it only needs to be plugged into a phone line if I'm ordering films and what not. As I don't, I'm not fussed about that.

If the best plan is to leave the router on, I will do. Then turn off the fridge to make up for it.

Fran · May 17, 2013

That must have changed, then. It used to be the box had to be plugged in to a phone line for the first year. Keep an eye on your bill, and if you start seeing something called a CLI charge, get thee to the call centre and explain what the engineer said. You can still order films, you just have to phone up and do it, but you're not fussed anyway.

seun · May 17, 2013

What's a CLI charge?

Fran · May 17, 2013

Sky "phone" the box and check to see if it "answers". CLI is Caller Line Identification. A CLI charge means the box isn't answering when it's supposed to be. They're not done consistently (which is why pay-per-views can suddenly appear on a bill three years later - I just loved explaining that to people) so you might not have a problem, but if they do show up you need to phone.

seun · May 17, 2013

That's snide. I'll be annoyed if that happens since nobody's mentioned it at all. Saying that, I had the same issue with the old box and the phone jack and there were no strange charges.

Fran · May 17, 2013

It was more of an issue with multirooms, because all boxes have to be plugged in to the phone line at all times, regardless of whether they were in contract or not. Then you got the geniuses who never read their bills, paid an extra £25 a month for three years, and then phoned up demanding their money back. *sigh* As I say, it may not be a requirement for single boxes anymore. I left Sky a couple of years ago. Of course, engineers aren't supposed to install if they can't connect the phoneline and the contract requires it, but they get paid by installation so they often just wing it. And Sales rarely read the terms and conditions. So it's not usually the customer's fault. But it is their responsibility to read the damn bill.

kuwisdelu · May 17, 2013

There are people who actually turn their router OFF??!?!

O_O

What??

seun said:
I recently changed from BT to Sky for my internet so obviously have a new router.

I don't even this much. Why would you get a new router when you change your ISP?

Did the old router break? Was it not fast enough?

seun · May 17, 2013

Kuwi, I generally turn off anything that's not in use. I can't see the point of leaving something switched on if days might pass before I use it again.

As for the router, I can only assume different companies have different routers. The first one belonged to BT. As Sky is a different company (and probably BT's biggest competitor), they have their own.

Torgo · May 17, 2013

kuwisdelu said:
I don't even this much. Why would you get a new router when you change your ISP?

Did the old router break? Was it not fast enough?

Sky broadband only works with the router they supply, unlike a lot of other ISPs.

kuwisdelu · May 17, 2013

seun said:
Kuwi, I generally turn off anything that's not in use. I can't see the point of leaving something switched on if days might pass before I use it again.

There are people who can go **days** without using their internet connection??

As for the router, I can only assume different companies have different routers. The first one belonged to BT. As Sky is a different company (and probably BT's biggest competitor), they have their own.

Routers are generic. They're no reason one router should be tied to a particular ISP.

Hell, I don't even use my ISP's provided modem.

Torgo said:
Sky broadband only works with the router they supply, unlike a lot of other ISPs.

...how...how would they even do that...?

...what???

what is this I don't even.jpg

Is that even legal???

ETA: Wow. I just Googled it and apparently Sky does make it very difficult to use third-party routers. It's possible, of course, but apparently they purposely make it difficult to do so. I can't even conceive of something so backwards.... What the fuck....? Where are all the class-action lawsuits?

Fran · May 17, 2013

I don't think Virgin routers work with other companies, because they're cable. Unless you've got BT Infinity (which Sky will shortly be using too) your connection's not set up that way. But nobody's getting my router. *hugs 40Mb broadband*

kuwisdelu · May 17, 2013

Fran said:
I don't think Virgin routers work with other companies, because they're cable.

Sounds like you're talking about a hybrid modem+router.

Pure routers shouldn't need any concept of "cable" or anything like that.

You connect an ethernet cable as a WAN, and they create a LAN.

That's all there is to it.

*hugs 40Mb broadband*

Your router has nothing whatsoever to do with your ISP speed.

onesecondglance · May 17, 2013

Just to agree with everyone else. They're designed to be left on, and frequent on/offs may actually cause you issues in the long run (basically, the Sky router firmware is rubbish). Stick it on and leave it on. It's about the same amount of electricity as the clock on the front of a microwave.

Fran · May 17, 2013

kuwisdelu said:
Sounds like you're talking about a hybrid modem+router.

Pure routers shouldn't need any concept of "cable" or anything like that.

You connect an ethernet cable as a WAN, and they create a LAN.

That's all there is to it.

Your router has nothing to do with that speed.

There's a cable screwed in to the back of my router. My TV comes in on the same line. If I unscrew the cable the router doesn't work anymore and I get no interiweb. I don't know much about this stuff, though.

onesecondglance · May 17, 2013

These are all combined router / modems. They look more like routers, though.

Fran · May 17, 2013

It's a superhub. That's what the sticker on the back says anyway. I get all my technical information from what the stickers on the back say.

kuwisdelu · May 17, 2013

onesecondglance said:
These are all combined router / modems.

Sky doesn't give the option of just providing a modem and allowing you to choose your own router?

Surely you could still at least connect your own router to their router+modem via ethernet and treat it as a modem, using your own router for the LAN?

They look more like routers, though.

Eh? A router can look like anything depending on the industrial design.

You could design a router that looks like a toaster or a hockey puck.

Fran said:
It's a superhub. That's what the sticker on the back says anyway. I get all my technical information from what the stickers on the back say.

That's not a technical term. That's just what Sky calls theirs.

Fran · May 17, 2013

kuwisdelu said:
Sky doesn't give the option of just providing a modem and allowing you to choose your own router?

Surely you could still at least connect your own router to their router+modem via ethernet and treat it as a modem?

Technically, you can use any router you want with Sky, but if your connection goes tits up and you're not using the router they gave you, they won't fix it. When I worked at BT you couldn't run the internet on an ISDN line. Again, you could, if you knew how, but BT wouldn't do any technical support for it.

I've never worked in broadband technical support, so I don't know the reasons for that.

Keeping my router switched on all the time

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