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My router doesn’t have a separate off switch for Wi-Fi but my engineer said I mustn’t just unplug it when not needed as the internet speed will permanently slow. Is this a myth to ensure we’re all logged on for network sharing etc or is he right?

Provided by Talk talk Sagemcom FAST 5364-3.T8 192.136.1.1.

Socket: openreach mk4 master socket 5C

Ps I know I can turn off via website then use Ethernet cable to switch on but it’s not practical

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  • Sounds strange, but we can't give an opinion without knowing your hardware and setup.
    – harrymc
    Commented Mar 23, 2019 at 15:47
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    To add some info: If you are wired up via an optical cable or Ethenret is is nonense. If you use DSL it may make sense for the reason Mokubay) mentioned. Feel free to add more details to your post using the edit link.
    – Hennes
    Commented Mar 23, 2019 at 16:08

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Due to the unpredictable nature of landline connections you cannot predict exactly what speed you will be able to get out of them.

They travel alongside many other wires and have potentially a few questionable quality connections.

As a result the hardware at both sides of the connection must negotiate and "train" the connection. The hardware at your exchange might have adaptive filtering and line termination that starts out at a conservative speed and then relaxes as the connection is deemed stable. As a result some ISPs will advise you that initial speeds might be slightly slow, but ramp up over the course of a week.

Long periods of time with the remote device turned off may cause this "training" to reset, meaning that you get the conservative speed rather than the tested maximum speed.

Only your ISP engineers know for sure what the hardware is doing.

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  • Thank you Sooooo, I could risk it for short periods then? :)
    – Laura
    Commented Mar 23, 2019 at 16:07
  • @Laura you can risk it as long as you like, even for weeks. It's just that the engineer is telling you that your speed might suffer in the short term. It depends a lot on the hardware and setup at the exchange.
    – Mokubai ♦
    Commented Mar 23, 2019 at 18:25
  • Thank you. I’m in the dark with all of this so I think I’ll risk it. I don’t know if you’re in the camp of not leaving Wi-Fi on, emf etc but thanks for your info
    – Laura
    Commented Mar 24, 2019 at 21:21
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From your router software/settings you can:

  • Switch your Ethernet connection on or off.
  • Switch your Wi/Fi connection on or off.
  • Switch your Internet connection on or off.

You do not need to unplug anything.

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    It may be more useful if you provide steps for the OP's router model to do this. Without them, this is a generic non-answer...
    – Tim_Stewart
    Commented Mar 23, 2019 at 17:47
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An easy way to do this may be to disconnect the antenna on the Wireless router, if you can. That will usually bring the power down to less than 3% and the range down to less than 1/6th of what it was.

As someone said in a comment, for a DSL connection if you unplug it it can take some time to come back to full speed. If your DSL modem is separate from your Wireless router, then you can just unplug the router and leave the DSL plugged in. For other types of connections it is nonsense.

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