Modem always on?

ennogs

ennogs

ennogs

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8 Sep 2009
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I recently had a BT engineer out for an internet fault. He said I should always leave my modem on. He said when I switch off the modem the equipment at the exchange is continuously looking for my modem. He also then went onto say this will result in slower connections.

I know switching my modem off does not result in my connection getting slower as I have been switching it off for years.

Should I be leaving my modem on 24/7 or is it ok to switch it off at night when I go to bed? I just don't see the point of leaving the modem on if it's not going to get used for about 12 hours.
 
He's actually right.
BT's automated DLM will see the drops as instability and slowly will edge line speeds back to try and combat this, it may be that the speeds have pinned back already and you don't realise it.

The flip side is that if you do get a "proper" fault then your line will look like it has long overnight disconnects and BT will identify it as REIN which could hinder future investigations.
 
As mentioned switching it off every night could be stopping it getting any faster as the line is never going to have chance to train properly. That said, if you're happy with the speed you're getting then continue as you are.

For the sake of the £10/year (probably less) it'll cost you I'd leave it on (as most people do). I'd at least try it for a month and see if the connection speed does improve. It's getting cold so the heat generated won't be wasted.
 
yup, ive never understood why people turn off their routers tbh....

the only time i have, was when it had about 15 flashy lights on it....

turned it off at night a few times, then took it apart, de soldered all the leds and it was on from then on ^^
 
Not sure about FTTC but ADSL _should_ use blip logic to stop it dropping the line speed back for one off disconnections or if you turn it off at night - in practise I've never seen it work very well.

I don't personally see much point turning it off at night potentially electronic failures happen most often when switching on/off so the wear and tear at best is pretty much evened out over leaving it going 24x7 - the saving on the electricity bill is probably in the region of £2-3 over a year so personally don't consider it worthwhile but thats just me.
 
Sky's DLM constantly monitors but doesn't make changes unless it detects a problem. I'd imagine most other ISP's use a similar system. Back the speed off a few meg to reduce disconnects and potential inbound calls.
 
davido_labido said:
yup, ive never understood why people turn off their routers tbh....

the only time i have, was when it had about 15 flashy lights on it....

turned it off at night a few times, then took it apart, de soldered all the leds and it was on from then on ^^
Click to expand...

A bit of insulation tape would have been far easier;)
 
Another vote for leaving it on. Not needed for VM but still leave it on as well any way.
 
Personally I leave it on, the only time I bother turning it off is if it's a really bad and I mean really bad thunderstorm overhead...
 
with everything being pushed to become greener, electronics are using less electricity than ever before.

the only exceptions would be items which need huge amounts of power like showers, kettles, microwaves, hoovers, ovens, pressure washers etc.

a modem on the other hand probably uses a few pence worth of electricity per week/month.

you would make 1000 times more savings by switching suppliers every year than turning the modem off every night.
 
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