It is impossible to praise the modern convenience of wireless internet enough. The ability to access the internet through any portion of your home or workplace has greatly expanded the way we work, interact and entertain. Coupled with the increased speed of wireless services, it is rare that the modern internet user ever needs to consider plugging in their device directly to a port.
That is until your wireless internet router becomes unresponsive.
Though wireless internet may be a modern technological miracle, your wireless router connection can still become unresponsive from time to time. While this is sometimes indicative of a malfunctioning router that needs to be replaced, more often than not, it is simply a sign of common connection issues that can easily be remedied. So the next time your internet suddenly drops and you are about to panic, consider these three simple steps instead.
Turn It Off and Back On Again
The technique of turning a non-functional device off and on again has been the go-to recommendation from tech support experts everywhere for years for one reason: It almost always works.
Sometimes, your router simply encounters a technological hitch that prevents it from being able to operate at full capacity. It’s the digital equivalent of stubbing your toe. When it happens, you compose yourself, reset and keep moving.
So if your router connection drops suddenly, before trying anything else, just unplug the router from the wall, wait about 10 seconds, plug it back in, and see if your connection is restored once more.
Reposition the Router
Although most modern Wi-Fi routers are designed to be able to work around certain sources of interference, they are still susceptible to environmental factors from time to time.
As such, it may be necessary to reposition your router in order to ensure that it is capable of achieving the strongest connection possible. Specifically, you are going to want to move it as far away as possible from metal objects and devices that emit a radio signal of their own such as microwaves.
Also, be sure to check if your antennas are positioned vertically, as this will help the router better receive incoming signals.
Perform a Factory Reset
If you have tried common fixes for your router and believe that you may be dealing with an uncommon problem, then you may want to consider resetting the router back to its factory default settings.
Just as it sounds, this will essentially put the router back into the state it was when you first installed it. While this is a tremendous way to counter several potential software and connection issues that may be causing the problem, it may also require you to do some post-reset configurations of your password, signal name, network security preferences and other personalized settings. As such, this method should only be treated as a last resort.
If you are able to get your router working again, you may also want to check the manufacturer’s online recommendations regarding possible settings and router updates that can help prevent such drops in the future. Similarly, be sure to contact Ottawa IT support if your problems persist after performing these steps.