UK’s have been warned not to shut down their Wi-Fi routers overnight as energy prices hit record highs.
Electricity priceshave increased on average from about 17p per kWh last winter to 34p kWh thereafter prices went up on October 1
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Because of the ongoing cost of living crisis that has pushed up the price of gas and the cost of many food products, millions of people are looking for ways to save money.
Ways to keep your energy bill low This includes turning off appliances, filling a washing machine before turning it on and unplugging TVs instead of leaving them on standby.
People were even able to save a few pounds by lowering the brightness of their televisions.
However, experts have advised not to turn off your device internet router when not in use.
While turning off your Wi-Fi overnight can save you some money, it can cause problems with your broadband speeds and even make your internet connection easier to hack.
Most of the country’s largest Internet Service Providers (ISPs), including: BT and Skyrecommend leaving their Wi-Fi equipment on permanently all year round.
By regularly turning your router on and off, it can send signals to your provider that there is a malfunction on the line.
When that happens, ISPs often put an emergency speed cap on the service to keep the customer connected.
BT says: “Constantly turning the hub off will make the line look unstable, meaning your speed can be automatically reduced to improve the reliability of your broadband connection.”
In addition to slowing speeds, critical security updates may not be received during the night when the power is off.
Aman Bhatti, director of propositions at Sky Broadband, said: express.co.uk: “We know our routers are put to the test throughout the day – whether it’s video calling, streaming the latest show, or online gaming.
“That’s why our routers run firmware updates at night to avoid unnecessary disruption during the day.
“Turning off your router at night can affect automatic software updates and optimizations, which in turn can affect the overall performance, speed, and stability of your broadband.
“Other connected devices in the house that are connected to your router will also be disturbed by the delayed updates.
“All of our current hubs are approved by the EU Eco Design Regulation, which means no excessive energy consumption is used.”
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