- Surely you would not believe us, but there are circumstances in which it is convenient to pause WiFi networks
- There are many occasions when, for various reasons, it is better for the router to rest
- Regardless of those reasons, you should know how to proceed if you have this need
We are not going to delve into the many advantages that WiFi technology has for human beings in this article. There are so many that it is practically impossible for us to want to do without connectivity at one point, but We must also know that there are different situations in which it may be necessary to pause your WiFi networks for a while. How to do it and why is it a very important trick, one that you will resort to more often than you think?
That being said, we are aware that all configuration of home networks depends on the manufacturer of the router. Most of these devices coincide in their characteristics, although there are also some differences.
In this diversity are the keys to the following lines, in which we will try to address situations in which you probably want to get rid of WiFi networks temporarily, and how to do it according to your router.
But why would you want to turn off WiFi?
For security cuestions
WiFi networks are much more complex than we think in terms of security, and that is why we can see so many encryption options to connect, some of them being modern and reliable… and others not so much.
Ideally, your router should support the most advanced encryption out there, and your password should be very difficult. This should be enough so that nobody can enter your networks while you use them. And when I don’t use them? So the best thing is that if you are going to leave the house for a week or more, turn off the router.
The problem is that, in your absence, the hacker trying to break into your devices over networks could take all the time he needs, and you won’t be there to detect and circumvent that suspicious activity.
For money reasons
Until a few years ago we would not have reviewed it, but today we know that routers consume energy. More energy than most would have imagined, in fact. So it’s another good excuse to turn them off.
The money saved will not be much, a maximum of about 10 euros a year, but the key is that this minimum consumption could make you exceed the limits set by the service provider, significantly raising its price.
For health reasons
The relationship between the Internet and health is on everyone’s lips these days, and it is because we still do not really know what are the effects that the almost constant adoption of technology has on people. We could put it this way: we are the first 100% connected generation in history.
Although there is no evidence to show that exposure to a router can cause health problems, it is always advisable to keep electronic devices as far away from individuals as possible.
Another alternative, obviously, is to turn them off at night and turn them back on in the morning, right?
How to disable WiFi connectivity on any router?
You already have an idea of why there are people who prefer to pause the WiFi networks in their home if they are not using them. So let’s see how they are procedures to cancel this connectivity if we are not using it.
The first thing will be to open a browser, any, and write the IP address that has been assigned to us by the router. We will thus enter the router configuration, which may ask us for a username and password.
As usual, On the left side of the screen we should see a sidebar with numerous settings. There will surely be one that will say WiFi, Wireless or WLANand it is just to that section that we have to enter.
Search within this section for something dedicated to its configuration, and uncheck the box dedicated to WiFi networks. Those newer routers can discern between 2.4GHz and 5GHz, so you should uncheck both.
The physical button, another solution
Some routers have a physical button that makes things a bit easier, and it is located in its rear part. This saves us from having to go into the router’s configuration, and it is useful in case the WiFi does not work.
Just press that physical button for a second and wait for the router’s response to know that we have turned it off. Certain routers also allow change the way you share networks with this technique.
What about Mesh systems?
If we have a Mesh or mesh system installed in our home, it will suffice to deactivate the main node to rest assured that all the networks that depend on it have stopped working until further notice.
In fact, these next-generation connectivities are interesting because they have extremely complete mobile applications, from which we can control all aspects related to their use.
From the app you can completely activate or deactivate the connectivity of your Mesh system. It doesn’t prevent you from having to turn off the router as well because it will still work, but at least you won’t have to disable every repeater.
Do you usually pause WiFi networks at home? Why do you do it?
