Broadband ISP Virgin Media (O2) has revealed that 18% of respondents to one of their consumer surveys still “break the golden rule” by switching their Hub (router) off overnight. This might save a tiny bit of electricity, but it may also “prevent overnight software updates” (e.g. router firmware or other devices) from being applied – that could have unintended consequences.
Generally speaking, network operators and other software distributors often time important software updates to be released and applied during off-peak periods, such as late at night. Not only does this help the network to run more efficiently, but it also ensures that you don’t suffer a performance loss or disconnection while actually using the connection yourself. In addition, if something goes wrong, the network operator will often still have time to fix it before you notice.
However, in the grander scheme of things, turning most routers off at night isn’t the end of the world, even though it might mess up some of the tasks or updates that your connected devices may be performing (a common issue within the modern ‘smart’ home). But just remember that frequently switching-off routers on older copper based broadband lines (i.e. ADSL, FTTC / VDSL2 or G.fast) could still cause the Dynamic Line Management (DLM) system to assume your connection is unstable and drop the speed to compensate.