Soaring temperatures could affect your Wi-Fi, experts warn – how to stop your router overheating & avoid speed slow down

HOUSEHOLDS have been warned that soaring temperatures could affect their internet connection as routers also feel the current hot spell.

The summer scorcher is not only a problem for ourselves but also our tech which can become damaged if overexposed to hot conditions.

Smartphones are one of the first gadgets to feel it as we use them most and they travel with us to places like the beach.

But your Wi-Fi router is often forgotten as another piece of kit that can succumb to extremely hot weather.

How you store your internet hub can make all the difference, according to an expert from USwitch.com.

“Mobile phones and routers have in-built hardware to help them keep cool, but there are some things you can do to help,” explained telecoms expert Sabrina Hoque.

Is your router in a hot spot?

It’s best to keep your router in the coolest room possible around the home.

So somewhere on or near a window sill is not ideal as it’ll be more exposed to direct sunlight.

“As a general rule, direct sunlight can often have a detrimental effect on your tech,” Sabrina says.

Avoid objects surrounding your router

Generally you should avoid keeping loads of objects around your router as it’s not good for the signal.

But this is even more so the case during hot weather.

So move any books or things on shelves that are too close to your router.

“Electronic devices all rely on ventilation to keep cool,” Sabrina explains.

“This means they need space around them to let out the hot air caused by all the processing they need to do.

“If your router is surrounded by lots of other objects, it can’t properly ventilate and might overheat.

“For your mobile phone, a case could have the same effect.”

Avoid overloading your router

We all have an abundance of devices these days with smartphones, laptops, tablets, smart home kit, smart TVs and more.

Your router can generally handle quite a few devices these days but obviously the more you have the harder it has to work.

If you can disconnect some to ease the burden during hot weather this may help.

“The more devices that are connected to your router, the harder it has to work to keep them all online, which makes it more likely to slow down or switch off,” Sabrina says.

“The same applies to your mobile device – if it has too many applications running this will force the processor to work harder and generate more heat.”