Router acting up? Restart, reposition, replace, in that order

Step 1: The restart that actually works

Unplug the router AND the modem (or the single gateway) from power. Wait 30 seconds. Plug the modem in first, wait for its lights to settle, then the router. This order forces a clean handshake with your provider and clears most mystery slowdowns, blinking lights and dropped devices.

Read the lights before you panic

Solid power and internet/globe lights are good. A red or orange internet light after a restart usually means the problem is on the provider's side, check their outage page before troubleshooting further. No WiFi light at all often means someone pressed the WiFi button on the router by accident.

Step 2: Reposition like a pro

Height beats everything: a router on the floor loses a third of its range. Central beats corner. Open air beats cabinets. Antennas, if you have them, work best with one vertical and one horizontal. Even two meters of repositioning can move a bedroom from one bar to full speed.

Extend when one router can't cover the house

Over roughly 150 square meters, or any house with thick brick walls or three floors, one router physically can't cover everything. A mesh system or your provider's WiFi pods (Spectrum, Cox and Optimum all offer them) beats cheap repeaters, which halve your speed.

Step 3: Know when it's time to replace

If the router needs restarting more than once a week, drops 5 GHz entirely, gets hot to the touch, or predates WiFi 6 (roughly 2019), it's done. Before buying anything, check your plan: most fiber providers and several cable providers include current-generation equipment free, you may only need to ask for a swap.

The free-equipment cheat sheet

Spectrum includes the modem with Advanced WiFi on gig plans, AT&T and Frontier include the gateway on fiber, Brightspeed ships WiFi 7 on every plan, Metronet charges $0 equipment fees, Xfinity bundles its gateway into 5-year-guarantee plans and Cox includes Panoramic WiFi for 24 months. If you're renting a modem for $15/mo from anyone, you're overpaying.