Electronic – Unplugging a router from the wall socket

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When the internet appears to have crashed, the service provider invariably gives this advice as a first line remedy: unplug the router from the wall socket, then wait 5 minutes, then plug it back in. Many times this remedy works.

Question: Why does the router care if it's been unplugged from the wall versus simply turning it off? And more interestingly, what happens during the 5 minute interval that the router is unplugged; if it has no electricity, is it not merely in a deadened state?

Best Answer

What you are waiting can be two things. One is for the ISP to "release" your dynamic IP address, and after 'x' minutes, when powered back on, the MRC (Modem/router combo) will be re-assigned an IP address to its MAC address.

The other reason is to allow a internal capacitor to discharge completely to allow the volatile memory that contains the cache to be cleared. Clearing this cache can often "resolve" the issue.