Here’s why your internet randomly stops working

This is an issue that has probably happened to nearly everyone who regularly uses the internet. You’re probably downloading/uploading something or even streaming a video and all of a sudden your internet fails to temporarily. Hence you find it convenient to smash your router or complain to your Internet Service Provider. There are even scenarios where you may have gone to check your internet router and notice some indication that the internet is not working.

The usual method of fixing it (which we all have done) is unplugging the router, waiting for a few minutes, then replugging it, and voila’ your internet is back up again. But why does this happen all the time? Is it because our Internet Service Providers just hate seeing us happily using the internet or something? Well actually, there are numerous reasons as to why our internet temporarily fails us over and over.

First of all, it is a huge misconception that our routers are these magical boxes that provide us internet connectivity out of the blue. It’s what’s under the hood that counts because similar to our normal desktop PC, our routers have their own CPU, memory, and even an operating system which all play a crucial role in managing the data traffic and then deciding what needs to be sent and where. Moreover, these components can get overloaded similar to how a PC gets overloaded due to handling numerous tasks. So if you have a ton of devices connected to your router then chances are that there is a huge strain on the router itself which results into a sudden halt in terms of providing internet.

This normally happens as our routers use dynamic IP addresses which basically assign IP addresses to help the route navigate through the internet traffic better and find your device. This is kind of like how street addresses work except it’s all about the internet. So the IP address assigned stays with the router for a short period of time and then expires and then our ISP provides a new IP address and the rest happens as usual.

So if you are downloading/uploading a heavy file while the router is aiming to shift to a new IP address then you may face certain issues with your internet.

Another reason why our internet fails is normally that most users shove their internet router in a closed cozy space which is not recommended as even a router can heat up and cause problems. Hence it is recommended that your router should be placed in a proper open area where there is cross-ventilation. Just don’t place the router under the sun, please.

in addition, most of our WiFi routers that use the 2.4GHz band face interference from other household devices such as microwave ovens which overlap and make it difficult for your router to provide proper internet to your device. You can oversee this issue by downloading a simple mobile app that looks at nearby networks and helps you change your router settings. However, if you are not that tech-savvy it is recommended that you talk to the customer care representatives of your Internet Service Provider.

Let us know in the comments how this article helped you solve your buggy internet issue or what other methods you may have tried.