How to Reboot or Restart Your Router to Fix Your Connection

Restart your router. It’s probably the most common advice you’ll hear when your internet starts acting up.

And you know what? It’s often exactly what you need, especially if you’re in the middle of a game and things start lagging, freezing, or disconnecting.

Whether you’re grinding ranked matches in Valorant, exploring dungeons in World of Warcraft, or battling in Fortnite, a stable connection can make or break your experience.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about rebooting your router, including how to do it properly, why it works, and what to try if it doesn’t.

Why Is It Important to Restart Your Router?

Your router is like a mini computer: it has a processor, memory, and software running on it. Just like your gaming PC or console, it can get overloaded, run into bugs, or need a quick refresh.

Here are a few reasons why restarting it actually helps:

• Clears memory and errors: Over time, routers can build up temporary data or minor software glitches that mess with performance.
• Re-establishes a clean connection: A restart will disconnect and then reconnect you to your internet service provider (ISP), which can resolve issues related to signal drops or speed throttling.
• Fixes network conflicts: If multiple devices are trying to use the same IP address or there’s interference in your local network, restarting can clear that up.
• Improves gaming stability: Especially for online games, where packet loss or high ping can ruin your match, a fresh connection can mean the difference between victory and rage-quitting.

It’s not a magic fix, but it’s a smart first step, and it’s surprisingly effective in most cases.

How to Restart Your Router?

There’s a right way to do this and a lazy way. Spoiler: the lazy way doesn’t always work.

Here’s the correct, simple way to restart your router:

1. Find your router: Usually, it’s the box with blinking lights that’s either near your modem or acts as both modem and router.
2. Turn it off: Either press the power button on the back (if there is one) or unplug it from the power source.
3. Wait for 10 seconds: Don’t just yank the plug and put it right back in. Give it a few seconds to fully power down.
4. Plug it back in or turn it back on: Then wait for all the lights to come back on. This usually takes 1 to 3 minutes.

That’s it. You’ve just restarted your router the proper way.

Note: Avoid using the “restart” option in your ISP’s app or router web interface unless you know what it actually does. Sometimes it just reboots the software and not the entire device.

Source: Unsplash

And How to Power Cycle the Router?

Power cycling is basically a deeper form of restarting. It’s like the difference between putting your PC to sleep and doing a full shutdown.

To power cycle your router, follow these steps:

1. Unplug the router completely from the wall socket.
2. Wait for at least 30 seconds to 1 minute. This allows residual power to drain, which helps clear cached memory and any small system glitches.
3. Plug it back in and wait for it to fully boot up. Again, give it about 2 minutes to get all lights back to normal.

Some gamers swear by power cycling every week, especially those with older routers or in areas with inconsistent ISPs.

Why Do You Need to Wait When Power Cycling Your Device?

That short wait might seem pointless, but it’s not.

Here’s why it matters:

• Residual electricity: Even after unplugging, some capacitors inside your router hold a small amount of charge. Waiting helps fully reset the device.
• Clearing memory: Like shutting down a computer, this extra time helps your router forget any bad data or half-finished processes.
• Refreshing your ISP lease: ISPs assign your connection a lease (usually via DHCP). A full reset can help renew this, especially if you were stuck on a bad IP or experiencing routing issues.

Think of it like letting your router take a deep breath before jumping back into the action.

How to Reset Your Router to Factory Settings?

Let’s say restarting and power cycling didn’t work. Your next option might be to reset the router, and this is different from just restarting it.

Resetting returns your router to its factory state, erasing all settings: passwords, port forwards, Wi-Fi names, everything. So only do this if:

• Your connection problems persist across all devices.
• You can’t access the router’s admin interface.
• You’re dealing with corrupted firmware or unknown changes.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Locate the reset button: Usually a tiny hole labeled “Reset” on the back of the router.
2. Use a paperclip or pin: Press and hold the button for about 10–15 seconds.
3. Wait for it to reboot: The lights will flash and eventually stabilize. That means it’s fully reset.

After that, you’ll need to:

• Set up your Wi-Fi network again.
• Reapply any custom settings (like port forwarding if you host game servers).
• Reconnect all your devices.

Only go this route if you’ve tried everything else, but sometimes, it really is the nuclear option you need.

What to Do If Restarting Your Router Doesn’t Work?

If restarting didn’t solve your connection issue, don’t panic. But don’t keep restarting endlessly either. There could be other things going on.

Here are a few troubleshooting steps to consider:

• Check if other devices are affected: If only your PC or console is lagging, it might be a local issue, not the router.
• Run a speed test: Check download, upload, and especially ping. If the numbers are way off from what you’re paying for, call your ISP.
• Switch to a wired connection: Wi-Fi is convenient, but Ethernet is way more stable for gaming.
• Try a different DNS: Sometimes DNS servers slow down or fail. Services like Google DNS (8.8.8.8) or Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) can help.
• Look for interference: If your router’s sitting behind a TV or near a microwave, it might be catching some serious signal noise.

Still having issues? It might be time to update your router’s firmware or even replace it if it’s over 5 years old. Technology moves fast, and older hardware often can’t keep up, especially with the demands of modern online gaming.

How to Solve Latency Issues in Gaming?

Even after restarting your router, you might still experience high ping or unstable gameplay. That’s where tools like NoPing come in.

NoPing is a network optimization software built specifically for gamers. It works by:

• Rerouting your connection through more stable, faster paths.
• Reducing latency by avoiding congested nodes between you and the game server.
• Avoiding packet loss: those tiny data drops that can ruin your match.
• Allowing server switching to pick the best region for your playstyle.

With NoPing, you get real-time feedback on latency improvements and the ability to choose the fastest route for your game, which is especially helpful if you play titles with international servers or if your ISP routes traffic poorly.

Here’s how to use NoPing to fix high ping in online games:

• Sign-up through the website and download NoPing (you can test it for free).
• Open NoPing and search for your game inside the software

• Once you find it, click on it and, on the next screen, select “Choose automatic” or “Choose manual” and click “Continue”. We recommend choosing automatic, as NoPing’s technology analyzes all routes on a global scale and automatically selects the best option for you.

• On the next screen, click on “Optimize Game”.

• And that’s it, you can start playing with optimized ping!

You can test different servers within NoPing to see which gives you the lowest latency.

Knowing how to properly restart your router, and when to go deeper with a power cycle or full reset, is one of the simplest but most effective ways to protect your online gaming experience. It’s the digital version of “have you tried turning it off and on again,” and more often than not, it works.

But when it doesn’t, you don’t need to settle for rubberbanding across the map or suffering through 200ms ping. Tools like NoPing can give you that extra edge, especially when milliseconds matter.

Download NoPing now and play more than 3000 games with optimized ping!