lighteningA surge protector may not be enough to ensure that the computers on your home network and the network components, such as modem and router, are safe in a violent electrical storm.

After losing my modem to lightening several years ago–yes, even though I was using a surge protector–I’ve taken to unplugging the power lines to all my computers, modem, and router.  This isn’t  inconvenient if you plug these items into a surge protector and then just unplug the surge protector itself when a storm is approaching.  I also unplug the cable input line that goes into my modem.  To restart my network I then just plug the surge protector back into the wall socket and re-attach the cable input line to the modem.  Using this technique I haven’t had to reboot my modem and router to restart my network.  You may discover, however, that you do need to  reboot your modem and router after taking down your network.  If so, power on your modem first, wait for the indicator lights to all light up and remain on, then power on your router.

If you are ever having connectivity problems on your local network here are the steps for re-establishing a connection:

  1. Shut down your computer.
  2. Unplug your router and modem, and wait for at least one minute.
  3. Plug in your modem and wait for all indicator lights to come on, steadily.
  4. Plug in your router and wait for all indicator lights to come on.
  5. Boot your computer.
Enhanced by Zemanta

One thought on “Completely Disconnect Your Network During Electrical Storms”

  1. I come up from a hilly state where clouds remain for the whole year!

    Even though I use a surge protector I have lost my old desktops power supply.

    Thanks for sharing!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.