# do you turn off your internet? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 1, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359 "2016-10-01T14:41:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359/41 "2016-10-03T11:12:16Z")
> [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > I have no interest in devices! That’s not what I heard. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359/42 "2016-10-03T22:15:49Z")
Our burglar alarm monitoring works over the land line, which itself depends on the router being on. So no. But I never turned it off even before we had a cable-based phone unless I was going away for a long time. There’s a reason routers don’t have power switches. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2016, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359/43 "2016-10-03T23:50:05Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > That’s not what I heard. I only meant I already know when to turn them off 😛 and not one person came up with the correct answer: leave it on because plugging and unplugging stuff is hard on the plug. no points for anyone! ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359/44 "2016-10-04T00:24:46Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > :rolleyes: I apologize for assaulting your tender sensibilities by abusing the term teenager. If you knew her, you would understand the whys and wherefores. Our router software does not support the restrictions you suggest. We have checked. This is the easiest solution for now. Other software that is available will require on device downloads and we don’t need to go there yet because this works, for now. If you have Windows 7 it’s built in and easy to use. Its also available in Windows 10, but you have to have a Microsoft account. ---
**Author:** ![drewder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@drewder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewder)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359/45 "2016-10-04T01:23:40Z")
I should turn it off. My internet provider has data caps. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359/46 "2016-10-04T04:09:44Z")
I do; when I’m gone from the house for more than an hour (as part of the super green crowd who also has breakers off for things and enjoys her $24 electric bill) and when I go to bed. Fear of using my phone’s data too soon b/c the wifi’s off is what gets me out of bed sooner than later when I’m in the mopey mood I’ve been in for a few months now. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359/47 "2016-10-04T18:51:57Z")
It all stays on. Rebooting the main gateway takes about 10 minutes, which puts it firmly into nuisance territory. Aside from that, every morsel of communication in the house goes through that device, including at times, my cell phone as it has a “Use Wi-Fi if LTE signal is weak” mode, so if it’s down, I’m thrown back to 1890 without so much as a phone line ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359/48 "2016-10-04T20:54:14Z")
> [@sweat209](#): > > There was talk going around what is more wear and tear on a computer leaving it on all the time or turning it off when you go to sleep or side for some hours. > > Some say the turning on and off every day gives it more wear and tear than just leaving it on. Technically it does, according to physics, but in application it’s pretty unlikely to cause appreciable damage before you’ve upgraded to your next system unless the component in question was defective to begin with. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359/49 "2016-10-04T21:03:37Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It’s not a good idea to make your modem have to retrain every time. Where did you get that idea? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359/50 "2016-10-04T21:07:00Z")
A lot of people won’t be posting in this thread because I turned off their internet. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2016, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359/51 "2016-10-04T22:01:02Z")
Unless I forget, I turn off my computer before I go to bed. I don’t mess with the modem or router because Netflix. My mother turns off the power strip to her computer, etc. This is a woman who thinks nothing of spending thousands on cruises and hundreds on entertaining, but, by golly, she’s going to save that 12¢ in monthly electricity usage. She’s so cute… ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2016, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359/52 "2016-10-09T05:16:30Z")
Why do you ask? ---
**Author:** ![ultimate11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/49beb7/32.png) [@ultimate11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultimate11)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359/53 "2016-10-09T15:23:58Z")
I have no internet connection at my dormitory, so you could say that before I had my smartphone. With my unlimited data plan from AT&T (my mother has DirecTV and I got this phone as a gift), there’s no need to turn it off. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-turn-off-your-internet/767359.md?page=2)