Router Keeps Rebooting Itself: How to Fix It

Step 1: Check router temperature

Place your hand on top of the router. If it is hot to the touch rather than warm, overheating is likely causing the shutdowns. Move the router to an open, well-ventilated location away from enclosed cabinets, direct sunlight, and other heat-generating devices. Routers need airflow around all sides.

Step 2: Check router admin uptime logs

Log into the router admin panel and navigate to the system log or status page. Look for the uptime counter — if it resets around periods of heavy traffic (large downloads, video calls, gaming), the router's CPU or memory is being overloaded. This is a hardware limitation that firmware or settings may partially address, but often indicates the router is undersized for your usage.

Step 3: Update firmware

Router manufacturers release firmware updates specifically to fix reboot bugs. Log into the admin panel, navigate to the firmware or software update section, and install the latest version. Check the release notes for mentions of stability or reboot fixes — if your current version is listed as having this bug, the update is the primary fix.

Step 4: Factory reset

Corrupt configuration settings — often left over from a botched firmware upgrade — can cause the router to fail during boot or crash on specific operations. Perform a factory reset by holding the physical reset button for 10 seconds. Reconfigure the router from scratch rather than restoring a saved configuration file, which may contain the corrupt settings.

Step 5: Use the original power adapter

Third-party power adapters with incorrect voltage or amperage ratings cause instability that manifests as random reboots. Use only the power adapter that shipped with the router or a manufacturer-approved replacement with matching voltage and current specifications printed on the label.

Step 6: Unplug USB storage from router ports

Many routers have USB ports for network-attached storage. USB devices draw power from the router's internal supply, and a high-draw device or a failing USB drive can destabilize the power rail and cause reboots. Unplug all USB devices from the router and test for stability over 24 hours.

Step 7: Replace router if over 5 years old

Consumer routers have a practical lifespan of 4 to 6 years. Capacitors degrade, thermal paste dries out, and flash storage wears. If your router is over 5 years old and the steps above have not resolved the rebooting, hardware failure is the most likely cause and replacement is the correct solution.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does my router reboot every few hours?

Periodic reboots on a schedule are usually caused by overheating after sustained load, a firmware bug that accumulates memory leaks over time, or an ISP-triggered reboot during PPPoE session renewal. Check the router's system log immediately after a reboot — the last log entries before the restart often identify the cause. If the log is blank after reboot, overheating or a power fault erased it.

Can heat cause a router to restart?

Yes. Routers have a thermal protection circuit that forces a shutdown when the internal temperature exceeds a safe threshold — typically around 70 to 80 degrees Celsius on the main processor. This is more common in summer months, in enclosed entertainment cabinets, or when the router is placed on carpet that blocks the bottom vents. Moving the router to a ventilated shelf and pointing a small fan at it confirms whether heat is the cause.

Is a rebooting router a sign of hacking?

Rarely. Spontaneous reboots are almost always caused by hardware or firmware issues, not intrusion. However, some router malware — such as the VPNFilter botnet that affected Linksys, Netgear, and TP-Link routers — does cause reboots as part of its operation. If a factory reset resolves the rebooting but it returns within days, and you have not updated the firmware or changed default credentials, malware is worth investigating.