When trouble shooting any high tech device how often has someone asked if you’ve rebooted it? Funny how often that actually fixes the problem. This process is also called a “Power Cycle.” When it comes to your WiFi controller there is a best way to do this, what we refer to as “Power cycling from the wall in.”
This means is that when power cycling the WiFi controller you should also power cycle the upstream devices in the connection to the internet, and turn them back on in a specific order; starting from the wall outlet for your modem and working your way inward to the WiFi controller.
In some setups your WiFi controller may be connected directly to a modem, or connected to the modem through a router or network switch. When connected directly to the modem there are only two devices to power cycle, but if connected first through a router or network switch there are three (or more) devices in line to power cycle.
- First, all of the devices in the connection stream should be powered down, either by turning the power switches off or simply by disconnecting the power cables. Remember when power cycling anything, it is important to wait 10+ seconds to be sure that all lights on each device have fully dimmed and are off before powering anything back up.
- Next, power up ONLY the modem – no other devices in the connection stream – and wait for the modem to fully boot up and make it’s connection to the Internet. If you have multiple modems for your guest WiFi you can power them all on at the same time. With some modems booting up and connecting can take up to 5 minutes.
- Once that modem boot cycle is completed then power up the next device in the chain (network switch or router) and wait a full two minutes for that device to also be fully booted up.
- Lastly power up the WiFi controller, again making sure that all other devices in the connection stream are already fully booted up. Always allow the controller a full 10-15 minutes to fully boot, rebuild the MESH network of Access Points, and restore the guest connections before testing the WiFi service.
Remember, Don’t Just Power Cycle… Power Cycle From The Wall In.
