Arks
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 22, 2010
- Messages
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As many of you know, I don't live at my inn. I live a few miles away and mostly run it with keypad door locks I can program via wi-fi from home, self check-in for guests, and housekeepers that can log onto my reservation system and see when a unit needs cleaning, so I don't even have to tell them that unit x needs cleaning Tuesday. So I'm only at the inn once or twice a week, to restock supplies and fix things the guests break.
One problem I've always had, though, is that about once/month, on an unpredictable schedule, my wi-fi router needs to be reset (unplugged and plugged back in), or the wi-fi gets "iffy". I only know it needs a reset when I try to program a new door key code and it won't go through. That's very inconvenient if I happen to be out of town. In those cases, I have to contact a housekeeper and have her drive to the inn and unplug/replug the router.
I think I've found a solution. I found this gizmo, which plugs into the wall socket, then I plug the router into the gizmo. Once I have it programmed (through a free phone app provided by the gizmo maker), I can set a schedule for it to cut the power to the router for a minute, then restore power. I can also manually reset the router from the phone app anytime I want, but the once/day automatic restart should fix my problem. I currently have it set to restart the router every day at 2:30 a.m. Rare will be the guest up at that hour using wi-fi. It's the same as if the utility power blinks off. The wi-fi is off about 3 minutes, then it's back on and nice and fresh.
So far it's working great. I can even set it to send updates to my phone verifying that the wi-fi has been reset and is active again. I paid $37 for a gizmo two-pack. I'll probably use the second one for my home router.
One problem I've always had, though, is that about once/month, on an unpredictable schedule, my wi-fi router needs to be reset (unplugged and plugged back in), or the wi-fi gets "iffy". I only know it needs a reset when I try to program a new door key code and it won't go through. That's very inconvenient if I happen to be out of town. In those cases, I have to contact a housekeeper and have her drive to the inn and unplug/replug the router.
I think I've found a solution. I found this gizmo, which plugs into the wall socket, then I plug the router into the gizmo. Once I have it programmed (through a free phone app provided by the gizmo maker), I can set a schedule for it to cut the power to the router for a minute, then restore power. I can also manually reset the router from the phone app anytime I want, but the once/day automatic restart should fix my problem. I currently have it set to restart the router every day at 2:30 a.m. Rare will be the guest up at that hour using wi-fi. It's the same as if the utility power blinks off. The wi-fi is off about 3 minutes, then it's back on and nice and fresh.
So far it's working great. I can even set it to send updates to my phone verifying that the wi-fi has been reset and is active again. I paid $37 for a gizmo two-pack. I'll probably use the second one for my home router.
