Taking into account the intensive use that we give to the router throughout the day, it is likely that sooner or later some type of failure will end up appearing. Many of them are circumstantial, but if the router does not even turn on, this may indicate that there are bigger problems that cannot be solved by restarting the router.
On some occasions, it will be due to an irreparable failure, but on others you will be able to fix it. We tell you what the most common failures are and what to do.
Check the power cord
We start with something basic, but that may be the most common cause for the router not to turn on, as it is for any other electrical device. The power cable that goes from the transformer to the router may be damaged . Surely, before being completely damaged, you will have noticed an intermittent operation of the equipment. You can also try to move the cable and if it turns on it is because it is broken and it only makes a connection in a specific position.
If the power transformer is broken or damaged , it will not be able to properly power the router, which may cause it to not power on directly. You can try to buy another current transformer, but before doing so you should look at the voltage (volts) and also the amperage (amps) of the original, in addition to checking what type of connector the router has.
You should also try to verify that the current problem does not come from the power cable, but from the socket or power strip where it is plugged in . Connect any other type of element such as a mobile charger and check if it charges or connect the router to another socket and check everything again.
What if it’s the internal power supply?
In addition to the power cable, internally all routers have an internal power supply with different capacitors . If there has been a power surge, this power supply may be damaged.
If the source is damaged, you will not be able to do anything because it is quite complex hardware, you will have no choice but to buy another router or notify your operator so that they can proceed to change the router. In addition, if there has been a power surge, it will generally be included as one of the cases in which the home insurance policy can take charge.
The motherboard of the router is damaged
If there appears to be power and the router is securely plugged in, but no LEDs light up , then the router’s motherboard is probably bad. If the board is broken it won’t boot at all. If the board is damaged, you will necessarily have to buy another router, because the damage is serious.
Again, contact your carrier, who should take care of replacing the drive if the hardware has been damaged.
A router firmware update failed
If you’ve done any firmware updates recently, something may have gone wrong and your router is in a state known as bricked . Basically, your router has run out of firmware, neither the old nor the new one that has not been installed completely and satisfactorily, so the equipment will not turn on or boot.
Currently modern routers have dual-image , that is, a double image of the firmware to avoid this type of error. This means that we will have a basic firmware in a part of the flash memory to be able to load the complete firmware in case of corruption of the main one.