I’m wondering what is the difference between rebooting my modem vs rebooting my router in regard to my V3 cameras ?
In other words:
When should I reboot just the Modem ?
When should I reboot just the Router ?
When should I reboot both ?
Sometimes I reboot just my Router but does rebooting both do more for me ?
Thanks in advance…tlhutch4
If you’re going to reboot just 1 thing, then do the router.
Generally, rebooting the router is sufficient. Doing this forces the modern to create a new connection with the router anyway and the camera to create a new connection with the router.
However, it’s possible that like any other electronic device, especially those like routers, modems, etc, the modern could be suffering from some kind of memory leak issue itself, so it can be beneficial to reboot the modern occasionally to ensure ongoing best performance. But if you only reboot the modern and not the router, then there is no newly forced handshake between the cameras and the router, just the router and the modem.
So, the best thing you can do is reboot all 3 (router, modern, and camera). Second best is to reboot both the modern and the router. Third best is to reboot just the router.
How often a reboot is beneficial can vary by device and how often one experiences issues with any device and whether you suspect any device has a memory leak and how bad it is. Some people schedule a reboot every night, some do it every few days or weeks or just whenever they feel like things aren’t running as smoothly as they seemed to. Some people never do it.
I guess it depends on you and what seems to help you feel like your stuff is running at peak performance.
Sorry I couldn’t give exact suggestions for your situation, because it can be a little different for everyone, but those are the main things to consider in my experience. I have had systems where I rebooted every single day, at least once a day. Other times I’ve had systems where I rarely reboot or just when I need to or mostly just to make sure it’s clear and running at best capacity.
Carverofchoice,
Thanks for your well thought out response to my post. I will reboot all 3 next time per you suggested….tlhutch4
I personally reboot both modem and router daily and cameras as needed. Since I started doing this at both my properties I’ve experienced less issues.
Glad I asked for peoples thoughts on rebooting both modem and router and why. Getting great responses…Thanks tlhutch4
Rebooting both modem and router is better in my opinion.
In my case the modem part of my cellular enterprise router is the main slow down point to my network and I have found that a early morning reboot keeps my network running better speeds on the WWAN.
Before I setup daily reboots my internet speeds would slow down over several days and a reboot would fix, so eventually I just setup a nightly reboot script in modem.
Thanks to all who responded to my post asking about best practice regarding Rebooting for better performance. The consensus seems to be:
Reboot Modem then wait a few minutes
Reboot Router
Finally Reboot cameras if necessary
Most feel that this is a good practice if cameras or Smart Plugs go offline or for just improving performance. Suggestions include routine Rebooting or as it seems necessary.
Thanks again…tlhutch4
@carverofchoice gave an excellent response and the correct one IMO.
I would only tack on that some of it is system dependent and depends on the service and service provider you are talking about. For example, on a fiber system, I was told to restart the router prior to the transceiver to ensure the best connection. (wouldn’t have been my choice, but I ran with it)
Also, painful as it is, on residential routers/modems you want to make sure you are running the latest versions of your firmware and up to date hardware. On most cable-based systems it is worth running occasional cable checks on ALL connections, as TV connections can affect data connections, especially uplink.
Really, your cams shouldn’t cause a need to reboot the router, but it seems to be an issue that comes up a lot here.
Makes me really glad I am running commercial grade networking gear. The router, fiber ONT, and garage access point have not been power cycled since July when I did a major wiring cleanup in the data cabinet and had everything powered down for about 5 hours. The Family room AP was powered down a couple weeks ago while I was replacing the batteries on the UPS that powers it. The other three APs haven’t been power cycled in at least a year.
For my Wyze cameras, I have a nightly reboot scheduled via the app. I which I could do that with the plugs and outlets - but they don’t have that option.
K6CCC
I agreed. I wish there was a option to do a nightly reboot on plugs and switches.
Flip the main breaker before you go to bad 
Yeah, the plugs can’t reboot, but people do use them to reboot other devices on a schedule. Just set a schedule to turn the plug off at a certain time, and then tell it to turn on a minute later and it power-cycles whatever device was connected to it. Then it’s only down for 1 minute plus boot up time.
Technically the plug itself is still connected the entire time But, the newest plugs work really well pretty reliably. Sometimes my V1 plugs still go offline and need a power-cycle to work again though.
I rarely to never reboot my router/modem anymore now that I have Fiber and a good modem/router without memory leaks. But back when I had Xfinity, if I didn’t reboot my modem and router frequently, I had TONS of connection issues.
Can’t beat commercial grade. They tend to clean themselves and don’t get bogged down.
But even my nighthawk on Xfinity runs for months with no issues and my c-link fiber in another location does the same.
Took three comcast techs; first two telling me there was nothing wrong. Third one checked everything and found a TV cable that had degraded and causing the uplink to run hot, which caused constant problems. Since then, the router/modem has been good, but nothing like 1Gb up/down fiber 
I should’ve checked the cables. That was one thing I didn’t really have checked out, I drove myself crazy with Xfinity trying fix all the connection issues I had all the time (I replaced modems, routers, changed the DNS, and countless other things, and lots of things helped a little…but it was still not reliable). My sanity couldn’t keep up. I can’t tell you how excited I was when Fiber launched in my area.
I am glad to hear your connection is good though. I’m terrified of ever having to go back to that kind of nightmare again.
Makes a lot of sense though, I wonder if I was having the same problem with a degraded cable causing the uplink to run hot and have other problems. That all rings very true to what I was experiencing.
To answer in more general terms, it would be recommended to reboot all hardware in the communications chain.
The modem would be rebooted first, then the router, then the clients (cameras).
What I recommend to my clients, and install in most deployments, is a stand alone timer plug on the router and modem. Once per day, say 2am, the modem reboots, if you have a separate modem and router, then at 2:05am the router. I don’t worry much on the clients.
As stated, this is dependent on each install, but this practice has worked well for my installs.
I’ve used smart timers, but I elimated those and use a simple digital plug timer, as this has proven bulletproof.
Here’s the one I recommend:
Fosmon 24 Hour Programmable Digital Timer Outlet (2 Pack), ON/Off Program, LCD Display, Mini Indoor Single Plug-in Outlet Timer, 125V 15A for Seasonal Light, Lamp, Heater, Portable Fan, Aquarium https://a.co/d/g38Wg9O
2 for $18
THANKS FOR THE LINK! I just ordered a pair of the timers, because I’ve wanted to do this for a long time. Since getting Fibre, our service has been [almost] flawless, but this is something that seems to only fail when it knows that you are AWAY. This will at least give me a remote-reboot “fail-safe” option.
In case you didn’t realize, this timers don’t have remote on/off control. They are programable to go on/off at certain times. I have similar one, it is a bit more money but it has a grounding prong in case you need it. The link is to Canadian Amazon in Canadian currency.
https://www.amazon.ca/Digital-Programmable-CANAGROW-Electric-Grounded/dp/B07MC2MJG4/ref=sr_1_11?crid=SQKRO1JTD764&keywords=timer%2Bswitch%2Bprogrammable&qid=1672071175&sprefix=timer%2Bs%2Caps%2C81&sr=8-11&th=1
Yes, when I said “remote” what I meant is that I don’t have to travel back home to power cycle my router. All I have to do is to wait for it to reboot at the time I have programmed it for. 
