Have a Backup Wireless Router

The most important piece of home electronics now is the wireless router.

I came to this realization when I was replacing the hard drive my Apple AirPort Time Capsule recently. I was pretty confident I could fix it, until my fingers were sore and I could not get the wires back onto the main board.

At that moment, I thought: if I can’t get this wireless router working again, I might not be able to:

• let the kids watch any TV (hmm, is this a bad thing?)
• turn on/off the Hue lights in the kitchen, bedrooms, or living room
• do work - which involves video calls with screen sharing
• look up how to fix the problem I am in

Not having a wireless router might be OK for half a day. I could tether from my phone for awhile.

If I did not have in home wireless Internet for more than a day, life would get pretty rough. Do you remember a time when Internet was accessible only on Ethernet? How about dial-up modem? The things we take for granted!

My recommendation to everyone: have at least two wireless routers in your home. If the main one fails, you can use the backup. The backup does not have to be the same as your main one, it can be an old wireless router.

If you don’t have a backup wireless router, know where and when you can get a wireless router so you will not wait days for a new one.

Definitely have a backup wireless router if you plan on opening up your current wireless router for any reason. 😉