In this article, you'll discover a trick on how to use the Tapo smart plug to restart your Wi-Fi router regularly.

Why is Regularly Restarting the Router Important?

1. Enhance Performance: Restarting helps clear cached data and temporary files, allowing the router to function more efficiently.
2. Fix Connection Problems: A restart can reestablish connections for all network devices, resolving potential connection issues.
3. Update Settings and Fix Software Issues: Some settings changes may require a restart to take effect. Regular restarts can also resolve certain software issues, helping to ensure the overall stability of network devices.

If you've attempted to set this up on your own, you may realize there are some challenges. Since the smart plug's network source is the router, when the router loses power, the smart plug’s Wi-Fi and internet connection also disconnect. Once the plug goes offline, it can no longer be controlled via the Tapo app.

So how do we do this? The key here is to use the Schedule feature.

The scheduling function of the Tapo smart plug continues to operate even if its network or Wi-Fi connection is interrupted. Therefore, you can create two schedule rules: one to turn off the router (plug) and another to turn it back on.

Configuration

1. Turn Off the Router: Schedule the smart plug to turn off at a specific time.

2. Turn On the Router: Schedule the smart plug to turn on at a later time.

*The time to turn on the smart plug should be later than the time it was turned off. A gap of 1-2 minutes is recommended.

For example:

1. Turn off the smart plug at 23:30 AM, every Sunday.
2. Turn on the smart plug at 23:32 AM, every Sunday.

Repeat Cycle

The schedule can be set to repeat on one or more specified days within a week, with the maximum interval being one week.

Important Note

If the smart plug experiences a power outage, it will lose track of time. After a restart, it needs to connect to the internet to synchronize the device time. If the smart plug controls a local network device that doesn’t have internet access, or if there are connection issues after a restart, it may fail to synchronize successfully, as a result, the schedule will not continue to run after this power outage.