Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/05/08/3-router-rebooter.html
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I like that this is an external device from the router, but also wonder if this dead man’s switch could be implemented in the router itself.
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it’s his mouse he’s moving…
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Will it also phone my ISP’s support line to tell them that?
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Better disable any automatic updates on the router, and make sure you manually bypass this before you do any firmware updates, otherwise this will power cycle in the middle and possibly leave you with a nice brick.
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More accurately (and safely), it splices inline in your router’s power line, which is probably 12VDC.
Before using something like this, one should check to see if one’s router has a built-in reboot timer. Mine reboots daily at 4AM.
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Given how many routers run Linux, I wonder how hard it would be to add a simple bash script to do that without the extra hardware…
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dd-wrt already has a built-in setting, Connection Watchdog, that does this.
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From creator Mike Diamond’s website What I Made Today:
Try this link tho: Make your router reboot automatically when internet connection is lost
Glad to see he’s switching DC, and not the mains line.
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This entire project got me thinking; why is this not built into routers?
That is a great point.
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I like those things, and use them often for various reasons, but they emit faint mechanical buzzy sounds, ticking away as they do, which makes me nervous around alternating current… 
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Cosmic ray and EMP proof and we never have to update the firmware
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yeah, I came here to ponder the same thing…I could see this on the modem, as that can get hung periodically.
There’s something weird about a wifi device rebooting a router.
(Half the problems with internet connectivity in my house are related to an overcrowded 5Ghz band.)
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I’ve been thinking about those giant birds. I’m surprised the Store hasn’t been promoting them.
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In having broadband since Oct 2012, a reboot has only been needed a few times, no more than five. One was after the power was off.
I can’t tell whether I’m lucky, or others unlucky, or what.
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It seems like a very blunt instrument that is likely to mask the real problems. This will not be installed in my house.
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