First checks
- Move the router into open air and clear dust without blocking vents.
- Remove it from direct sunlight, radiators and enclosed cabinets.
- Use the correct manufacturer power adapter and disconnect nonessential USB devices.
How to interpret the result
If restarts or Wi‑Fi failures improve after cooling, placement or hardware heat is likely involved. A hot power adapter, burning smell, discoloured case or damaged cable is a safety issue; disconnect the equipment and seek manufacturer or qualified help.
What this symptom usually does not prove
Do not place the router on soft fabric or stack it directly on another heat-producing device.
Escalate with useful evidence
Record which devices are affected, whether Ethernet and Wi‑Fi behave differently, the router or gateway status, and the exact time of the fault. This evidence helps distinguish a local client issue, radio problem, routing policy, upstream service fault or failing hardware.
Before a factory reset
Restart the relevant device first and save any ISP, Wi‑Fi, reservation, port-forwarding or mesh information needed to rebuild the network. A factory reset is a configuration-recovery action, not a universal diagnostic test.