When you know your ISP's technical support number by heart, your internet probably isn't working well. And if the phrase "please unplug your modem or router and wait 10 seconds before plugging it back in" is a constant in your life, you might start wondering: "Is this just a whim of technical support or does it have a technical reason?" In this article, we reveal, simply and for everyone, why you have to wait 10 seconds when restarting the modem or router.
Our daily lives are full of voluntary actions we do based on information we inherit from our context, since sometimes we ignore the real reason that makes us act one way or another, no matter how aware we are of the act. One of the most amusing cases happens when we wait those 10 seconds before restarting the router or your computer's modem, because technical support or a more tech-savvy friend has told us at some point.
And since they tell us so convincingly, why not listen? After all, it's only 10 seconds of our lives, staring at the wall, in an uncomfortable situation, with leg cramps, to then plug the cable back in and have internet again. Hallelujah! So you (and I too) go and do it without thinking, simply because they tell you to. But does it have a purpose? Why 10 seconds and not 9, or 53.565?
Capacitors: The Technical Reason
Much of modern technology contains capacitors, which are like energy cubes, small batteries that fill up when you pass current through them and discharge when you stop. 10 seconds is the time it takes for most capacitors to discharge enough for the electronic device they are powering to stop working. This is like when you unplug your computer and you see the LED on your motherboard stay on for a few more seconds until it slowly goes out. We could wait a different time, but 10 seconds is the shortest time in which you can be sure that everything is discharged enough.
The Social Engineering Angle
The interesting thing is that if you understand a bit about capacitors or if you don't understand much, this user explanation is not bad at all. However, on the site we consulted, other users provided different explanations and experiences. Two of the extra answers we chose had to do with social engineering. The first indicated that capacitors don't need to discharge for that long and that the 10 seconds were said to make sure the customer had unplugged and plugged the cable. Another user indicated that since most technical service people don't know much, the resolution logic of "restart the computer or turn the equipment off and on" saves them time in solving the majority of easy problems. I stick with the capacitor discharge one, but maybe you have another explanation. We're all ears.
