Modem very warm

[wogfor]

I have a modem/wireless router from Centurylink and I have always noticed it is very warm, esp. during heavy usage. At times we can have 2 computers, 2 televisions, and a tablet or two all drawing on it at the same time for internet. It would be very easy for me to rig a pc cooling fan on it to cool things down. I seem to have a large box of fans. Would there be any advantage to cooling this thing, other than possibly extending its lifespan? (I do own the thing, so replacing it would be out of my pocket)
I do get random disconnects and sometimes my connection seems to bog down. I have no way of attributing those things to the modem, or if it is normal of the service (or lack there of) of my ISP. Just wondered if heat can affect these devices?

 

[BFG-9000]

Many of them do have a handy USB port to power a case fan at 5v, just need to cut off the broken microUSB end of an old cable.

If you peek inside and see cheap caps then a fan will certainly extend its lifespan, but if there are only polymer and solid caps inside then it should make no difference.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

"Just wondered if heat can affect these devices?"

Heat can certainly affect the behaviour of a modem or modem/router.

Overheating of same usually results in connection issues, I've proved it by immediately replacing a hot, misbehaving modem with a spare, cold one identical make & model. Cold one worked okay.

When the overheated one had cooled down after an hour or two, it worked again flawlessly until it got too hot again. I was having to swap modems every 2-3 hours, very frustrating. I dumped them and bought an expensive Billion model which I attached to the wall - - never had any problems with it, still going strong after 5 years & it's never been switched off, reset or unplugged since I set it up!

Modem/routers supplied by your ISP are the most prone to this issue as they are built as cheaply as possible with often inferior parts and poor design.

 

[jsmithepa]

#1 cause of modems reset is heat.

These days this shouldn't happen, so if you can't get it replaced, do whatever you have to help it.

 

[Bambam47]

While I'm not familiar with networking, Heat is a big issue with all electronics, as with a PC rig too much heat could cause a shutdown or lower lifespan of components same as the modem, it would really help to try and at least cool it down a little