system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What exactly happens when a WiFi router stops working and needs to be restarted to give you internet connection again?
gpt
Routers are essentially tiny, low-power computers. They have their own operating system in there and everything.

When the OS is first started, it's in a 'clean' state where everything is configured and working properly. All the services are in place, all the connections are set up, everything is green.

As the OS works, over time it might encounter problems. There might be errors. Some of those can be easily recovered from, some not. Some of them don't cause any problems, some of them interfere with the router's function, slowing it down or outright preventing it from doing its thing. Restarting the router returns the OS to that initial clean state where everything is working again.