Setting Up a Failover/Backup Internet Connection

A failover internet connection automatically switches to a secondary ISP if the primary goes down, providing business continuity. Dual-WAN routers (e.g., Peplink, Cisco RV series, Ubiquiti EdgeRouter) support this natively. Configure the secondary connection (LTE/5G cellular or a second ISP) on WAN2. Set the failover policy: active/passive (WAN2 only activates when WAN1 fails) or load balancing (traffic distributed between both, with failover on failure). For active/passive, configure health checks — the router pings a reliable external IP (8.8.8.8) on the primary WAN; if pings fail for a set number of attempts, it fails over. Test failover regularly by simulating WAN1 failure (unplug the cable). VoIP and active sessions may briefly drop during failover — this is normal. For zero-downtime failover, SD-WAN solutions that aggregate multiple connections simultaneously are more appropriate. Ensure the secondary connection's bandwidth is sufficient to handle critical business traffic.