How Often Should You Replace Your Router?

Your router is like any old piece of hardware. Over time, the internal parts degrade (because of heat), and the technology they harness becomes outdated, even if still usable. If you rent a router from an ISP, you might even be due for a free upgrade. That's why knowing how long you've had your gateway is important. You could be losing out on higher speeds and not realize that your old router isn't performing optimally.

If you've had your router for at least four years (sometimes three) and it's not responding to your attempts to speed it up, or you've had to perform a few hard resets to restore your network, that's a key sign it needs replacing. Plus, if you're someone looking to transform your regular living space into a new smart home system, it takes a lot of planning and future-proofing, and it can be especially hard on your network if your gateway isn't up to the task. So if you're trying to add several pieces of new tech to your stack, an old router probably won't serve you very well.

The general rule is to replace your router every four to five years, sometimes even every three, depending on how much load you put on it and whether you can see clear signs that the hardware is too old to keep going. Another sure indication, beyond frequent overheating and rebooting, is when your router appears on an end-of-service list published by your ISP. You won't receive any more software updates past the EOL date, so the router will no longer be supported going forward. It's similar to a smartphone: a manufacturer decides how many OS and security updates it gets. Once that is over, you won't be getting any more, or are at least very unlikely to. And like smartphones that no longer receive security updates, your router becomes an open, vulnerable target for cybercriminals. You also miss out on features like faster Wi-Fi standards, such as Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), and up-to-date encryption protocols like WPA3.

If, for some reason, you decide to buy a secondhand router at a low price, you definitely want to ensure that it can handle your devices, now and into the future. One indication that you might be using an old router is if your electronics struggle to stay connected to the internet when your microwave is running. That's only a problem if you're still using a single-band 2.4 GHz router. In that case, upgrading to a dual-band router can help.