The router is undoubtedly a very important part of our connection. It is the device that allows many other devices to be connected to the network. If it works badly, we may have problems navigating. For this reason, sometimes it may be necessary to buy another one and stop using the one we have old. When should you retire your old router? In this article we tell you some cases in which you can start thinking about changing it.
When to change the home router
The normal thing is that you decide to change the router when you notice that something is not going well or you have certain limitations. This especially happens in some cases like the ones we are going to describe. It may be advisable to change the device if you use an old model or see that it works worse than before.
You see the speed is very limited
A clear example is when you see that the speed is very limited . You hire high-speed fiber optics, do a test and see that what you get is much less. Perhaps it is not double band or the maximum speed that it allows is less than the one you have contracted and becomes a bottleneck.
It could also happen, in an extreme case, that old router does not have Gigabit Ethernet ports and you are limited to a maximum of 100 Mbps of wired speed. It is not normal today, but if it is a very old model it could happen. In that case, in order to be able to take advantage of the contracted rate, you would have to buy a new router.
The signal does not arrive well
Of course we must also mention the sign . If you see that the Wi-Fi does not reach well, that you cannot connect from different areas of the house, a possible solution is to purchase a new router that has greater coverage.
Keep in mind that sometimes even with the latest model you may have coverage problems. Everything will depend on where you connect, possible interferences and obstacles. Sometimes you will have to use PLC devices and other devices to have better coverage.
It is an outdated model and has security problems
One more case is when you have an old model that has become obsolete , but also has a known vulnerability. That could allow an attacker to exploit that flaw and break into the network or otherwise compromise security. That could result in you going offline, for example.
In this case it would also be a good idea to buy another more modern router, which also does not have any security problems. You will get everything to work correctly and you will not have problems.
Do you need more ports or that they are Gigabit Ethernet
There are router models that have only 1 or 2 ports, as well as others that may have more but only 1 is Gigabit. If you need to connect more wired devices and want them to have Gigabit Ethernet to take full advantage of fiber optics, you might consider retiring your router and buying a newer one.
Although today it is common to connect devices via Wi-Fi, the cable is still widely used. For example to connect a television, a computer or even a repeater that you are going to place in another area of the house.
Do you want to take advantage of current technology?
One more reason is to have bought a device that has more current protocols and technologies . For example, a computer or mobile that is compatible with Wi-Fi 6 and you want to make the most of it. You will need a router that is capable of using these protocols.
Therefore, buying a new appliance can be useful. You could improve the speed and stability with your new mobile or computer that you have bought. Also other protocols like WPA-3, for example.