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Image by Юрий Коврижных from Pixabay
The top 5 reasons to upgrade your router.
Your router has embedded software called firmware. This controls the security and functionality of the router. Manufactures will provide updates that you can apply to improve performance, add new features, fix security issues. After some time (typically 2-3 years), the manufacture will stop providing updates. This could put you at risk if new vulnerabilities are found and the manufacturer does not provide a fix. This is why you will find most will recommend upgrading your router every 3-5 years.
Your home network using to be simple. You would have minimal devices connected, like two or three laptops and a couple of phones. But nowadays, we have lots more. Laptops and cell phones, TVs, media streamers, thermostats, refrigerators, garage door openers, etc… All or even some of these devices trying to access the internet can bring your older router to a crawl. A newer router with features like MU-MIMO and 2-3 Bands will handle the higher loads.
So you get that latest and greatest cell phone. You connect it to your Wi-Fi and find that it is slow. It doesn’t make sense to you because your new cell phone is supposed to have the newest Wi-Fi capabilities. The issue is that your router is still using the older version of Wi-Fi, so you can’t take advantage of the speed of your new phone. When you get a new device, like a phone or laptop, check to see if your router supports the same Wi-Fi speed. Wi-Fi Specs
If your router doesn’t have features you need or want, it may be time to upgrade.
Your router could be limiting your internet speed. The speed at which your router can transfer data from your internet connection (WAN) to your internal network (LAN), us called Throughput. If your router can’t keep up with the speed from your ISP, you could be paying extra for nothing. Make sure your router’s throughput matches or is better than the speed you are paying for. Also, check that your cable/DSL modem can support it as well.
If you have any of the 5 signs above, you should start looking for a new router. I recommend getting a router that has the below features: