But there are many good reasons you should upgrade your router before then.
Let’s look at them and how often you should be upgrading.
For example, the jump from basic cell phones to smartphones had a clear benefit.
The same with the jump from standard-definitionTVsto high-definition models.
Those changes were easy to understand and see with your own eyes.
It’s the under-the-hood stuff that is easy to overlook, like the upgraded Wi-Fi radio in the phone.
But there are plenty of (often ignored)signs you should upgrade your Wi-Fi router.
Here are some compelling reasons your old router is long overdue for an update.
New Wi-Fi Routers Get Years of Security Updates and Support
Old routers don’t get security updates.
What good aresmart Wi-Fi security camerasorsmart locksif they are constantly dropping off the data pipe?
And people want to use their devices all over their home and even their yard.
If I’m in my home or yard, I want to be connected to my Wi-Fi.
Upgrading every year would be overkill and a hassle.
We recommend that you upgrade your Wi-Fi router every 3-5 years.
On the short end, three years is long enough for incremental improvements to existing Wi-Fi standards and hardware.
On the longer end, five years is roughly the length of each Wi-Fi generation.
Both the hardware and capabilities of the router will be lacking compared to newer equipment.
You purchase the venerable Linksys WRT54G router along with millions of other people around the world.
Five years later, it’s 2010.
So you upgrade to a Wi-Fi 4 router.
Five years later, it’s 2015.
Those are all pretty great updates, and you upgrade your Wi-Fi router.
Five years later, it’s 2020.
It also includes the first major update to Wi-Fi encryption in 16 years: WPA3.
