Whether you’re trying to reduce e-waste or want to get every dollar of value out of your old router, there are a lot of good reasons to keep old tech in service. That being said, with the fast pace of technology and security concerns with older security protocols, finding a good use for your old router can be a challenge. If you're upgrading to one of the best new Wi-Fi routers, there are some good options to help you get the most out of your old router, especially if it had good software support.

4 Expand your Wi-Fi network

You could always use more coverage

While this will vary by brand, some older routers are mesh-capable and still compatible with newer systems. Asus, for example, has a lot of older routers that are compatible with AiMesh, so if you’re upgrading to a newer Asus router, you can use your old router to improve coverage in your home. Your old router won’t get any faster in a mesh, but if you’ve got a section of the house that doesn’t need a ton of speed, your old router could be more than fast enough.

Some other mesh-focused routers from brands like Eero, TP-Link Deco, and Linksys also work with a wide range of other routers from the same brand. All Eeros and all Decos, for example, work with each other.

You could also use your old router as an access point if you’ve run Ethernet from your new router across the house. This also works with powerline and MoCa adapters. You won’t get roaming like a mesh, but if you’ve got a few specific devices that need a better Wi-Fi signal in another part of your home, such as a garage, it could be a solid option.

If you’ve got a mesh system that combines 2.4GHz and 5GHz signals into one SSID, some older smart home tech may have trouble getting and staying connected to the network. You could use the old router to create a separate 2.4GHz-only network specifically for your smart home tech. Most smart home tech doesn’t need much speed, so using an older router for these devices likely wouldn’t slow anything down.

3 Make a VPN router

Connect to a VPN as simply as connecting to a Wi-Fi network

If your router supports VPN Client mode, you could make it into a dedicated VPN router. While VPN apps make it easy to switch on a VPN at any time, not all devices support these apps, like smart TVs. With a VPN router, you could, for example, connect to a VPN in another country to get access to more streaming content.

One thing to keep in mind is that you’ll often give up a little speed with a VPN, so you don’t want to use it all the time. Another thing is that older routers may not support newer VPN protocols like OpenVPN or Wireguard leading to even lower speeds. Still, connecting to a VPN is as simple as connecting to another Wi-Fi network

2 Check for custom firmware support

New software for old hardware

While custom firmware doesn’t have nearly the support it once did, a lot of older routers can still be flashed to use something like OpenWRT or DD-WRT. These firmware options offer a lot more control than the default software does, but can be quite daunting for a new user. Luckily, there are a lot of resources to help you get started if you want to experiment with the software. You can even add features like mesh support to older routers.

When it comes to custom firmware like this, your mileage will vary depending on the brand and chipset of your router. Some features won’t work properly on certain chipsets, so there will be a lot more trial and error than the default software. Still, if you were interested in delving into the world of custom routers but don’t want to spend a lot of money on new hardware, or don’t want to risk bricking a newer router, trying it out of your old hardware could be a great way to get your foot in the door.

1 Use it as a switch

Extra Ethernet ports for your wired network

Most Wi-Fi routers have a wired switch built in. That’s the Ethernet ports on the back of the router. Most router software allows you to disable the wireless radios and use a router in bridge mode, making it act more like a simple network switch, such as if you need a few wired connections in a home office. Sure, you’ll need to share the bandwidth of a single Ethernet cable, but with many routers from the last few years supporting gigabit speeds at least, it’s plenty fast for most people.

If you want to use your router like this, check its settings for bridge mode instead of router mode. This allows the router to simply pass your devices along to the main router instead of handling the traffic on its own. Many routers will work when connected directly to another router in router mode, but you may run into some issues with your connections, especially with local networking or online gaming.

You could also hang on to it in case you want to have an old-school LAN party. If you get hold of a few old Xboxes and some Halo 2 discs, you can use the old router to play over system link without needing to connect to the internet. If you like classic games, keeping a router or switch that you know works with your old consoles around can reduce the headaches that come with trying to get old equipment networked.

It might be time to recycle it

While we love to make the most of our tech and get as many years of service as possible out of it, with aging software and security protocols, you may not want to keep using that old tech. For example, for cybersecurity peace of mind, you should be using WPA-2 or newer on your network, which a lot of older routers simply don’t support. You can check for a firmware update to see if the feature got added to your older router, but there’s a good chance it hasn’t been.