My old router finally gave up and took my whole network down with it

Last Tuesday I was in the middle of a big quote for a client when my internet just died. I figured it was a normal outage, but after power cycling the modem twice I realized my router was toast. Turns out I had been running the same Linksys for almost 9 years without ever updating the firmware or even thinking about a refresh. I ended up replacing it with a basic Netgear I grabbed from Best Buy that same afternoon, but now I'm wondering how long other people let their gear ride before it bites them.

3 comments

3 Comments

joel_clark371mo ago

Wait, does a dead router really take down a whole network, or just your internet access? I mean, if your local files and printer sharing still worked fine, then it's really just an internet problem, not a network collapse (semantics, I know). Nine years on a Linksys without a firmware update is honestly impressive, but also kind of a flex. I've had routers last 4-5 years before they started getting flaky, but I usually just reset them and keep going. A basic Netgear from Best Buy will probably do the job just fine for browsing and email, you know? The whole "my router died and ruined my life" thing feels a little dramatic when you can swap it out in an afternoon. But hey, I guess if you're running a business off consumer gear, that's a different story.

seth_singh201mo ago

local files and printer sharing still worked fine" - not for my buddy. His whole network went dark when his router fried. Couldn't even print or access anything on his own PC.

laura_schmidt821mo ago

Didn't my friend's whole home network go down when his router fried last year?