WiFi Router Life Expectancy

Forums › LAN (ethernet/Wifi/routers/Bluetooth) › WiFi Router Life Expectancy

1 | 2

Behodar

10420 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3366462 22-Apr-2025 10:45

robjg63:

The comment about flash memory wearing out is interesting and probably accurate - I hadn't considered that - but no doubt it does wear out and become unreliable.

I don't understand why it would need to write to flash memory unless you're changing settings.

Asteros

229 posts

Master Geek

#3366466 22-Apr-2025 10:54

I have noticed significant improvements in Wifi reception and transfer speeds with newer clients as well all in ones and access points. This is even within the same Wifi technology generation, eg. wifi 5 to wifi 5 or more recently for me wifi 6 to wifi 6. Sometimes it isn't worth it to run technology for a long operating time.

nitro

646 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3366478 22-Apr-2025 11:48

richms:

That seems about right, there is flash memory in them that is constantly being written to which will then result in it corrupting and not booting when at the end of life. Also, there are capacitors that are being baked by the design of the device.

certainly plausible... it could very well be different for consumer routers - not using industrial-grade components, and also try to dazzle their users with fancy graphs and other things that potentially necessitate more memory use... however, i doubt a router does a lot of writing to flash during normal operation - real-time updates are not written to nvol in real-time.

and certainly a different level of kit, but even Mikrotik's hEX Lite is rated to 100,000 hours @ 25°C. that's 11 years... also a clear indicator that temperature is a factor.

i've never run a router to death, usually upgrading when they're still fully functional. includes a bunch of RSP ones (thomsons, huaweis), couple of Netgears (R7000, R8000), over 5 years with an RB3011... apart from the RSP ones, the others were bought used - and i don't really know how long they've been in use for.

fe31nz

1207 posts

Uber Geek

#3366609 22-Apr-2025 21:52

robjg63:

Rather than just break (which would be preferable), they start doing strange things - connections start becoming unreliable and sites failing to load properly etc.

That sort of unreliability rather than completely stopping working is very characteristic of the plug pack failing - if so, just replace it with a decent one. My two EdgeRouter Lite boxes both had the plug pack fail, but they have now been running on Jaycar replacements for longer than the original plug packs worked for. And the same thing happened with my original Belkin 802.11n access point. It is rare to get equipment that uses plug packs supplied with a decent plug pack.

Tinkerisk

4204 posts

Uber Geek

#3366624 23-Apr-2025 03:41

The advantage of an x86-based OSS solution (OPNsense, pfsense, openwrt, ...) is the decoupling from proprietary operating system solutions. As a rule, these last as long as the hardware requirements allow in the course of development. You are more independent.

- NET: FTTH, OPNsense, 10G backbone, GWN APs, ipPBX
- SRV: 12 RU HA server cluster, 0.1 PB storage on premise
- IoT: thread, zigbee, tasmota, BidCoS, LoRa, WX suite, IR
- 3D: two 3D printers, 3D scanner, CNC router, laser cutter

Tinkerisk

4204 posts

Uber Geek

#3366663 23-Apr-2025 09:14

fe31nz:

That sort of unreliability rather than completely stopping working is very characteristic of the plug pack failing - if so, just replace it with a decent one. My two EdgeRouter Lite boxes both had the plug pack fail, but they have now been running on Jaycar replacements for longer than the original plug packs worked for. And the same thing happened with my original Belkin 802.11n access point. It is rare to get equipment that uses plug packs supplied with a decent plug pack.

Or switch off the constant logging in the user interface, then the Edgerouter Lite will also run reliably for longer.

fe31nz

1207 posts

Uber Geek

#3366948 23-Apr-2025 23:07

Tinkerisk:

Or switch off the constant logging in the user interface, then the Edgerouter Lite will also run reliably for longer.

Sorry, someone has put you wrong there. Edgerouters log to /var/log, which is mounted on ramdisk:

root@erlt:/var/log# mount | grep log
tmpfs on /var/log type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,mode=755)

You can move the log files if you want to kill the flash drive, and there are other things you can do that will also do lots of writes to the flash and kill it (such as running tcpdump in a non-ramdisk directory). Replacing the small USB flash drive in an Edgerouter Lite is quite easy to do, but you do have to find a physically small USB stick that will fit and you want one with decent endurance.

Wise

Send money globally for less with Wise - one free transfer up to NZ$900 (affiliate link).

cddt

1500 posts

Uber Geek

#3366960 24-Apr-2025 07:13

I have just retired a HG659 which I obtained for free (it was surplus to requirements in a brother's flat) back in 2017. Performance as a router had not degraded, but I disabled the wifi a couple of years ago. The plastic has turned a horrible colour.

Prior to that I had an Alcatel Speedtouch Pro from 2002 running for about a decade until I moved overseas. I still have it, looks like new, and I bet if I turn it on it'll work perfectly (if you are happy with regular ADSL and don't need ADSL2 or VDSL).

As for long-running network hardware, I have a 10/100 8-port ethernet switch, also purchased in 2002, branded "CNET" which ran 24/7 at my parents' house for 20 years until it became surplus to requirements. I still have that too, but no real use for it, just keep it for nostalgia.

My referral links: BigPipe | Mercury

Tinkerisk

4204 posts

Uber Geek

#3369157 30-Apr-2025 13:00

fe31nz:

Tinkerisk:

Or switch off the constant logging in the user interface, then the Edgerouter Lite will also run reliably for longer.

Sorry, someone has put you wrong there.

Maybe. That's probably why other people's USB sticks die and mine doesn't. 😁

johno1234

2736 posts

Uber Geek

#3369158 30-Apr-2025 13:04

Behodar:

robjg63:

The comment about flash memory wearing out is interesting and probably accurate - I hadn't considered that - but no doubt it does wear out and become unreliable.

I don't understand why it would need to write to flash memory unless you're changing settings.

They write a lot of logging that nobody ever looks at.

Mine (Spark Smartmodem) does this every minute of the day and logs it:

sh /sbin/network_check

raytaylor

4006 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#3373653 15-May-2025 21:10

AxisOfBeagles:

What's your experience with lifespan of a decent router?

Typically 3 to 5 years.
1 year if its in an attic or hot space
2 years if its next to a sunny window

In saying that, I have two standout models
- Air gateway LR. We still have a bunch that are coming up to 13 years old still in service.
- About 260ish of the 320ish cambium cnpilot R200 routers installed in 2015 are still running and coming up to 10 years old
These are getting upgraded to R195W as opportunities arise.

Edit: If its a mikrotik, it will easily last 10+ years.

Ray Taylor

There is no place like localhost

Spreadsheet for Comparing Electricity Plans Here

nitro

646 posts

Ultimate Geek

#3373672 16-May-2025 09:07

Asteros:

I have noticed significant improvements in Wifi reception and transfer speeds with newer clients as well all in ones and access points. This is even within the same Wifi technology generation, eg. wifi 5 to wifi 5 or more recently for me wifi 6 to wifi 6. Sometimes it isn't worth it to run technology for a long operating time.

and you would if you upgraded from Wave 1 to Wave 2 on WiFi 5, and upgraded from a WiFi device to another, say with more radio chains. this is also more evident if the setup is not optimised, i.e. not getting the most of it for reasons even as simple as positioning.

i did experience this on moving from a Unifi AC Pro to a Ruckus R600. can't remember the speed bump, but remember getting signal in the laundry room and garage where i couldn't before.

one might also ask if it's worth upgrading to a later wifi technology for someone who doesn't have a local server or NAS, and on a 100 Mbps internet service. if it's fit for purpose and not acting up, there's no harm in staying with what you've got. those in the industry would be aware how long most telco equipment are kept in service.

1 | 2