Removing outdated devices creates the opportunity for better speed and security.

Older devices with older Wi-Fi technology can slow down your Wi-Fi network because they use outdated, slower Wi-Fi standards that are not optimized for our modern internet speeds like GigaBit and congested network traffic. When these old devices are connected to your Wi-Fi, they can use up valuable bandwidth and cause congestion, leading to slower speeds and degraded performance for ALL devices on the network. That’s right, they can drag down the entire Wi-Fi to they’re slow performance. It’s like going back 10 years in terms of technology.

Let’s look at an example, an old iPhone 4 that uses the Wi-Fi 802.11b/g standard may only be capable of connecting to your Wi-Fi network at a maximum speed of 54 Mbps. That’s like dial-up. Remember those days?! However, a router with Wi-Fi 6 technology can provide speeds up to 9.6 Gbps. When the iPhone 4 is connected to the Wi-Fi network, it will only be able to use a fraction of the available bandwidth, which can cause other devices on the network to suffer from slower speeds and increased latency.

Those older Wi-Fi devices can also use outdated security protocols, which can make your Wi-Fi network more vulnerable to hacking and cyber-attacks. Not good. For example, older devices may only support the WEP or WPA security protocols, which are less secure than the modern WPA2 and WPA3 protocols found on our GigaSpire Systems and supported by your newer devices. This can put your entire Wi-Fi network at risk and compromise the security of your personal and confidential data.

It’s important to remove older devices from your Wi-Fi network if they are no longer in use or are rarely used. The good news is that Range offers an app that allows for this control and will alert you if you have a Legacy Device on your network.

You can always see what devices are on your network from the Things tab in Range’s Smart Home app. If you see an old device, you can remove it from the network with a single swipe.

Are you ready to upgrade your home Wi-Fi Network? Contact us today at 800-927-2643 or view the download and use instructions to the Smart Home app here.