Tech
2.4GHz routers are officially too old for 2025
Summary
- 2.4GHz-only routers are outdated —they bottleneck speed and increase latency and network congestion.
- Dual-band and tri-band routers boost speeds, cut congestion, and add numerous useful features that contribute to your connectivity.
- Dual- or tri-band Wi-Fi 6 and 6E routers are the sweet spot, but there are use cases for Wi-Fi 7 and older dual-band routers as well.
When was the last time you upgraded your Wi-Fi router? If you can’t remember because you’ve had your router for many years, there’s a good chance that it’s time for an upgrade.
The Limitations of Sticking With 2.4GHz
2.4GHz Wi-Fi isn’t entirely obsolete. In fact, it has several distinct advantages, which is why modern routers still support it—the signal travels farther and stays more stable than 5GHz and 6GHz, penetrates walls and other obstacles more effectively, and is supported by a wide range of devices, both old and new.
However, 2.4GHz comes at the cost of much slower speeds, higher latency, and far more interference, largely because so many household devices use the same frequency (even Bluetooth and microwaves operate in the 2.4GHz range). It also has far fewer non-overlapping channels, which only adds to the congestion problem.
If you’re paying for a fast internet connection but using a 2.4GHz-only Wi-Fi router, you’re seriously bottlenecking your speeds.
Even if you’re using an old 2.4GHz router as an extender to boost the signal of your main “good” router, you’re still dragging down your network performance wherever the faster bands can’t reach. In many cases, a bad extender ends up causing slower speeds and more frequent dropouts because your device (like a phone) will prefer the stronger signal from the closer 2.4GHz router, even if the main router’s faster signal is still perfectly usable.
This is Why You Should Replace Your ISP’s Router ASAP
There are a lot of reasons you should buy your own router instead of using the one your internet provider gives you.
A 2.4GHz-only router usually means it’s outdated
Router technology isn’t as simple as it might seem on the surface. Besides the differences between 2.4GHz and 5GHz, there are several other factors that affect the bandwidth, latency, and stability of your Wi-Fi signal.
One key difference is the Wi-Fi “version”—I’m talking about Wi-Fi 6, 6E, and 7. For example, Wi-Fi 6 increases the maximum channel width on 5GHz from 20–80 MHz to 20–160 MHz, allowing for a theoretical maximum bandwidth of 9.6Gbps across multiple streams. It’s a big step up from the 3.5Gbps that Wi-Fi 5 routers support.
Wi-Fi 6E adds the 6GHz band, which helps reduce congestion and boost speeds. Wi-Fi 7 takes it even further with 320 MHz channels and a theoretical limit of 23Gbps on consumer devices.
I won’t bore you with the technical details, but the main point is that newer routers don’t just improve the 5GHz and 6GHz bands—everything gets faster, more efficient, and more secure, including the 2.4GHz band.
There are also features that old 2.4GHz-only routers probably don’t have. For example, newer routers support OFDMA and MU-MIMO. With OFDMA, Wi-Fi channels are split into sub-channels to reduce latency when many devices are connected, while MU-MIMO lets the router use multiple antennas to talk to several devices at once, improving speed and keeping connections smooth on busy networks.
Other improvements include smart Quality of Service (QoS) features, which can prioritize traffic for gaming, streaming, and video calls, more powerful hardware that boosts range and stability, app-based network management, improved security with WPA3, automatic firmware and security updates, and so much more.
So, if your router only supports 2.4GHz, then that’s a pretty good indicator that it’s ancient, and you’re in need of an upgrade.
What should you get as an upgrade?
The current Wi-Fi 7 standard is, of course, the best, so if you’re in the market for a new router, that’s the technology to look for. Powerful Wi-Fi 7 routers are becoming affordable. The cheapest (but still solid) option I could find is the TP-Link BE3600 Wi-Fi 7 Archer BE230 router.
It doesn’t support 6GHz Wi-Fi, but it includes just about all the other features you’d expect from a Wi-Fi 7 router: next-gen bandwidth and latency improvements, 2.5Gbps LAN ports, 4K-QAM, OFDMA, MU-MIMO, four antennas for a strong signal, and a fast 2.0GHz quad-core CPU to handle heavy networking demands.
- Brand
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TP-Link
- Wi-Fi Bands
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2.4GHz, 5GHz
The TP-Link BE3600 gives you next-gen Wi-Fi 7 performance at a budget price, delivering fast, reliable coverage with multi-gig ports and a powerful quad-core CPU. With strong antennas, EasyMesh support, and modern features like MLO and HomeShield, it’s an easy future-proof upgrade for any home.
If you’d prefer an even better router that also supports the 6GHz band for even faster speeds and to future-proof your network, get the GL.iNet GL-BE9300 (Flint 3) Tri-Band Wi-Fi 7 instead. And if you’d like to get 6GHz at a more affordable price point, the TP-Link AXE5400 Tri-Band WiFi 6E Archer AXE75 is worth looking into. Although it has slightly lower maximum bandwidth because it’s Wi-Fi 6E rather than Wi-Fi 7, the addition of the 6GHz band is well worth the maximum speed trade-off.
On the topic of bandwidth, if all you use your router for is connecting to the internet, you probably don’t even need Wi-Fi 7. Internet speeds are nowhere near Wi-Fi 7’s maximum, so Wi-Fi 6 and 6E routers often make more sense financially, especially now that they’re fairly affordable.
Admittedly, the 6GHz band isn’t something most people can take full advantage of, since it requires a modern laptop or phone and being relatively close to the router. A dual-band or tri-band Wi-Fi 6 router (tri-band sometimes means two different 5GHz bands) is usually the sweet spot if price is a concern.
With that in mind, a couple of affordable Wi-Fi 6 routers that can fully take advantage of the internet connection you’re paying for are the TP-Link AX1800 WiFi 6 Archer AX21 and the ASUS RT-AX1800S.
If those are still out of your budget, you should at least get a dual-band router that supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. Adding 5GHz alone, even with a Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) router, will be a substantial upgrade for your wireless devices.
It will reduce congestion on the 2.4GHz band, giving all of your Wi-Fi devices a faster and more stable connection. The TP-Link AC1200 Archer A54 is a basic yet solid option, offering up to 1200 Mbps of total bandwidth across its two bands.
Routers that only support 2.4GHz are obsolete, and if you’re still running your network on one in 2025, it’s time to upgrade. Not only do they slow down your wireless devices, but they also pose a security risk due to their old firmware and lack of WPA3 support, making a newer router a much safer and faster choice.
What Is WPA3, and How Do I Get It On My Wi-Fi Router?
Are you using the latest Wi-Fi security standard?
