Is Your Router End of Life? How to Check, and Why the FBI Says to Replace It

By Web Asset House Studio · October 29, 2026

Note: Some future links on this site may be affiliate links. We never claim hands-on testing; guides are researched from the public sources listed in each article.

How we wrote this: A summary of the FBI's May 2025 public service announcement on end-of-life routers and CISA's home network security guidance (linked below), checked October 29, 2026. We have not tested any router, and we don't recommend specific models.

The box that connects your home office to the internet is easy to forget about. It sits in a corner and keeps working for years. That's the problem: a router can keep working long after its maker has stopped fixing its security holes.

What "end of life" means

In a public service announcement, the FBI explains that when a device reaches end of life, the manufacturer no longer sells or actively supports it, which "also means they are no longer releasing software updates or security patches for the device." The FBI adds that routers dated 2010 or earlier likely no longer receive updates.

That date is a rough guide, not a cutoff. Plenty of newer models are also out of support.

Why it matters: routers turned into proxies

The FBI says criminals have been compromising end-of-life routers with variants of TheMoon malware, which was first found in 2014. Some recently infected routers had remote administration turned on. According to the FBI, TheMoon doesn't need a password: it scans for open ports and sends a command to a vulnerable script. Infected routers are then sold as "proxies," so criminals can route their activity through your internet connection and hide their own location.

For a home office, that means your internet connection could be used to hide someone else's crimes, on a device that also carries your own work traffic.

How to check your router

Find the model number. It's on a label on the router, usually with the default network name and password.
Look it up on the manufacturer's website. CISA's advice is to check the manufacturer's site to make sure you're running the latest firmware. Search the support pages for that model's firmware downloads and any "end of life," "end of support" or "discontinued" notice.
Check the date of the latest firmware. If there hasn't been an update in years, treat that as a warning sign.
If your internet provider supplied the router, ask the provider whether it is still supported and whether it updates automatically.
Sign in to the router's admin page (the address is often on the label or in the manual) and look for a firmware version and an update option.

Warning signs of an infected router

The FBI lists these common signs:

The router overheats.
Connection problems you can't explain.
Changed settings you don't recognize.

What the FBI and CISA recommend

From the FBI announcement:

Replace an end-of-life router with an updated model if possible.
Apply any available security patches or firmware updates right away.
Turn off remote management (remote administration) in the router settings, save, and reboot.
Use a strong, unique password of at least 16 and no more than 64 characters, and don't reuse it.
If you see suspicious activity, update the firmware, change the password and reboot.

CISA's home network security guidance adds: change the default admin password and network name, use WPA3 encryption, disable WPS, turn off UPnP unless you need it, keep the built-in firewall on, and check for unknown devices. Our home office Wi-Fi setup guide walks through those settings.

When you replace it

Look for a model that the manufacturer still supports and that offers automatic firmware updates. CISA notes some routers have that option.
Set it up with a new admin password and Wi-Fi password, not the defaults.
Before you recycle the old router, reset it to factory settings (the manual explains how) so it doesn't keep your network passwords.
If a power cut takes the router down, your office goes offline. A small battery backup can help; see sizing a UPS.

If you think you've been affected

The FBI asks people who suspect a compromise to file a complaint at ic3.gov, and to contact their account providers to change passwords and watch for suspicious sign-ins.