Worth keeping old routers when changing broadband provider?

bitofsaving

I've been changing broadband provider every year for the past three to get a good deal. So far so good. But I now have a bit of a collection of routers, as each provider sent me their own, usually as part of the deal. I'm trying to decide if I should get rid of the old ones (ebay/freecycle), or if there's any value in keeping them, given the likelihood that I'll probably eventually circle back to the same providers again. Or will they be woefully out of date by then anyway? Any experiences with keeping old routers, and did they turn out to be useful? Thanks!

newatc

I used to initially keep my old routers but they all eventually ended up in the bin without further use.

xnikkix

I posted my last two back for reclycling. Sky and BT both had labels I was able to print from their sites. I didn't want to send them to landfill and couldn't face having them cluttering the cupboard either!

boatman

Can use an old router as a repeater to improve the wifi range.
Most of them aren't worth keeping, or can be locked anyway.

Quentin

bitofsaving wrote: »

I'm trying to decide if I should get rid of the old ones (ebay/freecycle)............

Go the ebay route - when you end up back with a previous supplier the chances are they will have a newer upgraded router available then

Nilrem

boatman wrote: »

Can use an old router as a repeater to improve the wifi range.
Most of them aren't worth keeping, or can be locked anyway.

This.

It's often worth hanging on to one or two as if you put them into access point mode you can use them for access points or as switches

I have a couple of old "cable" routers that have been put into AP mode and one works as an access point in the shed, the other in a dead spot in the house (where it also serves as a 3 port switch for the cable box, Fire TV and blu-ray player).

They can also be useful for trouble shooting if you suspect your modem is faulty (with ADSL ones).