ROUTERS & SMART DEVICES
Routers with outdated firmware
As the gateway between the internet and all the devices connected to your home network, it’s essential that your router has the latest software and security updates from its manufacturer. Hackers frequently target routers with known vulnerabilities in their firmware. In March, more than 6,000 outdated Asus routers were infected with malware by a botnet (www.snipca.com/49981).
Your router should automatically install updates as soon as the manufacturer makes them available, but this won’t happen if the device is no longer supported. Because most obsolete routers keep working regardless, you may not even realise your network is at risk.
If you have an Asus router, check the company’s ‘End-of-life product list’ at www.snipca.com/49983 to see if your device is no longer supported for firmware updates. You’ll usually find the model number on the label stuck to your router. For example, the Asus RT-AC52U (pictured right), which we reviewed back in 2015, is no longer updated and is now unsafe to use. Consider upgrading to our current Buy It recommendation, the Asus RT-AX7800 (www.snipca.com/47586, see page 33).
Tp-link has a similar list at www. snipca.com/49984, and says once your router has reached the end-of-servicing status, it “will not help with anything, including fixing bugs and security problems”. Netgear provides a list of end-of-life products at www.snipca. com/49985. If you can’t find a list for your router’s manufacturer, visit its support site, search for the model number and check the date of the last firmware update – if it was more than a year ago, it’s likely the router is no longer supported.
It’s trickier to check whether the branded router supplied by your internet provider is now – or soon will be – obsolete. If you’ve had the device for several years, and are worried about its security, contact your ISP and ask for a replacement – most will send you one for free if you commit to a new contract.
Unsupported smart doorbells and cameras
If you’re paying £50 a year for a smartdoorbell subscription, as Amazon’s Ring customers now do – see our feature in Issue 679 (page 60) – you should expect your device to be totally secure, so that hackers can’t access your video feed. But like all smart gadgets, video doorbells and home-security cameras are only supported by their manufacturers for a limited time.
Ring guarantees at least four years of
software updates for its doorbells and cameras, and security updates for “as long as we can (subject to technical and other limitations)”. Check its list of devices at www.snipca.com/49987 to see how long yours is supported for. Software updates for the original Ring Video Doorbell (pictured left) end this year, but the 2nd-generation device (www.snipca. com/49993) is supported until 2028.
Google provides support for its Nest security cameras for at least five years after launch, as does Eufy for its video doorbells, while Amazon’s Blink range receives updates for four years after devices go o sale. Ezviz is the least flexible of the main smart-camera manufacturers, with only two years of guaranteed software updates, but potentially three if a “very serious vulnerability is discovered”. Check its list of end-of-life products at www.snipca. com/49992.
Owners of Hive View security cameras will permanently lose support on 1 August 2025, and their devices will stop working. This follows Hive’s decision to abandon non-energy smart products in 2022, and the end of the three-year support period it subsequently oered customers. Hive should have informed you about this deadline, but it’s worth remembering in case you’re tempted to buy a refurbished or second-hand Hive camera – see www.snipca.com/50003 for details.
Obsolete smart speakers
“Alexa, are you still working?” is a pertinent question, because it’s now eight years since Amazon launched its Echo smart speaker in the UK. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it no longer provides software and security updates for the original device (pictured above right), nor the second and third-generations from 2017 and 2019, or the earliest versions of its Echo Dot speakers and Echo Show smart screens.
Old Echo devices may still respond perfectly well to your voice or touch, but they’re more likely to suer performance problems, won’t receive any new features and may not be compatible with certain apps. There’s also a security risk if hackers are able to exploit vulnerabilities in the unpatched firmware to eavesdrop on you, control your other appliances using voice commands and even make purchases from your Amazon account. Cybersecurity company Trend Micro warned about such a flaw in 2022: www.snipca.com/49994.
As with its other smart devices, Amazon supports Echo speakers for at least four years after they go on sale. All the devices on its list at www.snipca. com/49995 will be supported until 2028, including the spherical 4th-generation Echo from 2020 (www.snipca.com/49996).
Google launched its Home smart speaker (pictured above right) in 2016, discontinued it in 2020 and rebranded all its Home products as Nest. However, it’s still providing occasional firmware updates, containing bug fixes, for the original device and all the Google Home and Nest speakers and smart screens that followed (www.snipca.com/49997).
Last December, Google fixed a widely reported problem that caused old Home and Home Mini devices to ‘brick’ (become unresponsive), though not before a flippant tech-support person declared “not everything we have lasts forever” (www.snipca.com/49999).
Curiously, Google hasn’t updated its Nest/home range for three years – the most recent addition was the 2nd-generation Nest Hub in 2021 (www.snipca.com/50001) – so either it’s lost interest in smart speakers or it’s planning something new (probably involving AI).