Reusing an old router as a Wi-Fi access point

Router menus use several similar-sounding terms. Here they are as the makers describe them (ASUS for the first three rows).

This guide covers the first row. If you can't run a cable and are weighing up a repeater or mesh instead, see our guide to mesh Wi-Fi vs Wi-Fi extenders.

Don't confuse it with bridge mode

Bridge mode is the opposite job: NETGEAR suggests it on the provider's gateway when you want your own router to be the main one, and if the gateway has no bridge mode, turning off the gateway's Wi-Fi and putting the NETGEAR router into AP mode instead. Virgin Media calls its version modem mode. Our guide to using your own router covers that route.

Left on its normal settings, an old router will try to be a router: handing out its own addresses and translating traffic a second time. Apple's router guidance explains why that matters. A network should have only one DHCP server (dynamic host configuration protocol, the service that gives each device its address); with more than one, Apple says address conflicts may stop some devices reaching the internet. NAT on two devices creates a double NAT, which Apple says may cause devices to lose access to some resources on the network or the internet.

AP mode, or the manual set-up below, avoids both: the old router stops handing out addresses and the main router stays in charge.

1. Check you're allowed to keep it if it came from a provider (see the return rules below).
2. Look for an access point option in its settings, under a name like Operation Mode, Wireless AP or Access Point. TP-Link says some of its models have no Operation Mode setting; without one, a manual set-up may still work (below).
3. Make sure you can log in. If the admin password is long forgotten, a factory reset wipes the router's existing settings (TalkTalk describes this for its routers), so you start from scratch using the maker's instructions.
4. Plan the cable from a spare socket on your main router to where coverage is weak; our guide to wiring your home with Ethernet covers cables, switches and powerline adapters.

On your main router the cable goes into a LAN port, one of the sockets for your devices (LAN means local area network, your home network). On the old router, go by the maker's wording:

• ASUS, AP mode: "connect your AP router from its WAN or LAN port to the LAN port of router/modem". The WAN port is the one normally used for the incoming connection.
• TP-Link, manual method: LAN port to LAN port; TP-Link says any LAN ports may be used.
• NETGEAR: its AP mode article gives menu steps but not which port, so check your model's manual.

The makers' published steps, checked October 2026. Menus vary by model and firmware.

TP-Link says some routers without an Operation Mode option can still act as an access point with DHCP turned off; the router "technically still operates in Router mode but no longer uses the WAN port". Its manual method:

1. Keep the old router unplugged from the main router until the last step (TP-Link's guide for its DSL modem routers says so) and log in from a device connected to the old one.
2. Change its LAN IP address to one on your main router's network but outside the range the main router's DHCP hands out (shown in the main router's settings). TP-Link's example: if the main router gives out 192.168.2.100 to 192.168.2.199, use 192.168.2.11. After the reboot you log in at the new address.
3. Set the Wi-Fi name and password (TP-Link: Wireless, Wireless Settings).
4. Turn off its DHCP server (TP-Link: Advanced, Network, DHCP Server) and reboot.
5. Connect the cable from a LAN port on the main router to a LAN port on the old one.

Apple publishes recommended settings for routers and access points "for the best security, performance and reliability" and says to apply them "consistently to each Wi-Fi router and access point". It says all routers on your network should use the same network name for every band they support, and that the name should be unique to your network rather than a default such as the maker's name.

For security Apple recommends WPA3 Personal, or WPA2/WPA3 Transitional for older devices, and lists settings to avoid, including WEP, anything with TKIP in its name, WPA Personal and WPA/WPA2 mixed modes. If an old router only offers settings from that avoid list, we'd say it isn't worth reusing.

Because the old router no longer connects to your provider, features tied to that job switch off:

So parental controls, site blocking and port forwarding belong on your main router. Our guide to broadband parental controls explains the options.

The guest network catch

TP-Link warns: "In Access Point mode, the Guest Network is no longer isolated from the main network." NETGEAR greys it out altogether. For a visitors' or smart-gadget network, use your main router; our guide to securing your home router and Wi-Fi covers guest networks.

Partly. Set up as an access point, the old router gives you extra wired sockets too: TP-Link says that afterwards "All other LAN ports on your TP-Link router will now grant devices access to the Internet."

We didn't find a maker's guide to running a router purely as a switch with Wi-Fi off, so we can't give steps for that. If wired sockets are all you need, an unmanaged switch needs no settings at all; our Ethernet home network guide explains it. Either way, everything plugged in shares the one cable back to the main router.

The router in the cupboard is often an old provider hub, so check it's yours first. Our guide to getting a newer router from your provider covers what happens to the old hub after an upgrade; here's what matters for reuse, from providers' pages and terms checked October 2026 (rules change, so read the current page first).

• Has to go back when you leave: BT, Sky, Virgin Media and EE hubs, and Three's 5G hub. BT says that as of 13 December 2019 it owns all the BT Broadband hubs it sent out (Hub 4, Smart Hub, Smart Hub 2 and Smart Hub 3), apart from ones bought outright, though its non-return charges don't apply to BT equipment supplied before that date or EE equipment supplied before April 2023.
• Can stay with you: an old Virgin Media Hub after an upgrade, unless you got a CollectPlus letter (otherwise Virgin says recycle it); Three's 4G hubs and eero devices; and TalkTalk kit when no prepaid returns bag arrives.
• Depends when you joined: Plusnet's returns page says its routers are on loan. If you signed up after 1 February 2024 you're charged for not returning one; if you signed up or re-contracted before then, you don't have to send it back.
• Not stated: Vodafone's returns page says you can return an old router free of charge when you leave or after an upgrade, but not whether you must or whether there's a charge if you don't, so ask Vodafone first.

TalkTalk: no returns bag doesn't always mean it's yours

TalkTalk's terms (clause 7, dated 5 October 2026) separate ownership from returns. Equipment TalkTalk sent with a new service on or before 4 October 2024 (a router, mesh device, set-top box or digital voice adapter), and anything you paid for, is yours. Other kit from then is TalkTalk's, including a router sent with a renewal or upgrade rather than a new service, and a free replacement sent outside the warranty period. Kit supplied after 5 October 2024 is TalkTalk's unless you paid for it. Check TalkTalk's own help pages for its return rules.

What this means in practice

• If a hub has to go back, don't build your network around it. Return it on time and use a router that's yours.
• Check the hub can do it. We haven't checked which provider hubs offer an access point or bridge mode or let you turn off DHCP, so look in your model's settings.
• The full fibre box on the wall is never spare kit. Openreach's ONT (optical network terminal, where the fibre comes in) belongs to Openreach, should stay where it is, and is only returned if Openreach specifically advises it. It isn't a router.

Leaving a provider? Our guide to cancelling broadband covers returns alongside notice and exit fees. For current packages see our BT broadband deals, Sky broadband deals and Virgin Media broadband deals pages.

The National Cyber Security Centre's (NCSC) advice for smart devices at home fits well here:

• Change any default password at set-up, including the admin password for the router's settings.
• Turn on automatic updates and install updates when prompted; Apple also recommends automatic firmware updates where possible.
• Switch off remote access if you don't need it; see our guide to router remote management.
• Avoid devices that are out of support. NCSC says out-of-support smart devices are easier to hack or may stop working altogether, and suggests checking the manufacturer's website to see how long a device will be supported. The UK law requiring smart devices to state their support end date came into effect on 29 April 2024 (GOV.UK), so a router sold before then wasn't required to state one: check the maker's site for its latest firmware and support status.

• Can't see the new network? Our guide to a Wi-Fi network not showing up works through the checks.
• Connected but no internet? Check DHCP is on in the main router and off in the old one, then see Wi-Fi connected but no internet.
• Measure the difference. Run our broadband speed test over Wi-Fi in the room the access point covers, before and after, and on a device cabled to the main router for comparison.

1. Back up anything you want to keep, such as settings to copy to another router; NCSC says to back up before erasing.
2. Factory reset it using the maker's instructions. NCSC says a factory reset is the best way to erase data before passing a device on, and for devices other than phones and tablets to check the maker's website. TalkTalk's routers, for example, reset with a pin held in the reset hole for 30 seconds.
3. Return it if it's the provider's, using its returns route.
4. Otherwise recycle it. GOV.UK says items with the crossed-out wheelie bin symbol mustn't go in household rubbish. Use a household waste recycling centre or retailer take-back: shops must take an old item back free, like for like, when you buy a new one, and retailers with more than 400 square metres of electrical sales space should also take small items (under 25cm on the longest side) free, without a purchase.

NCSC adds that specialist tools may still recover some data, so a reset is good practice, not a guarantee.

An access point fixes coverage, not the connection into the house. EE says the same about routers generally: using your own router won't change the broadband speed coming into your home, though Wi-Fi performance can vary by router.

• Slow even on a device cabled to the main router? An access point can't fix that; our guide to reporting a broadband fault explains the next steps.
• No AP mode, no way to turn off DHCP, or only outdated security? Wipe and recycle it.

If it's time for a faster package, compare broadband deals at your postcode, browse UK broadband providers or look at fibre broadband deals. That page's comparison shows live deals from our partner; we don't switch you ourselves, so ask the provider which router comes with a package and whether it has to be returned.