My Ubiquiti router stopped working several months ago after many years of working almost flawlessly. I replaced it with an older Linksys E4200 router that I found in a plastic container in in the garage. The Linksys router has been stable, but it’s showing its age. It was released back in January of 2011. I thought about replacing my router with another Ubiquiti, but I can’t complain since the Linksys E4200 is working just fine. The other night I upgraded and changed the firmware and installed OpenWrt, an open-source firmware based on a Linux operating system that runs on many older routers. OpenWrt gives my router extensibility by providing features that you typically find only on high-end devices. It also gives me higher security since there are many added features. Firmware updates are published regularly which you’ll never receive on older routers since many hardware manufacturers no longer support their old routers. Performance is much better. Stability is another plus. And most of all, the price is right. OpenWrt is free. If you want to give an old router some life, give OpenWrt a try. By the way, you can get an old E4200 router in eBay for $15.00.