Four Router Makers Set an Update Term; Asus, Linksys Don’t

Four of the six US home-router makers we checked state how long updates last, from about three years to a five-year minimum, counted from different starting points. eero and Google guarantee at least five years of security updates; Netgear and TP-Link say updates generally stop three years after a model leaves sale; Asus and Linksys publish end-of-life lists but no fixed term. To find out whether your router is still patched, read its model and hardware version off the label and look it up on its maker’s list.

What each maker states

Maker	Stated policy	Counted from	Where the list lives
eero	At least 5 years	Your purchase, new, from eero.com or Amazon.com (or a dated minimum, if later)	eero Software Security Updates, a dated table
Google (Nest Wifi)	At least 5 years	US Google Store launch	Google Help 10231940, a dated table
Netgear	Generally 3 years	The last sale date	Netgear End of Service page, searchable by model
TP-Link	Usually 3 years	End of Sales	TP-Link US End of Life Products page (PDF lists)
Asus	No term stated	—	Asus Networking End-of-Life Product List, no dates
Linksys	No fixed term	—	Linksys Product End of Life page, dates per SKU

The starting point matters as much as the number. Five years from your own purchase (eero) can run longer than three years after the last unit is sold (Netgear), or shorter, depending on how long the model stayed on sale.

The two that promise a minimum

eero guarantees security updates “until at least five years from when you bought them new on eero.com or Amazon.com (or until the date stated below if later)”. Bought anywhere else, you get the table’s date. That table puts the eero 6, eero 6+, eero 7, eero Pro 7 and Max 7 at 31 October 2031, the eero Pro 6 at 14 July 2030 and the eero Pro and Beacon at 11 March 2030. eero says that after the date it will “strive” to keep patching, without a guarantee.

Google covers its routers under the same five-years-from-US-launch rule as its other home devices: the Google Nest Wifi Pro runs to at least 27 October 2027. Nest Wifi passed its minimum on 28 October 2024 and Google Wifi on 5 December 2021, and Google still marked both as receiving critical security updates on 13 October 2026. The rest of Google’s table is in our Nest update end dates.

The two that count from the end of sale

Netgear says products that reach End of Service (EOS) “no longer receive firmware updates, including important security updates”, and that “in general, EOS for NETGEAR products occurs three years after the last sale date.” The last sale date can differ by SKU and country, so the same model can end on different days. The US Nighthawk R7000 (R7000-100NAS) “reached EOS on 15-JUL-2026”.

TP-Link splits End of Sales (EOS) from End of Maintenance (EOM), the date it stops support and maintenance. EOM is “usually 3 years after the EOS date”, and TP-Link says it may patch longer for “significant vulnerabilities”. Watch the acronym: in TP-Link’s policy EOS means End of Sales, not End of Service as at Netgear, so a TP-Link model reaching its EOS date usually has about three years of maintenance still to come.

TP-Link’s US End of Life Products page also says that in most cases end-of-life “won’t affect you at all”, but that sentence is about warranty replacements. Its policy page is the one that says support and maintenance, including security updates, eventually stop.

The two with no fixed term

Asus defines an end-of-life networking product as one that is no longer made and whose “firmware, utility, website, Marketing materials, QSG and manual will not be updated”. It gives no number of years. Its list names 216 wireless router models, including the RT-AC68U, RT-AC86U, RT-AX86U, RT-AX88U and ZenWiFi CT8, with no dates against them.

Linksys says it gives “critical firmware updates and security updates for a period of time after EOL”, without saying how long. Between End of Life and End of Support you get major security updates; after End of Support, none. Its page dates both per SKU, and the gap varies: the US EA7500-4B went from 15 November 2023 to 15 May 2025, while the MR7350 sold in Asia runs from 11 December 2023 to 9 December 2028. Linksys’s US Velop A0101 (A0101-US) reached End of Support on 6 May 2025.

How to check your own router

1. Find the model and hardware version on the label. Netgear and TP-Link both say that if no version is printed, it is version 1. A model can be supported in one hardware version and not another.
2. Look it up on the maker’s list in the table above. Netgear’s page has a model search and lets you register a product for EOS alerts; Linksys asks for the SKU or model number.
3. For eero or Google, read the date off the table. eero’s table date is the floor; if you bought new from eero.com or Amazon.com, five years from your purchase applies when that is later.

A router past its date gets no further security fixes under these policies, though it may keep running. eero says an unsupported eero “will still work and can still provide wifi”; TP-Link warns that after End of Maintenance a product “may only connect to a local network or cease to work entirely”.

Separately from any maker’s policy, the FCC has said routers authorised before 23 March 2026 may keep receiving firmware updates at least until 1 March 2027; what the FCC’s router ban means for the router you own covers that. Routers are not alone in having a stated term: TV platforms differ just as widely.

Questions people ask

How do I know if my router is end of life?

Read the model and hardware version off the router’s label, then look it up on the maker’s end-of-life list: Netgear’s End of Service page, TP-Link’s US End of Life Products page, Asus’s EOL product list or Linksys’s Product End of Life page. eero and Google publish dated tables instead.

How long do routers get security updates?

It depends on the maker. eero and Google promise at least five years, from purchase and from US launch respectively. Netgear and TP-Link say updates usually end about three years after a model stops being sold. Asus and Linksys state no fixed term.

Can I still use a router that no longer gets updates?

Usually it keeps working: eero says an unsupported eero “will still work and can still provide wifi”, but no further security fixes arrive under the makers’ policies. TP-Link warns some features may be limited after its End of Maintenance date.

Is my Netgear Nighthawk R7000 still supported?

Not in the US version. Netgear’s End of Service list says the R7000-100NAS “reached EOS on 15-JUL-2026”, and Netgear says products past EOS no longer receive firmware updates, including security updates.

When do eero routers stop getting updates?

At least five years after you bought it new from eero.com or Amazon.com, or the date in eero’s table if later. The eero 6, eero 6+ and the eero 7 range are listed to at least 31 October 2031.

Where do I find the hardware version of my router?

On the label on the router itself. Netgear and TP-Link both say that if no version is printed, the router is version 1. Asus says the hardware version is on the product label or the box label.