Off-brand routers have been losing support in a matter of just a few years

There has been a growing trend of smaller off-brand companies trying to get into the home networking scene with routers that these same companies quickly drop support for soon after. Sometimes a few years, sometimes just a year later. This leads to device waste and a lot of angry customers as they find they are unable to access or control their network suddenly.

In fact, the issue has grown to be such an issue, that we recommend that buyers remain weary about the brands they choose when it comes to the devices they have to be able to rely upon. Especially, when it comes to devices related to security.

It can pay off when it comes to sticking to brands that you trust. Brands that have been in the game for a long time. Like Netgear or ASUS. Not just because they are known for developing some of the top models in the wild, but because they also tend to support their products for years to come through their websites and/or apps.

However, these smaller brands that have been trying to break through can sometimes be hit or miss. They may, at times, offer a product that competes well when it comes to cost. But some are finding out that this can sometimes come at a cost.

This is the case when it comes to brands Taotronics. The company launched a mesh router into the world that is both powerful and feature-filled. At the same time, the company killed support for it around 2 years in the market.

That was the TaoTronics Tri-Band AC3000 Whole Home Mesh Wi-Fi Router System. A routing solution that still works for most when it comes to connected devices accessing the internet, while you can’t really access any of its settings. Effectively causing it to already need to be replaced by something you can actually manage. Leading to a lot of unhappy customers online looking to gain access to their router’s settings. Finding out that the only way to do that is to download an outdated version of the app from a third-party marketplace since official downloads for the app have been removed for iOS and Android stores.

Now you visit Taotronic’s website to find that there is no mention of routers in its list of products. So the company seems to have exited the game as quickly as it came in. Unfortunately for consumers who invested money in its trial games.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying Taotronics is a bad company. But it does meet the description for the type of company that has been doing that for the last so many years. This is fine when it comes to certain products that can easily live on without their apps, but not so much when it comes to those that do. No one wants to be locked out of managing a network they just recently built not that long ago.

This also wasn’t the only product or company to face such a fate. But it was the most recent, leading to this “buyer beware” public bulletin. So while some of these brands can be tempting when it comes to price. It is likely best to stick to the companies that have been doing it for a long time. We still have Netgear (and other brand) routers kicking around from 10+ years ago. They aren’t supported for firmware updates, but they still fully work when you plug them in. Integrated interface and all. Customers shouldn’t be left out to dry.