Sorry – I couldn’t resist the snazzy title photo. Real world version coming up… this old router was given to me by a friend many YEARS ago and it has sat in a cupboard gathering dust – he was done with it when he gave it to me for free!!!
This afternoon, pondering about how my (fairly well shielded being cave-based) office could do with a WiFi router behind my desk with a few Ethernet ports and a 2.4Ghz WiFi access point – I’m currently using a network switch attached to the incoming Ethernet cable – and a cheap Chinese access point… no info so if the latter gives up I would not have a clue why.
I don’t know how this device came to my attention, I was rummaging about when I spotted it in a corner, covered as it was in dust – I could not even remember how to factory reset it, at which point I got the brilliant idea of asking ChatGPT for help.
Within half an hour tops, we had it set up as a router (no need for other modes) with (very importantly) no DHCP – on my network. Minutes later I had a working 2.4Ghz WiFi access point. Why only 2.4Ghz? Because the vast majority of the IOT gadgets I come across only handle 2.4Ghz. We made the WAN input into another LAN which then gave me my 1Gbps LAN input, 4 available 1Gbps LAN ports and 5 100Mbps LAN ports – the latter again far more than IOT gadgets need. I have 2 PCs in here that benefit from 1Gbps LAN of course…
The biggest benefit: it replaces several bits of kit
I’ve effectively turned one old bit of hardware into:
- a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi access point
- a five-port Gigabit Ethernet switch (one input plus four available outputs)
- a five-port 100Mbps switch for IoT gadgets
- potentially a PoE power source
- and, if Iever need it, a very capable proper router
If you come across one of these – don’t throw it in the bin – a quick clean up with Servisol foam cleanser brought mine back to showroom shine and considering I know ZILCH sbout WINBOX – the PC (etc) program used to set up the router – but ChatGPT guided me quickly though the lot like an old master. Once the fear went away I was aghast at the things you CAN do with these Mikrotik routers – but I settled for the basics as that’s all I need. The router takes 10-28v for power and provides POE if wanted. In Winbox, the latest 2026 firmware was offered for the router in LTS, stable or beta as required… after all this time!
I hope someone finds this useful.
Here’s the ACTUAL router – not bad for an old piece of junk and working perfectly. As I understand it, MikroTik are well respected so I should be able to count on this – so just short article but someone might just benefit as I have.
And if I ever did want to get more adventurous, MikroTik gives us options for things such as:
- VLANs
- firewall rules
- separate IoT networks
- VPNs
- bandwidth management
- network monitoring
- traffic statistics
- scripting and automation
OH, I just spotted this – a USB port on the front.
So what is it for?
It is a USB host port, despite the small Micro-USB connector. With the appropriate Micro-USB OTG adapter, you can connect ordinary USB devices, such as:
- USB flash drives
- USB storage
- certain USB modems
- potentially other RouterOS-supported USB devices
NO plastic here, this is all metal so well shielded, too. In operation on my desk, it runs COLD – marvellous.
There is also something quite satisfying about rescuing decent hardware rather than automatically buying another cheap box. This RB2011 may be getting on a bit, but it has a metal case, loads of Ethernet ports, 2.4GHz Wi-Fi exactly suited to IoT use, proper configuration and diagnostic facilities — and it still receives RouterOS updates. For the job I wanted it to do, “old” doesn’t necessarily mean “obsolete”.