How to swap out your Wi-Fi router without disconnecting all your smart home devices

When it’s finally time to get a new Wi-Fi router, there’s no need to panic. Whether you’ve switched internet service providers or you’ve decided to get something snappier, snazzier, and more reliable than whatever piece of plastic your ISP handed you, upgrading your router doesn’t have to be a headache.

If you have a smart home like I do, you may be dreading the thought of having to manually update every light bulb, light switch, and security camera in your home to the new network. (As of today, I have 112 devices on my network.) While typing a new password into a laptop or iPad is pretty easy, when it comes to smart home devices, you have to open each app for every smart device and go through the sometimes painful process of updating its Wi-Fi access. This can be a real challenge for devices like smart floodlight cameras, which may be on the side of your house, 15 feet up. 

But there is an easier way! Here’s how to change out your Wi-Fi router without having to manually update each device. 

The TL;DR here is: keep the same network SSID and password. For those of you who aren’t sure how to do that, here are the steps to follow: