--- title: Your old router gathering dust could be the network... description: A home lab enthusiast repurposed an old ASUS RT-AC66U router by flashing FreshTomato (2026.3) firmware to create a dedicated, isolated network for smart home... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-gathering-dust-could-be-the-network-upgrade-your-smart-home-needs-mxr4bi1vy twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Your old router gathering dust could be the network upgrade your smart home needs | daily.dev og:description: A home lab enthusiast repurposed an old ASUS RT-AC66U router by flashing FreshTomato (2026.3) firmware to create a dedicated, isolated network for smart home... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-gathering-dust-could-be-the-network-upgrade-your-smart-home-needs-mxr4bi1vy og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/mXR4BI1vy.png og:image:alt: Your old router gathering dust could be the network upgrade your smart home needs og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Your old router gathering dust could be the network upgrade your smart home needs **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 5 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary A home lab enthusiast repurposed an old ASUS RT-AC66U router by flashing FreshTomato (2026.3) firmware to create a dedicated, isolated network for smart home IoT devices. By connecting the old router's WAN port to the main ASUS RT-AX88U's LAN port and configuring VLAN tagging, all smart plugs, sensors, and lights are segmented from primary devices. The setup costs nothing if you already own old networking gear, avoids complex firewall rule management, and prevents compromised IoT devices from reaching the main network. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How can I isolate smart home IoT devices from my main home network without buying new hardware? Repurpose an old router by flashing it with custom firmware such as FreshTomato, then connect its WAN port to your main router's LAN port via an Ethernet cable and assign a dedicated VLAN. This creates a separate NAT'd network for smart plugs, sensors, and lights, so a compromised device cannot see or reach computers, phones, or media shares on the primary network. _Anyone segmenting IoT gear can browse similar home lab setups and firmware tips on daily.dev._ ### Which custom firmware should I use on an ASUS RT-AC66U router for VLAN support? FreshTomato is a good choice, since AsusWRT-Merlin had dropped support for the RT-AC66U while FreshTomato continued active development, reaching build 2026.3. FreshTomato is Linux-based firmware for Broadcom chip-based routers and exposes VLAN tagging options that a stock firmware build did not surface, making it possible to run a second, isolated network. _Developers picking router firmware for home lab networking can compare notes and guides on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I used an old router as a dedicated smart home network, and it solved two problems at once](https://daily.dev/posts/i-used-an-old-router-as-a-dedicated-smart-home-network-and-it-solved-two-problems-at-once-vogsqytyh) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Your old router is the secret to a stable smart home](https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-is-the-secret-to-a-stable-smart-home-wvnoejwnx) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I turned an old dual-band Wi-Fi router into a dedicated IoT access point, and my main network is finally clean](https://daily.dev/posts/i-turned-an-old-dual-band-wi-fi-router-into-a-dedicated-iot-access-point-and-my-main-network-is-fin-bs2zf9yeo) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I used a travel router for smart home devices, and my main network finally stopped choking](https://daily.dev/posts/i-used-a-travel-router-for-smart-home-devices-and-my-main-network-finally-stopped-choking-o32gykrjd) · XDA Developers · 1 upvotes · 1 comments --- Tags: [#tech-news](https://daily.dev/tags/tech-news) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-gathering-dust-could-be-the-network-upgrade-your-smart-home-needs-mxr4bi1vy) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Your old router gathering dust could be the network upgrade your smart home needs","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-gathering-dust-could-be-the-network-upgrade-your-smart-home-needs-mxr4bi1vy","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-gathering-dust-could-be-the-network-upgrade-your-smart-home-needs-mxr4bi1vy"},"datePublished":"2026-08-08T14:02:36.513Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T07:16:33.460Z","description":"A home lab enthusiast repurposed an old ASUS RT-AC66U router by flashing FreshTomato (2026.3) firmware to create a dedicated, isolated network for smart home...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/8e6610c9f291139a309d63372b3206ed?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/8e6610c9f291139a309d63372b3206ed?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-gathering-dust-could-be-the-network-upgrade-your-smart-home-needs-mxr4bi1vy","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"tech-news","timeRequired":"PT5M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Your old router gathering dust could be the network upgrade your smart home needs"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/your-old-router-gathering-dust-could-be-the-network-upgrade-your-smart-home-needs-mxr4bi1vy#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"How can I isolate smart home IoT devices from my main home network without buying new hardware?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Repurpose an old router by flashing it with custom firmware such as FreshTomato, then connect its WAN port to your main router's LAN port via an Ethernet cable and assign a dedicated VLAN. This creates a separate NAT'd network for smart plugs, sensors, and lights, so a compromised device cannot see or reach computers, phones, or media shares on the primary network. Anyone segmenting IoT gear can browse similar home lab setups and firmware tips on daily.dev."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which custom firmware should I use on an ASUS RT-AC66U router for VLAN support?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"FreshTomato is a good choice, since AsusWRT-Merlin had dropped support for the RT-AC66U while FreshTomato continued active development, reaching build 2026.3. FreshTomato is Linux-based firmware for Broadcom chip-based routers and exposes VLAN tagging options that a stock firmware build did not surface, making it possible to run a second, isolated network. Developers picking router firmware for home lab networking can compare notes and guides on daily.dev."}}]} ```