An office network needs upgrading when it no longer gives reliable coverage where people work, when its equipment has stopped receiving security updates, or when it depends on technology that is being withdrawn, such as analogue phone lines. Any one of those is a reason to plan; two or more usually means piecemeal fixes are costing you more than a proper refresh would.
The checklist below covers performance, security and the January 2027 move to digital landlines. You can work through most of it in an afternoon with whoever looks after your IT.
1. Wi-Fi is fine in one room and poor in the next
Dead spots in meeting rooms, calls that drop when someone walks to the kitchen and speeds that fall away mid-afternoon all point to a network designed for a smaller team or a different layout. Ofcom's own advice is to keep wireless equipment in the open, away from thick walls and other electrical devices, and to use a network cable where possible because a wired connection is usually faster and more reliable. In an office that means properly placed access points and cabled desks, not a single router in a cupboard.
2. Staff have started fixing it themselves
Plug-in extenders under desks, people working from their phone's hotspot and a home router added "just for the back office" are signs the network is not meeting demand. They also create equipment nobody manages, with settings nobody has checked.
3. The router or firewall still has its factory login
If nobody can say who holds the admin password for the router or firewall, or it is still the one printed on the label, treat it as urgent. The NCSC's Cyber Essentials requirements say default administrative passwords on firewalls and routers should be changed to a strong, unique password, or remote administration disabled entirely, and that unauthenticated inbound connections should be blocked by default.
4. Your network equipment no longer gets security updates
Routers, switches, firewalls and wireless access points all have a support life. The NCSC is clear that weaknesses in unsupported products remain unpatched and can be exploited by relatively low skilled attackers, and that the only fully effective fix is to stop using the obsolete product. Cyber Essentials also requires software to be licensed and supported, with critical and high risk updates applied within 14 days of release. Check each device's model against the manufacturer's end of support list.
5. Some laptops are still running Windows 10
Microsoft ended support for Windows 10 on 14 October 2025. A network upgrade is a sensible point to replace or upgrade those devices too, because an unsupported laptop on a new network is still an unsupported laptop. Microsoft's consumer Extended Security Updates programme excludes devices managed by an organisation, so businesses need to look at their own options rather than assume the free route applies.
6. Everything shares one flat network
When staff laptops, visitors, printers, CCTV recorders, smart TVs and the card terminal all sit on the same network, one compromised device can reach everything else. A modern office network separates them, typically with a guest network, a staff network and a separate segment for building and payment devices. If your current equipment cannot do that, it is a sign it has been outgrown.
7. Alarms, lifts or card machines still rely on a phone line
The UK's analogue telephone network is being switched off, with Openreach giving 31 January 2027 as the date traditional lines go digital. GOV.UK guidance lists fire and other alarms, payment terminals, lifts, intercoms and analogue phones among the business equipment that may be affected, and warns that providers do not know which devices are connected to their lines, so businesses need to check for themselves. Digital lines also need mains power, so anything that must work in a power cut needs a battery backup.
8. Nobody can list what is connected
If there is no up to date diagram, no list of devices and no record of who installed what, every fault takes longer to fix and every security question is harder to answer. That matters more as clients and insurers ask for evidence. The Cyber security breaches survey 2025 found that 43% of UK businesses reported a breach or attack in the previous 12 months, and phishing was the most common type.
What a planned upgrade should cover
- A survey of coverage and capacity at the busiest times, not just a speed test at the router
- Supported firewall, switches and access points with updates managed centrally
- Separate networks for staff, guests, and building or payment devices
- An audit of anything still using an analogue or ISDN line, with replacements agreed with suppliers before January 2027
- Battery backup where alarms, lift lines or phones must keep working during a power cut
- Documentation: a network diagram, device list, admin accounts and support contacts
How Apex helps
Apex Options plans and installs office networks, from surveys and cabling to firewalls, Wi-Fi and the switch to digital lines, and then looks after them as part of ongoing support. We work nationwide and remotely, with on-site delivery in London, Liverpool, Manchester, Greater Manchester and Cheshire. See our networks and connectivity service or, if you want the network monitored and updated for you, our managed IT support.
Sources
- Openreach, The big switch off
- GOV.UK, UK transition from analogue to digital landlines
- GOV.UK, Moving landlines to digital technologies
- NCSC, Device security guidance: obsolete products
- NCSC, Cyber Essentials: requirements for IT infrastructure
- NCSC, About Cyber Essentials
- Microsoft, Windows 10 end of support
- Ofcom, Get help with broadband and Wi-Fi problems
- GOV.UK, Cyber security breaches survey 2025