SonicWall Alternative: What to Do Now That Your Firewall Is End-of-Life
If your business runs a SonicWall TZ or NSA firewall, check the model number first. SonicWall set End of Support for the TZ400, TZ400W, TZ600, TZ600P, NSA 3600 and NSa 3650 for August 1, 2026, and the SOHO, TZ 300P and several larger NSa models lost support on April 16, 2026. “End of support” means no more technical support, firmware updates or hardware replacement. A firewall sits on the edge of your network, so running one the vendor no longer patches is a real risk.
Why this is more than a hardware refresh
The risk is not only age. Ransomware groups have exploited CVE-2024-40766, a SonicOS access-control flaw, and exploitation was still being reported in 2026. SonicWall also confirmed an attack on its MySonicWall portal that exposed customers’ firewall configuration files. If you have an old SonicWall, update the firmware you can, change every credential tied to the device, and review who has VPN access.
Your options
1. Stay with SonicWall and move to a newer generation. SonicWall offers a trade-up program for older units. It is the least disruptive route, but you are buying into the same vendor, and SonicWall’s own lifecycle notices show newer generations also carry end-of-sale dates.
2. Move to another vendor. The usual shortlist is FortiGate, Meraki, WatchGuard and Palo Alto. Compare three things: what is included in the license, how you manage it, and what it costs in year three and year five, not only year one.
3. Move to FortiGate. This is what I do, so weigh my view accordingly. For a small office or a few sites, a FortiGate 60F with three years of 24x7 FortiCare and Unified Threat Protection lists at $1,939. A step up for more users or heavier traffic, the FortiGate 70G with three years of FortiCare Premium and UTP lists at $2,320. Prices move, so get a current quote.
What migration involves
Moving firewalls is mostly planning, not plugging in a box. You need to:
Export and review your current rules, since many have not been touched in years
Clean out unused rules, objects and VPN accounts before moving them
Rebuild site-to-site VPNs and remote access, with MFA turned on
Schedule the cutover outside business hours with a rollback plan
Do not copy an old configuration across as-is. SonicWall has warned customers who imported older configs into newer devices.
Don’t swap vendors and skip the basics
No vendor is immune to vulnerabilities, Fortinet included. The best protection is whichever platform you will actually keep patched, with MFA on every remote login and management access closed to the internet.
Next step
Not sure which SonicWall model you have, or whether it is past support? Send me the model number and I’ll tell you where you stand and what a replacement would cost. Book a 20-minute call or request the free network security assessment.