If you have a Netgear, Linksys, Cisco, D-Link, or any other type of router and are trying to figure out how to log into the router to configure settings, there are a few steps you can take. If you have never logged into the router and no one has ever set a password, then your router will have a default username and password. You can find this information in different places depending on the brand and settings of your router. Let’s start with the simplest solutions.
First, if your router already has a password and you need to reset your wireless router to its default settings, you can click the Reset button located on the back of the router. This is usually a very small hole and you will have to use a pin or paperclip to press the button inside for about 30 seconds. This will reset your router to its default settings!
Check your papers
I usually keep documents for my routers because they always contain the default login information for the router in the brochure. In fact, now I just take a snapshot of the page that has login details using my smartphone and save the image in a folder where I store useful information that I will need later. However, most people don’t actually keep the box or all the documentation, which is understandable.
Check your router
It sounds silly, but on many routers, the default login information is printed right on the router itself. It actually makes sense because if anyone else wants to figure out the default login information, they can do it very easily just by knowing the model number of your router. This is why it is so important to change the default password on your wireless router so that no one else can hack it.
If you have a cable modem / router from your ISP, it is almost guaranteed that the login password will be printed on the router itself. ISPs typically add the SSID and wireless password to the router so that they don’t have to deal with clients who call them and ask why they can’t connect. I have seen several Verizon modems / routers and they also include a password to login to the router.
Router password locations
If you don’t have the documentation with you or your router doesn’t have any information printed on the device, you can check several websites that are basically router password databases.
RouterPasswords.com contains a comprehensive list of all major routers as well as many other brands. It had the correct username and password for my Netgear router, so it should work for you. The only problem I’ve run into lately on this site is that it hasn’t been updated since 2012. It will still work for most people, but if you have a newer router, you might find your model is missing.
PortForward.com is another site with many brands and models of routers. I found that PortFoward actually has a lot more models for many brands than RouterPasswords, so maybe they keep their database up to date. Be sure to scroll down to see a list of brands and a list of models.
Hopefully you are back in your router and can set it up the way you want. If you are unable to determine the IP address of your router, read my previous post on how to find the IP address of your router. Once you have an IP address, simply enter it into your browser window and you will see the login screen for your router. Enjoy!
–