Secondly, if you don’t have a password on your router, you can reset it by pressing the “Reset” button that is located on the back of the router. It’s usually a very small hole and you’ll have to use a pin or paper clip to push the button inside for about 30 seconds. This will now reset your router to the default settings!
Check Your Paperwork
I usually keep the router paperwork because it always has the default login info for the router in the pamphlet. Actually, now I just take a picture of the page that has the login info using my smartphone and save the image to a folder where I store useful bits of information I need later on. However, most people don’t really keep the box or the paperwork around, which is understandable.
Check the Router
It’s important to change your wireless router’s default password because if someone else can get your login information, they can easily access your computer and even your data.
If you have a cable modem/router from your ISP, then it’s almost guaranteed to have the login password printed on the router itself. ISPs usually add the wireless network SSID and password on the router also so that they don’t have to deal with customers calling them and asking them why they can’t connect. I’ve seen several Verizon modems/routers and they include the login password for logging into the router also. If you are having trouble connecting to your home wireless network, it is likely that you are not using the correct login credentials. Many cable providers print these credentials on their routers so that customers do not need to call customer service in order to figure out how to connect. I have seen several Verizon routers with this information included as well. ..
Router Password Sites
If you don’t have the documentation on you or your router doesn’t have the information printed on the device, you can check out a couple of websites that basically are databases of router passwords. ..
RouterPasswords.com is a website that has an exhaustive list of all the major routers, as well as a lot more brands. It had the right username and password for my Netgear router, so it should work for you. However, I’ve seen problems with this site in recent months; it hasn’t been updated since 2012, and some models may not be included. Nevertheless, it should still work for most people. ..
PortForward.com is a website that has a lot of router brands and models. I found that PortFoward has more models for a lot of brands than RouterPasswords, so maybe they are keeping their database more up-to-date. Make sure you scroll down to see the list of brands and list of models. ..
That should hopefully get you back into your router so that you can configure it the way you want. If you can’t figure out the IP address for your router, read my previous post on how to find a router IP address. Once you have the IP address, simply type that into your browser window and it should bring you to the login screen for your router. Enjoy!
