Network and Default Router Password: How to Configure your System

Routers usually have a default username and password that protects their web interfaces (the sites for configuring their networking, port forwarding and parental control settings). Changing the default username and password of these devices is an important step in ensuring their security, but it is important that you remember the details of the new credentials you are employing.

If you are using a router whose username and password you don’t know – for instance, if you have forgotten your router’s password, you just acquired a used router, or are helping your friend set up theirs – you can simply reset the password to its default settings, after which you will require the default username and password of the device.

Before you reset the router to its default settings, you may want to try to log in using the default username and password as they might have never been changed. However, if you are unable to log in using the default credentials, you will then have to reset the router.

The following includes some of the methods or ways through which you can determine the default username and password of your router:

Read your router’s user manual

The combination of username and password of routers often differ from one model to another–and among routers from the same manufacturer.

However, you can always identify the default username and password for a specific router by checking its user manual. If you do not have the manual, you can locate the credentials by searching for the specific model number and “manual” of the router on Google. You can also search for the model and “default router passwords”.

The sticker on the router

The unique password of some routers, especially the ones from your internet service provider, are often printed on a sticker that is placed on the router.

Try combining a common username and password

The common default usernames and passwords combination of several routers are:

• blank username or “admin” password;
• username “admin” or blank password;
• or username and password “admin”.

Through RouterPasswords.com

In situations where the common defaults don’t work, you can find a comprehensive list of default usernames and passwords for different routers on the website RouterPasswords.com.

In essence, if the default username and password of the router do not log you in, you will need to reset the device to its default settings which will then allow you to use the default username and password.

Reset the Router to Default Factory Settings

There is a small, hidden button on routers that restores these devices to default factory settings. This button resets all the configuration changes—parental controls, custom passwords, network settings, forwarded ports, etc.—you have made on the device when you press on it.

Once you have completely restored the router to default factory settings, you will be able to access the device using its default username and password. However, you will have to reconfigure the device as all previous configurations will have been removed.

The location of the reset button differs from one router to another. To achieve great results, you may want to consult your router’s manual for specific instructions towards restoring the device.

Note that the process of restoring routers is generally the same on most of these devices.

First, you need to determine the location of the reset button. (It is often located at the back or the bottom of the router). Also, the button is often labeled “Reset” and it is usually located in a depressed hole (or pinhole) which enhances your chances of locating it.

Second, you need to press this reset button and hold it down for up to 10 seconds (while the router is connected to power) to restore the router to the factory default settings.

After releasing the button, the router will reset itself and it will reboot. If the button is located in a pinhole, you will need to use a long, narrow object such as a bent paperclip to press and hold the object.

When the reset is complete, you can log in to the router using its default username and password.

The following is a table of the default username and password of specific routers.