How to Reset a Wireless Router

Reader Lisa writes: I read your Wi-Fi Security Made Easy story. But I do not know my original password that my router came with. How can I change the administrator password now? My friend installed the router about three years ago and I have lost touch with him. Is there another way to find out what my original administrator password was so that I can now change it?

Chances are your friend changed the administrator password, but you should try the default password just in case. The default password is listed in your manual, or you can find it online: Search for "router make and model number default password" or try this handy default password list. The vendor's web site will have the password for you as well.

If that password doesn't work, you'll have to reset the router to return it to its original factory settings (which will also cause the default password to be restored). Note that you'll lose any settings like WEP/WPA changes, your SSID, and everything else. Resetting the router is the nuclear option, but since it can be reconfigured in 10 minutes or so, it really isn't that scary. I know of no way to recover an administrator password without resetting the router.

Most routers can be reset with a simple procedure that varies little from product to product. However you should check your manual and the vendor's support site to make sure. But here's the easy way: Turn your router upside down or look on the rear for a small pinhole. It should be labeled "RESET." With the router turned on, unbend a paperclip and insert it into the hole. You will feel a small button inside, which you'll want to press with the tip of the clip. Hold the button down for 10 seconds, or until the lights on the front of the router stop blinking. The router will reboot within about a minute and be ready for configuring from its virgin state.

The only variation I've seen on this is that some products require you to turn the power off, then press and hold the reset button, then turn the power on with the reset button depressed. The rest of the instructions are the same. Try this only if the first method fails.

Note that if you just want to recover your network's wireless security key, there are a number of tools on the market for just this purpose. Check out AirSnort and WEPCrack, for example, but note that both are Linux-based (as are the vast majority of all such tools) and require relatively sophisticated knowledge of networking to use properly.