In this digital age, we need to set passwords for every program or application. And as humans, we tend to be forgetful occasionally. The NETGEAR router is not an exception. That’s why a lot of customers have asked, “How do I access my NETGEAR router if I forgot the password?” on NETGEAR’s support site and technical forums.
How do I access my NETGEAR router if I forgot the password?
If you forgot the password for your NetGear router login, a factory reset can troubleshoot the issue.
It’s worth noting that after performing a factory reset, you will lose any customizations you have made in settings such as your log-in details (user name, password), your WiFi network name display (SSID), and other security settings. Therefore, a factory reset is the last resort when other attempts to recover your old password don’t work out.
In case you have used a password recovery feature of the NETGEAR device, please go to the “How to recover my NETGEAR admin password using the password recovery feature?” section.
Read more: Netgear Router Default Password
Steps to exercise a factory reset option:
- Check to see if the Power light on your NETGEAR device is on.
- Locate the Restore Factory Settings or Reset button on the back of your NETGEAR device.
- Press and hold that button for seven seconds with a small, sharp object such as a paper clip or a SIM eject tool.
- The release the Reset button.
- These steps, if done correctly, reset your NETGEAR router.
After the NETGEAR router resets, your log-in details are back to default with admin as the username and password as the password.
How to avoid a factory reset?
To avoid a factory reset, you should use the password recovery feature embedded in your NETGEAR device. This feature allows you to recover the customized password if you forget it.
Almost all popular web browsers, like Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Firefox, support the password recovery process. However, the only exception is the Safari browser.
Steps to enable the password recovery feature:
- Open your Internet browser on a device that is connected to your NETGEAR router’s WiFi network.
- Enter either http://www.routerlogin.net or http://www.routerlogin.com on your web browser. Then you will see a log-in window.
- Enter the default log-in credentials of the NETGEAR router. The default NETGEAR’s default username and password are admin and password, respectively. Be careful with capital letters because these log-in details are case-sensitive.
- After the Basic Home screen appears, choose these options in order: Advanced → Administration → Set Password. Then the Set Password page appears.
- Tick the Enable Password Recovery check box.
- Choose two security questions and give them the answers.
- Select the Apply option, and the system will save your changes.
How to recover my NETGEAR admin password using the password recovery feature?
Steps to get your password back with the password recovery feature on your NETGEAR device:
- Open your Internet browser on a device that is connected to your NETGEAR router’s network.
- Enter either http://www.routerlogin.net or http://www.routerlogin.com on your web browser. Then you will see a log-in window.
- Choose the Cancel option. The Router Password Recovery page appears.
- Fill in your NETGEAR router’s serial number that is at the bottom of the router.
- Select Continue.
- Answer your security questions. In case you forget the answers, a factory reset is necessary. Therefore, you should note down the answers to your security questions.
Choose Continue, then your admin password appears.
Read more: How To Reset Netgear WNR2000V3 Default Password
Final Words for NetGear router login passwords
There are different ways to gain access to your NETGEAR router in case you forget the password. If you enable the password recovery feature embedded in your NETGEAR device, follow the steps in section 3.
We recommend you to enable this feature on the NETGEAR router by following the steps in section 2. However, if you either forget to enable the password recovery feature or forget the answers to the security questions, unfortunately, you have to resort to performing a factory reset.