Let’s consult how I log into my router and resolve some issues related to this process.
How to Log into My Netgear Router?
Step 1: Identify the IP address of your router
By default, it is either 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. Your mobile or computer device will retrieve the IP address from the router automatically.
If that mobile or computer device uses the static IP address, you have to configure that device to retrieve the IP address.
Step 2: Find the router’s IP address
Normally, the method to find the IP address of the router on Windows and Mac are not the same:
On Windows
- Open Start: You first click the Windows logo. It is in the screen’s bottom-left corner.
- Open Settings: Then you choose the gear-shaped icon. It is in the Start menu’s lower-left corner.
- Select Network & Internet: It is in the Settings menu. By clicking it, you can open the Status page of the Network & Internet menu.
- Select View your network properties: You will easily find this link near the Status page bottom.
- Scroll down and find the Wi-Fi section: It is near the page bottom.
- Check the “Default gateway” address: It is near the Wi-Fi section bottom, to the right of the heading “Default gateway”.
On Mac
- Open the Apple menu: You first select the Apple logo in the screen’s top-left corner. As a result, there will appear a drop-down menu.
- Select System Preferences: This is near the drop-down menu top. Then, the window of the System Preferences will open.
- Choose Network icon: This option is on the right of the System Preferences window.
- Find and click Advanced: This option is in the window’s lower-right corner. You can see a new window which pops up later.
- Choose the TCP/IP tab: This tap lies at the pop-up window top.
- Find the Router address. This information lies on the right of the Router heading and near the window top.
Step 3: Connect to the network
The next step is connecting to the wireless network through either WiFi or using the Ethernet (CAT5) cable to reach the interface.
In case you forget the available Wifi password, you will have to connect by using an Ethernet cable.
Step 4: Log in to the router
Check the router’s sticker
Let do this first to get the login information. The sticker of the router can be easily found on the bottom or back of the unit.
In most cases, the common login username is an admin, and the login password is password. However, the router may own slightly different login credentials, and you can see them on the sticker itself.
There are also other ways to find login information:
- Read the router’s manual: Different router models including ones from the same manufacturer have different username and password combinations. To identify the router’s default username as well as the password, you can consult the manual. If losing the manual, you can find it by searching for the router’s model number and “manual” on Google or search for the router’s model and “default password.”
- Go to RouterPasswords.com: You can also find a list of default usernames and passwords for different routers on RouterPasswords.com.
Open a web browser
After that, you need to either click or double-click the app icon of your preferred browser.
Go to the router’s page.
Now, you have to type the router’s IP address into the address bar which lies at the browser window top and then press Enter.
Type in the “User Name” text field
It’s time to find the “Username” or “User Name” text box, then type in admin.
- In case the router’s sticker owns a different username listed, you had better use that username instead.
- Also, the usernames are case-sensitive.
Add the router’s password.
If you haven’t set any password for the router’s page, the router’s password is a password without capital letters. You will enter this in the “Password” text box.
If you’ve set a password or the router’s sticker gets a different password listed, you should use that password instead. If you forgot your username and password, see How To Recover Your Router Username And Password.
Choose Log in
This option is below the “Password” text field. Doing it will log you in to the router. Another way to log in is pressing Enter at well.
Wait for the router’s page to load
After all, keep waiting for the download, which will usually take up to a minute. Once the router’s page loads, you will be free to view and adjust the router’s settings as hoped.
Those are all the necessary steps to log into the router. Now, discover more about the modifications we can make after successfully logging into the router.
Helpful subsections
Once you have successfully signed into the router, you will find many tools that can be used to troubleshoot connectivity and speed problems:
- Home: you can check basic statistics for the connection; see your connection strength, the Wi-Fi name, and password as well as many devices connected, parental control, etc.
- Wireless: Almost the settings that you might be seeking can be done from here:
- Internet: you can configure the connectivity to the Internet, choose a Static IP, Subnet, and Gateway or keep it dynamic, based on the ISP or even configure DNS address.
If the internet is working slower than expected, try changing the DNS to public DNS address: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4. While some routers have physically hard-coded MAC Addresses, other newer ones come with the software assigned MAC addresses.
Changing the SSID:
You can change the Wi-Fi broadcast name from here. You only need to enter the desired name in front of SSID and then hit apply. To have a hidden SSID for security, you need to reconnect all the appliances to the router right after changing your SSID.
Changing maximum bandwidth and operation channel:
You can try changing the channel when the connection is slower than wanted. Also, you can limit bandwidth to control the data usage. The 100 Mbps can be throttled down to 2 Mbps or other amounts for this case.
Changing the password:
You can also change the Wi-Fi password from here. You input the new password in the Passphrase text box and choose the Security option. In case it is a personal connection, you choose WPA2-PSK. Some routers may have a choice of WEP that is quite deprecated and old because of the weak encryption.
Parental Control:
Parents can configure the router for controlling content for the children, monitoring internet activities, and managing the internet on time. To do that, an OpenDNS account is made via a sign-up. Then, you can add your own settings or choose from the presets list. You can also define internet periods, block particular sites, or add floodgates to protect the network from malicious sites.
Troubleshoot login issues
So, how to resolve the possible login problems?
There are many reasons why you are not able to log in to the NETGEAR router (admin settings) page. The most common ones are the IP address and browser cache problems. When you are unable to open the router’s page, you can try one of the solutions below:
- Try using www.routerlogin.com, www.routerlogin.net, or www.orbilogin.net to access the router’s page.
- Check to make sure your Internet LED is lit. In case it is not lit, you have to resolve the light status according to the manual.
- Connect a router and a computer directly with the Ethernet cable and put an end in one of the router LAN ports. Be sure that those ends are secure.
- Check to make sure the LEDs for the ports along with cables are lit. In case they are not lit, you should move that cable to a different port.
If there are still no lights, you should resolve the light status according to the manual.
- Check to make sure the Ethernet adapter’s LED is lit. In case it is not lit, you had better troubleshoot your adapter (don’t go on with the following steps).
In case the Ethernet adapter is not made by NETGEAR, you can contact the manufacturer of the adapter.
- Click Start -> Run, after that type cmd and then ping 192.168.1.1.
- If the message Request timed out appears, you would type ping 192.168.0.1
- If the message persists, the computer is not connecting to your router.
- If the computer is making a connection to the router:
- Make sure that proxies are not enabled. If you use the Internet Explorer, you choose Tools -> Internet Options -> Connections -> LAN Settings. You don’t need to check to Use a proxy server for your LAN…..
- Delete the offline content: You choose Tools -> Internet Options -> Delete Files. Then you choose to Delete all offline content and click OK. Do that to clear possible previous router log on the page.
- Try accessing a different browser or with a different computer.
- Clear the browser’s cookies and cache
In case you receive an error while trying to access the web address, you can clear the internet browser cache by using the links below:
Take notice that:
Using a different browser can resolve the access error. Hence, if you usually use Google Chrome, you can try accessing the router login pages from Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Apple Safari.
By the way, do not do this step in case the websites you visit require cookie information like your passwords and logins.
- Disable firewalls, pop-up blockers, and ad-blocking software temporarily to know whether any of them are causing access problems to the router login user name and password pop-up.
- Power off your router, and later power it on again.
Final Verdict
As you can see, the Netgear router can be configured to different users’ preferences. And that facility exists and can be accessed via an easy login procedure.
Hopefully, the way I log into my router and other issues discussed above can help make your internet experience more secure and streamlined. Thanks for consulting!
