Resetting a Router: Restart First, Factory Reset Last

Restart, Reboot or Reset? Pick the Smallest Fix

“Restart” and “reboot” mean the same thing: the router shuts down and starts again with its settings intact. “Reset” usually means a factory reset, which erases them. Some menus put Reboot and Factory Reset side by side, so read the label before you click.

When the modem and router are separate boxes, NETGEAR’s home network power-cycle steps bring the modem up first and give it time to connect before the router goes back on.

Check for password recovery before any reset. NETGEAR’s admin password recovery uses the serial number and two security questions, and Linksys’s Recovery Key method resets only the admin password while keeping your settings.

What a Factory Reset Wipes Out

A reset clears the router’s whole configuration, not just a password. Expect to lose:

• The Wi-Fi name and password you chose, which revert to the ones on the label
• The admin password, which returns to the default or to a first-time setup prompt
• Internet connection details from your ISP, such as a PPPoE username and password
• Port forwarding rules and reserved device addresses
• Parental controls, schedules and the guest network
• Custom DNS servers and any change to the router’s own LAN address

Every device loses its connection, and the home can stay offline until the internet settings are back. A reset isn’t a firmware update, either, so check for one once you’re signed in again.

Write These Down Before You Press Anything

If you can still reach the settings page, fill in this record sheet first. Rebuilding from notes is far easier than rebuilding from memory.

Many routers can also save a configuration backup file, and TP-Link’s factory reset guide suggests making one first. Be careful restoring it, though: a backup brings back whatever was wrong along with everything that was right. If you’re resetting because of a mystery fault or a suspected break-in, re-enter settings by hand.

Finding the Real Reset Button (Not the WPS One)

The reset control is usually a small hole labeled Reset or RST on the back or underside, pressed with a straightened paperclip. It’s recessed so nobody triggers it by accident.

Easy things to mistake for it:

• The WPS button, often marked WPS or with a two-arrow symbol. On some TP-Link models a single WPS/Reset button does both jobs: TP-Link says pressing it for under 5 seconds starts WPS, while holding it 10 seconds or more resets the router.
• Power, Wi-Fi and LED buttons, which only switch things on or off.
• The modem’s reset hole. If your modem and router are separate, make sure you’re pressing the router’s button. Resetting the wrong box can take the connection down without solving anything.

Holding the Button: Go by Your Model’s Timing

There’s no universal hold time. Published figures differ between makers and product lines: ASUS says at least 5 seconds, Belkin 10 seconds, TP-Link more than 10 seconds, NETGEAR 15 seconds, and D-Link support cites about 30 seconds. Your own model’s manual or support page is the number that counts.

The general sequence:

1. 01
   Step 1: Look up the reset instructions for your exact model and hardware version on the maker’s support site.
2. 02
   Step 2: Leave the router powered on unless those instructions say otherwise.
3. 03
   Step 3: Press and hold the recessed Reset button with a straightened paperclip for the time given in the instructions for your model.
4. 04
   Step 4: Release when the lights change as described, then wait for the router to finish restarting.
5. 05
   Step 5: Reconnect using the default Wi-Fi name and password on the label, or plug in an Ethernet cable.

Don’t unplug the router while it restarts.

Resetting From Inside the Admin Page Instead

If you can still sign in, a software reset skips the button hunt and lets you save a backup in the same visit. TP-Link’s guide puts it under Advanced > System (or System Tools) > Backup and Restore > Factory Restore. Other routers use labels such as Factory Defaults or Restore Defaults, often under Administration or System, and the layout differs by model and firmware.

The router restarts on its own once you confirm. Afterward, the settings page moves back to the default address printed on the label, which won’t match the one you were using if you had changed it.

Rented Gateways: Call Your Provider First

A modem-router combo from your ISP is a different case. It may carry provider-specific settings, and the provider may manage parts of it remotely. Before resetting one, contact the ISP or open its app. Provider apps commonly include a restart option, and support staff can run line checks you can’t.

If a reset does go ahead, sign-in details return to what’s on the gateway label or in the app:

• Verizon routers print a unique default admin password on the label.
• AT&T gateways use a 10-digit Device Access Code, also on the label.
• Xfinity keeps browser access to its Admin Tool off by default and has you turn it on, and set a password, in the Xfinity app.

If your own router sits behind the ISP gateway in bridge mode, a gateway reset can switch bridge mode off, leaving two routers doing the same job.

Putting Settings Back in the Right Order

Rebuild in this order, because each step depends on the one before it:

1. 01
   Step 1: Sign in with the label details. Start by logging back in at 192.168.1.1 after the reset, or at your router’s own default address, using the default credentials a reset brings back. Set a new admin password straight away; many newer routers insist on it.
2. 02
   Step 2: Get the internet working. Run the setup wizard, choose your connection type and enter any ISP login details.
3. 03
   Step 3: Update the firmware now that the router is online.
4. 04
   Step 4: Restore Wi-Fi. Reusing your old name and key lets devices rejoin on their own, unless the reset was about a suspected intrusion. See setting your Wi-Fi name and key again.
5. 05
   Step 5: Restore LAN settings, including any custom LAN address and reserved device addresses.
6. 06
   Step 6: Re-create only the port forwards you still need.
7. 07
   Step 7: Add the extras: guest network, parental controls and schedules.
8. 08
   Step 8: Run a security pass. Our notes on locking the router down after a reset cover remote management, WPS and UPnP.
9. 09
   Step 9: Save a fresh backup of the finished setup.

Signs the Reset Didn’t Take

• Your old Wi-Fi name is still broadcasting. The reset probably didn’t happen: the button was released too soon, the wrong button was pressed, or an extender is still sending the old name.
• The WPS light is blinking. A short press on a combined WPS/Reset button starts WPS instead.
• The label password is rejected. Some models make you create a password at first sign-in, or you may be on the modem’s page rather than the router’s.
• The settings page has moved. The router is back on the default address from its label.
• There’s no internet after setup. ISP login details may be missing. Restart the modem, then contact the ISP.
• The lights never settle. Give it several minutes. If it never finishes starting, contact the maker’s support.