Sooner or later, everyone who is at least a little interested in a computer will still get to the control panel of the router. It does not matter if this was done out of curiosity or in order to configure ports and filter traffic. The only important thing is that after most of these manipulations, the Internet disappears, leaving only the power LED on. In this situation, resetting the router settings will help a lot. How to do it and how is it useful?
Why reset?
The prerequisites for doing everything described below can be very diverse, and here are just a few of them:
- The router stopped working at full capacity.
- There are suspicions of outside attacks.
- After the manipulations in the control panel, the router stopped showing signs of life.
- Change of provider or reconfiguration.
- Resetting will also help if you lose your password.
Remember that if you reset the settings by any of the methods, they will need to be restored for the normal operation of the device. If you are not confident in your abilities, it is better to take the router to a service where they will deal with most problems in a few minutes. So, if you have not changed your mind about fixing the router, let's take a look at how to reset the router settings without damaging anything.
Using button
The easiest and fastest method. Using physical intervention, you can reset all router settings even if you cannot enter the control panel.
The button is located on the case and may have different names, depending on the manufacturer and model of the router: Reset, WPS, Res, etc. On cheap routers, often one button performs several functions depending on the time of pressing, but there may be several. Standard for a reset is enough - 10 seconds, more - not scary, less - nothing will happen.
Press and hold the button until the WPS indicator lights up. Then release it and let the device reboot.
In fact, instead of a button, you can often see a hole labeled Reset. In such models, the button is located inside the case so as not to accidentally be pressed. You can reset such a router with a needle or match. If this does not help, let's consider how to reset the settings on the router with more stringent manipulations.
Radical method
There is another separate subspecies of physical intervention - a complete reset of the settings using the 30/30/30 method. It runs like this:
- Hold the reset button for 30 seconds.
- Then, without releasing the reset button, turn off the power of the router and hold the button for another 30 seconds.
- All the same, without releasing the button, turn on the power and hold it pressed for another 30 seconds.
- That is, after a total of 90 seconds of holding the button, release it.
This method is not supported by all models, and after the settings of Asus, Cisco, Linksys routers, older Tp-Link and some others are reset, you will most likely need to reflash them immediately.
If you have nothing to lose, you can try resetting the equipment in this way, but it is advisable to read the manuals on this matter. In addition, making a brick from a router in a minute and a half is quite simple.
Programmatically
This method is good in cases where the router is technically in order - you can log in to the control panel, the lights are on and it starts up normally, but there are no connections or the ports do not work.
Each router has a control panel, which can be accessed by entering into the address bar of any browser IP 192.168.1.1. Further it will be offered to authorize using a username and password. Usually this data is indicated on the case of the router itself. If there are none, then you can reset the router settings as in the previous paragraph.
Next, you need to find the section responsible for such operations. Typically, these sections are: "Administration", "Management", "Recovery" and "Update", Software and the like, and you can get into them directly from the start page. For example, on a ZTE router, the menu looks like this:
After a reset, the router will reboot itself. By the way, on most routers it is possible to backup, and after a reset, it will be several times easier to restore from a file.
Reset part of the router
In addition to a full reset of all the settings, you can reset only the values โโof one section, for example, WI-FI. There are also several ways to do this:
- Program. You can restart the network adapter through the menu of the router itself in the corresponding section. Not all routers have a similar feature.
- Physical - reboot occurs using the WLAN button on the router case. Sometimes this button is also recessed.
Through the user menu, you can reset both the WIFI settings on the router, and filters, DHCP, ports and many other sections.
Will it help?
Unfortunately, there is no definite answer to this question. If the router refused to work after a fall or a sharp power outage, then it is more likely that its days are numbered and the device cannot be repaired. If the Internet disappeared after your intervention or change of access point, then you can count on the fact that after the settings on the router are reset, it will return to life.
It is important to understand that some settings are not reset even after a hard reset. Probably, only a flashing can help in this case, which, in fact, is one of the subspecies of the software reset or a replacement for the router itself.