How To Get To My Internet Settings

How to access your router'due south settings

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Sometimes you need to know how to access your router'due south settings. But actually, that moment comes along so infrequently that it's easy to forget just how to do so.

If you're like well-nigh Americans with broadband Internet, yous probably have a router at habitation which broadcasts the Wi-Fi network that your devices use. Many people rent a modem from their Internet provider which has a Wi-Fi router built in, merely it's also mutual to buy i of the best cable modems and router to avoid paying your Internet service provider rental fees. Plus, the best Wi-Fi routers offer great performance and actress security features.

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No matter what router you accept, when yous want to fiddle with its settings y'all'll about certainly need to punch into it remotely using a spider web browser on a device connected to its Wi-Fi network.

This can be a tricky process, as you lot'll demand to find your router'southward IP accost to access information technology at all, and then provide the proper username and countersign to log in and starting time changing settings.

Following the steps outlined below, which are written with the assumption y'all have access to a Windows PC, should make the procedure a little smoother. If you see whatsoever bug, contact your router's manufacturer for assistance with troubleshooting.

How to access your router'due south settings: Cheque your IP address

1. To change your router's settings yous'll need to be able to talk to it, and to do that you demand to know its IP address. Many routers use 192.168.one.i as their default IP address, but yours might be different.

To find out for sure, connect a PC to your router's Wi-Fi network; this is well-nigh easily accomplished with a laptop, since many desktop PCs don't come with Wi-Fi connectivity built in.

2. Once you have a Windows PC connected to the Wi-Fi network in question, open up the Command Prompt (almost hands accomplished past hitting the Start button and typing "command", then selecting Command Prompt from the results) and blazon ipconfig into the command line.

Scroll downwardly the results until you come across a section that reads Ethernet adapter or Wireless LAN adapter; this is your connection to your router, and the address listed adjacent to Default Gateway is your router's IP address.

Bonus: If yous're running Windows x yous can await upward your router's IP address without accessing the Control Prompt. Instead, open up the Network & Cyberspace section of your Windows 10 Settings menu by hitting the Showtime key and typing "settings", hitting Enter, and then navigating to Network & Internet > Condition > "View hardware and connectedness properties."

Roll down the Properties list until you encounter an entry for Default gateway — the number listed next to it should exist your router's IP address.

How to access your router's settings: Log into your router

i. Once you know your router'south IP accost, logging in should be pretty like shooting fish in a barrel: merely type the IP address into the address bar of your browser, and your router should send you lot to a page asking for your login and password.

Remember, you have to do this on a device continued to your router, either via Wi-Fi or an Ethernet cable!

two. Ideally you remember the login and password for your router, so this part is smooth sailing. But we live in a earth of realities, not ideals, and the truth is most of us have a difficult time remembering our router login details.

If y'all can't recollect your username and countersign for the router, take heart: you may never have established any, so you may be able to log in using the router's default username and countersign.

Many routers ship with admin and countersign as their default username and password, respectively; if those don't work on your router, y'all can also effort looking it up on Router Passwords, which maintains a large database of default router logins.

3. If you tin can't seem to find the correct username and countersign to log into your router, you should exist able to reset information technology instead. Some routers offer an option to help y'all recover your password, often triggered once you neglect to log in correctly. This often requires providing your router'southward serial number, which can typically be plant on the dorsum or bottom of the router.

Other routers but tell you to reset the router if you can't think your login credentials, which is normally achieved by pressing the router's reset button for ten seconds. Virtually routers accept small reset buttons inset into their back or lesser, though you'll oft need a pen or paperclip to printing and hold the push downward.

One time you've reset the router, you should be able to log into it with the manufacturer'southward default username and password.

How to access your router'southward settings: Change router settings

ane. Once y'all've logged into your router via a connected browser, you should have free reign to change whatever settings you wish. Well-nigh modern routers will offering an array of tweakable options in a simplified graphical interface, so it should exist pretty straightforward to change settings like the Wi-Fi password, the Wi-Fi network proper name, which websites are blocked, whether there's a guest Wi-Fi network, and more than.

Many modern routers offer automatic guides to at to the lowest degree some of these settings, and we recommend y'all consult the router's documentation (or Google) before changing annihilation you don't sympathize.

If something catastrophic happens and your router no longer works the style you want, y'all can ever reset it (using the afore-mentioned reset button) dorsum to factory default settings.

two. In one case you've accomplished whatever you came to do, consider taking a moment to look over your router's security settings and make sure they're up to snuff.

For instance, if you're yet using the router'south default username and password, you should change them mail-haste — if you can expect up your router's login details on the Net, other people could too!

Check out our guide to how to secure your Wi-Fi and improve your router'due south security for more ideas on how to meliorate your network's defenses.

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Alex Wawro is a lifelong tech and games enthusiast with more than than a decade of experience roofing both for outlets similar Game Developer, Black Lid, and PC World magazine. He currently serves equally a senior editor at Tom'southward Guide covering all things computing, from laptops and desktops to keyboards and mice.