NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
PC was hacked--Now cannot get into my account to change router password.
I have a Nighthawk 4-Stream AX1800 WIFI 6 Router that is 1.5 yrs old. The hackers were on my computer remotely, and actually knew the password on my router's label. Have had my computer cleaned of malware after being hacked. Attempted to change the router's password, but I was unable to get into my Netgear account with my username & password (not the ones on the unit itself). When given the option to type in my Serial # instead, it did not accept the answers I gave to my security questions!! And yes, I do know where I was born and my parent's middle name! What is a work-around so I can protect my router with a new password?
4 Replies
Thank you both for your patience. I will give this a try.
A routers initial default PW can not be changed. Is set in Mfrg when the units are built. When a router is first set up, the user is given and required to input a new PW for the admin log in or on a factory reset of the router.
You may want to do a complete change of your NG profile account PW there first and then do a full on factory reset on the router, change both admin in log in Password, SSID network name and PW there.
Do you have others on your network that could be giving out information iwth out you knowing?
No one else is on my network. Not sure I understand how to do what you suggest, as the hackers appear to have changed the password or user name as well as the answers to my security questions, so I cannot get into my NG account at all.
Since you can log into the Forum and post messages, your Netgear Account obviously has not been changed.
When a user attempts to log into the router web administration, the user name is "admin" and the password was created when the router was configured. If an incorrect password is entered three times, the Password Recovery screen appears offering a way to reset the password. Sometimes the user did not actually select the specific security questions and enter answers during the original setup. Thus, the router does not contain "answers" that will match anything. (true or not) We may know our parent's middle name, but if that is not stored in the router memory, there is nothing to match.
The only thing the user can do is perform a Factory Reset and set the router up again. Page 12 of the User Manual indicates that holding the Reset button for more than 10 seconds will cause the router to return to the original "out of the box" settings.
https://www.downloads.netgear.com/files/GDC/RAX10/RAX10_UM_EN.pdf
Once this is done, the user can use the web interface (page 18) or the Nighthawk smartphone app to configure the router.
