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Batdog's avatar
Batdog
Follower
Jun 14, 2021

Lost all private settings after internet went down

I have an AC1600 model C6250 and my internet recently went out. I was told it was due to service in the area by Xfinity. When service was restored, none of my devices connected. I went looking as to why and couldn't find my network. All of my private settings were gone and there was a device on my internet I don't recognize. I did a hard factory reset and am readying to reconnect my router/modem back to the internet. I have 3 questions. 1. Is there anything special I need to do after a hard reset or can I just set it up as I did out of the box new? 2. Why did I lose all of my private settings (I've lost internet before and this never happened)? 3. Is the fact that someone was using my internet while it was unprotected something I should notify the police about (there are a lot of nefarious weirdos out there nowadays)? Thank you in advance for any help offered!

2 Replies

  • > [...] 1. Is there anything special I need to do after a hard reset or
    > can I just set it up as I did out of the box new? [...]

     

       Barring actual damage, it should behave like new after a setings
    reset.

     

    > [...] 2. Why did I lose all of my private settings [...]

     

       Some transient event might have disturbed/corrupted the stored
    settings, and the firmware might have noticed it when it restarted.
    Probably better to reset itself when corrupt settings are detected than
    to use them as-is.

     

       If you want to save some time, should this ever recur, save your
    settings elsewhere.

     

       Visit http://netgear.com/support , put in your model number, and look
    for Documentation.  Get the User Manual (at least).  Read.  Look for
    "Manage the Device Settings File of the Modem Router".


    > [...] 3. Is the fact that someone was using my internet while it was
    > unprotected [...]

     

       Who says that anyone was?  Leaving a vehicle or building unlocked for
    a while does not guarantee theft.

     

    > [...] something I should notify the police about [...]

     

       What, exactly, do you think that they could do?

  • FURRYe38's avatar
    FURRYe38
    Guru - Experienced User

    Any progress on this? 

     

    Be sure to make a back up configuration to file for safe keeping. Helps save time if you see this again or have to factory reset the modem and setup from scratch. 


    Batdog wrote:
    I have an AC1600 model C6250 and my internet recently went out. I was told it was due to service in the area by Xfinity. When service was restored, none of my devices connected. I went looking as to why and couldn't find my network. All of my private settings were gone and there was a device on my internet I don't recognize. I did a hard factory reset and am readying to reconnect my router/modem back to the internet. I have 3 questions. 1. Is there anything special I need to do after a hard reset or can I just set it up as I did out of the box new? 2. Why did I lose all of my private settings (I've lost internet before and this never happened)? 3. Is the fact that someone was using my internet while it was unprotected something I should notify the police about (there are a lot of nefarious weirdos out there nowadays)? Thank you in advance for any help offered!