Netgear C6300 Admin password doesnt work after multiple factory resets

[TheDax255]

Had to do a factory reset on my device. afterwards i couldnt log into routerlogin.net through chrome, so i had to use IE. IE brings up the netgear genie and tells me to change the admin password and set up security questions. well, i've done this many, many... many times. i've resorted to using simple admin passwords and simple security question answers, but when IE prompts me to enter the username and password to log into the router, it thinks i'm using the wrong password every time (not fat fingering it 3 times in a row). go to "recover" the password with the device SN and answering the security questions and it does the same thing. doesnt think i'm putting in the right answers (they are now 1 word answers all lowercase.)

I've had this router for YEARS and it's probably the best router/modem i've ever used. i've NEVER had an issue like this before. i think i had to do a factory reset once a few years back, but that's it. i just dont understand what's happening. (yes, i'm aware it's time to upgrade and that may happen regardless, but this is where i am now.)

[TheDax255 · Accepted solution]

brute forced it. 1 time when i was trying to get in, i saw the router interface appear right before it sent me to the password recovery page. figured it was drunk, so yeah, brute forced. closed IE everytime it sent me to the recovery page and i eventually got in.

after rebuilding all my settings, and getting my ISP to add my router to my account (something the sales guy said "couldnt be done" lawl) and a few reboots later, it works fine. complex password and everything.

still cant use chrome... which is odd. i'm nearly certain i've used it before. but my router build has been stable for a LONG time, so i cant really remember the last time i went in to configure it.

[plemans]

A couple things you could try.

If you've already reset it the default login is admin and the default password is password

The recover password option doesn't work if you didn't set it up. It'll ask you the questions (default) but not have a correct answer for them. Its flawed and should have some notice of this. So if you didn't set it up, it won't work. Reset it back to defaults and log in using the defaults. 

Another potential to check is autofill. some password autofills will change it even if you manually enter it unless you remove it from the autofill settings. 

[TheDax255]

no to all of that (no energy to explain).

i figured it out.

[FURRYe38]

So can you explain how you figured it out? So others will know.

[TheDax255 · Accepted solution]

brute forced it. 1 time when i was trying to get in, i saw the router interface appear right before it sent me to the password recovery page. figured it was drunk, so yeah, brute forced. closed IE everytime it sent me to the recovery page and i eventually got in.

after rebuilding all my settings, and getting my ISP to add my router to my account (something the sales guy said "couldnt be done" lawl) and a few reboots later, it works fine. complex password and everything.

still cant use chrome... which is odd. i'm nearly certain i've used it before. but my router build has been stable for a LONG time, so i cant really remember the last time i went in to configure it.

[FURRYe38]

Google has updated Chrome and some features are not supported on newer version of Chrome. Try IE11, Firefox or Opera next time. You shouldn't have to brute force the admin PW. It should reset to default after a reset. 

Thank for letting us know. 

[TheDax255]

pretty sure i stated this already, but it does not "reset to default" when i pressed the factory reset button, and navigated to routerlogin.net; the VERY FIRST SCREEN prompts me to set the password. it does NOT ask for a password, defaulted or otherwise. and i already stated that i used IE to get in. and yes, i SHOULDNT have to enter the password 27 times to get a session that recognizes the password to let me in, but that's the way it acted.

[FURRYe38]

Try clearing the PW history and caches from Chrome. 

[TheDax255]

1) i dont use browsers to store passwords. do you? you shouldnt. (please dont answer).

2) you already mentioned that with the changes (updates) to chrome, it doesnt work with some routers.

3) already said i used IE, not chrome. not sure why we're still here.

4) unless this isnt understood fully, the interface doesnt load in chrome (page cannot be displayed). this is not a "cached password" problem. and you've already suggested that i'm just SOL for this model's GUI anyways.... so....

4) it works now without having cleared the password cache/password.

5) it also works now. with IE. everything is fine now. not sure at all why it behaved the way it did, but it did, and it's now acting properly.

how do we lock this thread?

[FURRYe38]

Ok Glad its working now. 

Been using PW saved in browsers for years. Zero issues. 

Enjoy.