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Forum Discussion
Nighthawk AC1900 Connection Issues
I purchased the Nighthawk AC1900 router last spring. I had been using the router provided by my cable company but was not satisfied with the coverage in my house. Since I've had this new router, I'...
Dunyduke16 wrote:
It says my default username should be 'admin' and that my password should be one I used the first time I logged in.
The default password is on the label on your device. It is usually password.
Dunyduke16 wrote:
After a few failed login attempts, it brings me to a "change password" screen, where I'm asked to enter my router's serial number (no issue there) and then I'm brought to a security questions page. Again, don't recall ever answering security questions, but I answer both questions, which are very straightforward.
There is a bug in Netgear's implementation of password recovery on some devices. You can get locked into a closed loop.
If password recovery is enabled, but you have not set the answers to the questions, it keeps sending you back to the beginning of the process. If you haven't already given the thing your personal answers, they are not in its memory and it has no way of knowing if they are correct.
If the standard factory password (password) does not work, then you will have to factory reset the thing to get back to that. Then either disable password recovery (check the manual for your device) or provide some answers to those questions.
How do I perform a factory reset on my NETGEAR router? | Answer | NETGEAR Support
OK, thanks for your response. It's funny, in the link you provided, it just said that the password "is the one you specified the first time you logged in." In the manual, the same set of instructions say that the default password is "password." Strange how that's the only variation in the two sets of instructions. I've never experienced a scenario where I've been asked specific security questions that I had yet to set up. And it wasn't like these were questions that I forgot the answer to (older brother's first name and dad's middle name).
Again, thanks for your response. I guess I'll try a factory reset and go from there.
Dunyduke16 wrote:
And it wasn't like these were questions that I forgot the answer to (older brother's first name and dad's middle name).
To quote an earlier message from you:
Again, don't recall ever answering security questions, but I answer both questions, which are very straightforward.
The router will not know your answers unless you provided them when you set up password recovery.
Understood. My point is that I've never been prompted to answer security questions that I had not already provided answers for previously. So my assumption was that I had answered the questions months ago and just didn't recall doing it.
I have to agree Netgear's "password reminder" scheme is nuts. It should spot when it has nothing in its memory to check against. But this has been the pattern for some years. That it automatically turns on password recovery without insisting on answers just adds to the aggravation.