How do I log into my router's settings page?

Almost every network fix beyond restarting things needs this page, and it is the step that stops most people. The confusion is nearly always the same: there are two passwords on a router and they do different jobs. The wifi password lets a device join the network. The admin password lets you change the router. They are printed close together on the same sticker and are frequently mixed up.

Safety

Step by step

1. Connect to that network first.Over wifi or by cable. You cannot reach a router's settings from mobile data or from another network — that is deliberate.
2. Find the address.It is printed on the router, usually on the underside label, either as an address like 192.168.1.1 or as a name like routerlogin.net or bthomehub.home. If the label is gone, find your device's default gateway in its network details — that address is the router.
3. Type it into a browser address bar.Type it exactly, without searching for it. Typing it into a search box sends you to a website rather than to your router, and several of those sites are not what they claim to be.
4. Use the admin password, not the wifi password.On the sticker it may be labelled admin password, settings password, management password, or simply password with a separate wireless key above it. Older routers often use admin and password or admin and admin as defaults.
5. Try the provider's app instead if the page will not load.Most UK providers now supply an app that does everything most people need — wifi name and password, guest network, device list, restarts, channel choice — without the settings page. It is usually the better route.
6. If the password has been changed and is unknown, weigh a factory reset carefully.A pinhole reset restores the sticker password, and also wipes the wifi name, the wifi password and every setting, so every device in the house has to be rejoined. It is the last resort, not the first.
7. Change the admin password once you are in.If it is still the printed default, set a strong unique one and record it somewhere you will find it. This is separate from the wifi password and there is no reason for them to match.

Tips

• Write the admin password on a label and put it inside the router's box, or record it in your password manager under the router's model. The person who needs it in three years will not remember.
• If the settings page loads but rejects the sticker password, someone has changed it — a previous occupant, an installer, or you. Check any note taped to the router before resetting.
• Some provider routers deliberately restrict the settings page and expose everything through the app instead. If a setting you expect is missing, look in the app before concluding the router cannot do it.

Common mistakes

• Entering the wifi key when asked for the admin password — They are different credentials for different jobs. Repeated failures here send people to a factory reset they did not need.
• Enabling remote management so you can get in from anywhere — It exposes the router's login to the entire internet. Unless you have a specific need and a strong unique password, leave it off.

Questions people ask