Experts recommend changing your Wi-Fi password every month or at least once in three months. There’s no hidden secret here—occasionally setting new passwords avoids the possibility of someone stealing it and hogging up yourinternet bandwidth.
Also, if you recently purchased a router or got it from the ISP, it’s either not secured or comes with a weak one. You might want to change this to a password havingstrong strengthsuch that it’s effective against guessing and brute-force attacks.
Changing a Wi-Fi password is not at all tedious and will take no longer than two minutes. you’re able to do this from acomputer or your smartphone. However, if you’ve forgotten the passcode and are unable to connect to the network, you require a PC/laptop with a wired connection (use an ethernet cable).
Step 1: Find Router’s IP Address
To access your router’s configuration page, you need to know the Default Gateway first. Generally, you can find this on the back of your router.
But, if you lost the sticker or someone has changed the IP, I have provided step-by-step instructions for both PC and mobile users to get this information in no time.
On iOS
Step 2: Find Router Login Credentials
Along with the router’s Default Gateway, you also require its login credentials in order to access the interface. The information is also included in therouter’s sticker. If you or someone else hadn’t changed the credentials, check the back of your device and use it in Step 3.
In case you got the router from your ISP, they could have changed it. So, you can contact them to get the details. But if you or someone else had edited the credentials earlier and you don’t remember it, the only option is toreset your routerand use the default values.
If you have lost the sticker and wish to know the default configuration, you’re able to easily check for this online based on your router’s model. For your ease, I have listed the login credentials of some popular brands in the table below.
Step 3: Access Router Settings Page
Now that you’re aware of your default IP along with the login credentials, it’s time to open the router’s configuration page. Note that the entire interface for every brand and model is different.
However, if your ISP has blocked the router’s page access, you’ll likely meet with the “This site can’t be reached” with no option to bypass the screen. In such a scenario, there’s nothing much you can do than to contact your ISP.
While this is a rare case, most of us can get access to the interface as soon as we enter the correct IP. To clear out any confusion, here’s a simple demonstration of how to access an Asus router’s configuration page:
Step 4: Change Wi-Fi Password
After gaining access to the router’s page, you can now navigate to the Wi-Fi or Wireless section to change the password. As mentioned earlier, the interface varies based on your manufacturer and model.
Nevertheless, I have gathered the necessary steps for the most popular brands in this section. Even if you do not find yours here, you may go through each of the steps to understand the terms as they are almost similar on most routers.
But before moving on, make sure youchoose astrong password. You may even utilize a password analyzing tool to help identify whether the passcode is strong or weak.
Important:After changing the password, your device gets disconnected from the Wi-Fi. So, you need to forget the old password and reconnect using the new one.
On TP-Link
I’ve used the Archer A8 model to demonstrate how to change the Wi-Fi password. Since TP-Link has tons of other models, the steps might vary slightly.
Note:If you do not have the Smart Connect option, you require setting new passwords separately on the two bands. In such cases, it’s a good idea to keep different SSIDs.
On Asus
Here, I’ve demonstrated the steps for RT-AX95Q and this should be similar to all the newer ASUS models.
On Linksys
The involved steps are for the E5400 Wi-Fi Router. However, the steps may vary on other Linksys and Cisco models.
On Netgear
Here’s how to change the Wi-Fi password on the N600 Genie model. The demonstration may slightly vary on other Netgear routers.
On Belkin
In the following steps, I’ve used the N450 model for a quick demonstration. The steps should be somewhat similar on every other Belkin router.
On D-Link
Here’s how you can change the Wi-Fi password on the Dir-815 router. Note the terms as they should somewhat be the same in other models too.
Other Ways
We can change the Wi-Fi password without needing to access the router page through the web browser. Some popular brands offer users a dedicated mobile application that lets them configure a wide variety of internet-related settings.
For example, TP-Link users can download the Tether application. Similarly, ASUS has a dedicated ‘ASUS Router’ app available on both Android and iOS.
However, to use the application, you need to have an account. Also, not all router models are compatible with these applications. Since this can be a little time-consuming, I would rather opt for the step-by-step guide above.
Another way to change the Wi-Fi password is from the dedicated ISP application. However, not all provide this feature. So, if you want to know more, it’s better to contact your service provider to learn more.
