Networking security is vital, which is why most networking devices come with a predefined username and password you can use to log in and make customizations. Whether you’ve kept the default settings or changed the username and password for enhanced safety, forgetting the administrator credential often happens.
The fastest way to retrieve your username and password is to reset the router to its factory settings which will roll back the credentials to their initial values. However, if you have other customized settings that you don’t want to lose or set up again, you might want to avoid resetting the router. In that case, keep reading, and you’ll learn how to find router username and password without resetting.
How to Find Router Username and Password Without Resetting
You can try several things if you want to retrieve your router’s username and password without resetting the device. You can use the default credentials, browse default values online, or even use an app to crack your network’s username and password.
In continuation, we’ll get into the different methods for finding your username and password without resetting them. However, keep in mind that you should only use these guides for attaining the username and password of your network, not for hacking into somebody else’s.
Finding the default username and password
If you didn’t pay much attention to safety when setting up your router and kept the default values for the username and password, you’re in luck. The default credentials are typically printed out on the side of the back of the router for situations just like these.
At the back or side of the router, you should find a small sticker with basic information about the device’s factory settings, including the network name and key, along with the default credentials for managing the network. Look for something that says “Admin Username” or “Admin Password” for the network manager, and you’ll find the credentials.
However, if your router is slightly outdated, there’s a possibility that you’ve already peeled off the sticker or that it faded away. But that doesn’t mean that your username and password are lost.
The internet is full of insightful answers, so if you run a Google search using your router’s make and model and the keywords “username” and “password”, you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding the default values for the credentials. There are even some dedicated websites that serve the purpose, like https://www.routerpasswords.com/.
Read more: How Often Should You Reset Your Router
Finding the custom username and password using brute force
If you’re serious about security and quickly change your router’s username and password after unboxing the device, you’ll find it harder to retrieve your credentials without resetting the device. Still, it isn’t impossible.
You can always use brute force to try to guess your username and password. A brute force attack means trying to breach the login manually, using some values that you think might be valid.
To do that, you’ll first need to make a list of usernames and passwords you often use. Write down the usernames in one column and the passwords in another. Then, open the configuration interface for your router and start typing in combinations. Make sure you try every username with every password you can think of, and you may have luck and unlock access to your router without resetting it.
Use the RouterPassView app
Suppose your device is set to save the configuration automatically, or you’ve remembered to save your configuration manually. In that case, an app like the RouterPassView will help you retrieve your username and password.
These apps work by deciphering the code within a saved configuration. That way, an app like the RouterPassView can look inside the configuration saved on your drive and decode the username and password for the router.
Configuration files contain all sorts of information, including the ISP’s username and password, the login username and password for the router, the wireless network key, etc. Therefore, if you need to access any of this information, you should look at the configuration file, assuming you’ve created a backup.
Crack the username and password using an app
Although this is the least recommended method, if you cannot retrieve your router’s username and password, you might want to consider using a cracking app to find the router’s username and password.
If you search the internet, you’ll find many free and paid software tools that can help if you cannot find the administrator credentials in another way. After running an online search, we’ve found an app called Router Password Kracker that may come in handy. Still, many other options, like wordlist generators and common password generators, might help you remember the username and password you’ve set up.
How to Reset Your Router Without Losing the Configuration
If the above guide on how to find router username and password without resetting didn’t help you solve your problems, resetting the router is the inevitable next step. However, that doesn’t have to be that bad.
If you took the time to set up a strong and unique username and password for your router, you might have also created a backup of your configuration. Creating a backup for your router’s configuration settings doesn’t take much time but could save you lots of it. If you’ve created one, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t reset the router, as restoring your configuration settings from the backup won’t take more than a few minutes.
After resetting the device to its factory settings, you shouldn’t have any problem logging into the configuration interface. That way, you can load the backup file and set your preferred configuration within minutes.
Also read: Where Is Security Key on Router?
Keeping Your Router’s Username and Password Safe
The router’s username and password are considered delicate information about a network, which is why you should set them to some more secure values. However, a strong password that’s hard to crack is also hard to remember.
Therefore, suppose you’re hesitating about whether you should choose a password that’s strong or easy to remember. In that case, the best thing you can do is set a solid password and use a password manager to keep your router’s username and password secure and easily accessible when needed.