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Reset the Asus RT-AC88U

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Setup Router Staff
Last Updated: | Reading Time: 5 minutes

If you need to reset your Asus RT-AC88U router back to factory settings, then this article shows you how. This is a much bigger deal than a router reboot. Every time your router loses power it reboots. This is very different from a reset, which erases a router completely and returns it to factory default settings.

Warning: Before you continue, there are a few things you need to know. A router reset will affect the following settings:

  • The router's login credentials are reset to factory defaults.
  • Your WiFi login, password, and network name are reset.
  • Your ISP settings are reset, which means you will have to contact your ISP to get them back.
  • Any firewall settings, parental controls, and port forwards that you have configured will be removed.

A router reset should be considered the last resort when you cannot log in to your router any other way. Make sure that you have tried to recover your router password using our Router Password Finder first.

Other Asus RT-AC88U Guides

Use a VPN Instead

Have you considered using a VPN instead of forwarding a port? For most users, a VPN is a much simpler and more secure choice than forwarding a port.

We use and recommend NordVPN because not only is it the fastest VPN, it includes a new feature called Meshnet that makes forwarding a port no longer necessary for most applications. With NordVPN Meshnet, you can connect to your devices from anywhere in the world, completely secure, over a highly encrypted VPN tunnel.

When shopping for a VPN, make sure that they meet the following criteria:

  • Your VPN provider should have a no-logs policy. This means that they do not keep any logs of any kind.
  • Make sure that your VPN provider has lots of exit nodes all around the world.
  • Check that your VPN will not affect your speed.
  • Verify that your VPN provider uses WireGuard as the underlying protocol.
  • Many people prefer a VPN provider that is not based in the United States.

This is the list of requirements that we used when we were shopping around for a VPN provider. There are lots of free, shady VPN providers out there that we looked at and dismissed.

Based in Panama, using diskless servers, and with over 6,100 servers in 61 countries, we can safely say that NordVPN satisfies all of these requirements.

NordVPN is the fastest VPN!

Once you've set up your NordVPN account on multiple computers and enabled Meshnet, you can seamlessly access all of your devices as if they were on the same network. You don't even have to log in to your router. It's very simple.

Every time you click on one of our affiliate links, such as NordVPN, we get a little kickback for introducing you to the service. Think of us as your VPN wingman.

This is the reset router guide for the Asus RT-AC88U 3.0.0.4.386_48260 (ZH). We also have the following guides for the same router:

Recover Password in Asus RT-AC88U

Instead of resetting your router back to factory settings, you may want to try running our Router Password Finder first.

Router Password Finder is designed from the ground up to help you recover your forgotten router username and password, which can save you a lot of time.

Router Password Finder - Lost or Forgotten Router Password Recovery Tool

If you are unable to recover your lost router password, then you may have to proceed with a full router reset.

Reset the Asus RT-AC88U

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You can usually find a small reset button on either the back or the bottom of a router. What you are looking for is something that looks like this:

Router Reset Button

Reset buttons are usually tiny. Yours may look slightly different than this. Sometimes the button is under a pinhole, and you need a paper clip to push it.

Watch the lights on the front of your router and hold the reset button down for about 10 seconds. You should notice that the blinking pattern of the lights on the front of the router changes after a few seconds. Do not be concerned about holding the reset button down too long. It will not hurt anything.

Remember, this will totally reset your Asus RT-AC88U router.

Only take this last step of fully resetting your router after you have exhausted all other troubleshooting options, such as running our Router Password Finder software, which can recover a lost router password for you.

Login to the Asus RT-AC88U

Now you need to log in using the factory default username and password. You can find all of the information that you need in our RT-AC88U Login Guide.

Change Your Password

After logging in to your router for the first time, you need to change your router's password. Since factory passwords are well known, it's a huge security risk to leave your router set to the default. You can follow our Choosing a Strong Password guide to help you pick a solid password for your router.

Tip: After creating this new password, we highly recommend writing this down on a post-it note and attaching it to the bottom of your router for future reference.

Other Asus RT-AC88U Guides

If you want additional help with your Asus RT-AC88U be sure to check out some of our other guides.

This is the reset router guide for the Asus RT-AC88U 3.0.0.4.386_48260 (ZH). We also have the following guides for the same router: