Reset the Asus RT-N12E

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Setup Router Staff
Last Updated: | Reading Time: 2 minutes

This guide shows you how to reset your Asus RT-N12E router. This is a much bigger deal than a router reboot. Turning a router off and back on again causes a reboot. A Router Reset completely erases the router and returns it to factory settings.

Warning: This is not a step to be taken lightly. The following settings in your router will be changed:

  • The router's username and password 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.
  • All parental controls, firewall settings, and port forwards will be removed.

A router reset is the last step you should take in recovering your router's password. You should be sure that you have tried to at least recover your router password using our Router Password Finder before resorting to a router reset.

Other Asus RT-N12E 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-N12E 3.0.0.4.380_10809. We also have the following guides for the same router:

Recover Password in Asus RT-N12E

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

Our Router Password Finder can recover your lost or forgotten router password without doing a full router reset, which can save you lots of time.

Router Password Finder - Lost or Forgotten Router Password Recovery Tool

Just keep in mind that a router reset should be done as the last resort when you are unable to login to your router.

Reset the Asus RT-N12E

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There is usually a small reset button located on either the back or the bottom of a router. Look for something that looks like this:

Router Reset Button

Reset buttons are usually tiny. Yours may look slightly different than this. You may need a paper clip to push the reset button.

Hold the reset button down for 10 seconds and watch the lights. Notice how the lights on the front of the router are blinking. When the lights do something different, the router is reset. Keep holding the button as long as you want, it will not hurt anything to hold it down too long.

Keep in mind that this will completely reset your Asus RT-N12E router.

Only do this once 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-N12E

Now you need to log in using the factory default username and password. Just follow our RT-N12E Login Guide to find all of the information that you need.

Change Your Password

You need to change your router's default password after you log in for the first time. The factory default passwords for routers are very well known. Our Choosing a Strong Password guide talks about choosing a strong password for your router.

Tip: A great place to write your new password down is on a piece of paper taped to the bottom of your router.

Other Asus RT-N12E Guides

We have collected a lot of information about the Asus RT-N12E router. You can find some of our additional content here.

This is the reset router guide for the Asus RT-N12E 3.0.0.4.380_10809. We also have the following guides for the same router: