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Reset the Netgear Nighthawk R8000P

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Setup Router Staff
Last Updated: | Reading Time: 4 minutes

This article covers how to reset the Netgear Nighthawk R8000P router back to factory default settings. A router reset is a much bigger deal than a router reboot. Rebooting a router is simply turning it off and back on again. Resetting a router erases all settings from it and returns it to factory defaults.

Warning: Before you continue, there are a few things you need to know. The following settings in your router will be changed:

  • The router's username and password are reset to factory defaults.
  • Your WiFi name and password are reset.
  • All ISP settings will reset to default, and you may have to contact your ISP.
  • Any firewall settings, parental controls, and port forwards that you have configured will be removed.

Resetting your router should be considered the last step. Before you reset your router, you may want to try recovering your router password with our Router Password Finder.

Other Netgear Nighthawk R8000P 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.

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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 Netgear Nighthawk R8000P v1.1.3.2_1.1.74. We also have the following guides for the same router:

Recover Password in Netgear Nighthawk R8000P

If the only reason that you are resetting your router is because you forgot your router password, then you may want to try running our Router Password Finder instead of resetting your router.

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 - Recover Lost or Forgotten Router Passwords

Only after you have tried to recover your missing router username and password should you perform a full router reset.

Reset the Netgear Nighthawk R8000P

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On most routers you can find a small button on the back or the bottom labeled reset. Look for something that looks like this:

Router Reset Button

Even though yours may look slightly different, you need to look for a tiny button. Sometimes the reset button is under a pinhole on the back of the router, 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. The blinking pattern of the lights on the front of the router should change when the reset is complete. Do not worry about holding the button down too long; this is harmless.

Don't forget, this step will totally reset your Netgear Nighthawk R8000P router back to factory settings.

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 Netgear Nighthawk R8000P

Now that you have finished resetting your router, you need to log in using the default username and password from the factory. You can find all of the information that you need in our Nighthawk R8000P Login Guide.

Change Your Password

After logging in to your router for the first time, you need to change your router's password. It is a huge security risk to leave your router's password set to the factory 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 Netgear Nighthawk R8000P Guides

This isn't our only Netgear Nighthawk R8000P guide. We also have the following guides for this router.

This is the reset router guide for the Netgear Nighthawk R8000P v1.1.3.2_1.1.74. We also have the following guides for the same router: