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Reset the Netgear Nighthawk R8300

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Setup Router Staff
Last Updated: | Reading Time: 3 minutes

In this article, you will learn how to reset your Netgear Nighthawk R8300 back to factory settings. A router reset is a much bigger deal than a router reboot. A reboot happens every time a router loses power. However, when you reset a router you, return it back to its factory default settings.

Warning: Since this erases everything you have done to the router, there are some things you need to consider first. When you reset your router, the following will happen.

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

Since a router reset is such a drastic step, it should only be done as a last resort when you cannot recover your router's password using any other methods. Before you reset your router, you may want to try recovering your router password with our Router Password Finder.

Other Netgear Nighthawk R8300 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 Netgear Nighthawk R8300. We also have the following guides for the same router:

Recover Password in Netgear Nighthawk R8300

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.

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 - Automatically Recover Lost or Forgotten Router Passwords

Do not do a full router reset until after you have tried every other option to log in to your router.

Reset the Netgear Nighthawk R8300

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You might notice that most of our site doesn't have ads on it. This is because we use partnerships with companies like NordVPN to keep the site running. Thank you for supporting us by using our referral links.

Most of the time you can find a small reset button located 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. You might find a pinhole on the back of the router that requires a paper clip to push the button hidden under it.

Hold the reset button down for about 10 seconds while watching the lights on the front of your router. You should notice that the blinking pattern of the lights on the front of the router changes after a few seconds. Keep holding the button as long as you want, it will not hurt anything to hold it down too long.

Don't forget, this step will totally reset your Netgear Nighthawk R8300 router back to factory settings.

Be sure to only reset your router if you have tried everything else, such as running our Router Password Finder software, which can find your lost or forgotten router password for you.

Login to the Netgear Nighthawk R8300

Now that you have finished resetting the router, you need to login to the router interface using the default username and password. Just follow our Nighthawk R8300 Login Guide to find all of the information that you need.

Change Your Password

After logging in, you should really change your router's password for added security. Leaving a router password set to default is a very serious security risk. You can follow our Choosing a Strong Password guide to help you pick a solid password for your router.

Tip: Write your new password down on a post-it note and stick it to the bottom of your router.

Other Netgear Nighthawk R8300 Guides

This isn't our only Netgear Nighthawk R8300 guide. We also have the following guides for this router.

This is the reset router guide for the Netgear Nighthawk R8300. We also have the following guides for the same router: