This guide shows you how to reset your Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 router to factory default settings. A router reset is a much bigger deal than a router reboot. A reboot happens every time a router loses power. Resetting a router erases all settings from it and returns it to factory defaults.
Warning: Make sure that you fully understand the following before resetting your router. The following settings in your router will be changed:
- The router's login and password are reset to factory defaults.
- All WiFi login information and network names are reset.
- Your ISP username and password will be reset, and you may have to contact your ISP.
- 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. 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 Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 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.
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.
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This is the reset router guide for the Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 v1.0.6.138_1.0.76. We also have the following guides for the same router:
Recover Password in Netgear Nighthawk RAX80
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
If you are unable to recover your lost router password, then you may have to proceed with a full router reset.
Reset the Netgear Nighthawk RAX80
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Most of the time you can find a small reset button located on either the back or the bottom of a router. Look for something that looks like this:
Even though yours may look slightly different, you need to look for a tiny button. If you find a pinhole on the back of the router then that may be the reset button. You will need a paper clip to push it.
Keep an eye on the lights on the front of your router while holding 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. You cannot hold the button too long, and it will not hurt the router to hold the reset button down for longer than 10 seconds.
Remember, this will totally reset your Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 router.
This last step should only be taken if you have tried everything else, such as using our Router Password Finder software, which can recover lost or forgotten router passwords.
Login to the Netgear Nighthawk RAX80
After you are finished resetting your router, you need to login in using the original factory username and password. We have a Nighthawk RAX80 Login Guide with all this information ready for you.
Change Your Password
After logging in, you should really change your router's password for added security. It's a very bad idea to leave your router's password set to the factory default. If you need help coming up with a strong password, check out our Choosing a Strong Password guide.
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 RAX80 Guides
This isn't our only Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 guide. We also have the following guides for this router.
This is the reset router guide for the Netgear Nighthawk RAX80 v1.0.6.138_1.0.76. We also have the following guides for the same router: