This is the reset guide for the Netgear R8300 router. This is a much bigger deal than a router reboot. Unplugging a router from the wall reboots it. This is different from a reset because a reset completely erases all settings from the router.
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.
- All WiFi settings are reset, including network name and password.
- Your ISP username and password will be reset, and you may have to contact your ISP.
- Any firewall settings, parental controls, or 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. Before you reset your router you may want to try recovering your router password with our Router Password Finder.
Other Netgear 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.
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 R8300. We also have the following guides for the same router:
Recover Password in Netgear R8300
Before you resort to doing a full router reset, 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 - Automatically 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 R8300
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Usually there is a reset button located on the back or bottom of a router. A typical reset button looks like this:
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.
Hold the reset button down for about 10 seconds while watching the lights on the front of your router. The blinking pattern of the lights on the front of the router should change when the reset is complete. Keep holding the button as long as you want, it will not hurt anything to hold it down too long.
Remember, this will totally reset your Netgear R8300 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 Netgear R8300
After you are finished resetting your router, you need to login in using the original factory username and password. We have a R8300 Login Guide with all this information ready for you.
Change Your Password
Do not forget to change your router's default password when you log back into it. 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: A great place to write your new password down is on a piece of paper taped to the bottom of your router.
Other Netgear R8300 Guides
Here are some of our other Netgear R8300 guides that you might be interested in.
This is the reset router guide for the Netgear R8300. We also have the following guides for the same router: