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Reset the Netgear R8500

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

This guide shows you how to reset your Netgear R8500 router. A router reset is very different 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: 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 login and password are reset to factory defaults.
  • Your WiFi name and password are reset.
  • If your router has any ISP settings they will be removed, and you will have to contact your ISP.
  • Any firewall settings, parental controls, or port forwards that you have configured will be removed.

A router reset is the last step you should take in recovering your router's password. Before you reset your router, you may want to try recovering your router password with our Router Password Finder.

Other Netgear R8500 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 R8500 v1.0.0.50_1.0.25. We also have the following guides for the same router:

Recover Password in Netgear R8500

Before you resort to doing a full router reset, you may want to try running our Router Password Finder first.

Router Password Finder can save you a ton of time by recovering your lost or forgotten router password instead of doing a full router reset.

Router Password Finder - 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 R8500

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NordVPN birthday deal!

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. Most reset buttons look like this:

Router Reset Button

Your reset button may look different, but usually they are very small. Sometimes the button is under a pinhole, and you need a paper clip to push it.

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. You can hold the button down as long as you like, it will not hurt anything.

Don't forget, this step will totally reset your Netgear R8500 router back to factory settings.

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 Netgear R8500

Now you need to log in using the factory default username and password. Our R8500 Login Guide has 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: 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 R8500 Guides

We have collected a lot of information about the Netgear R8500 router. You can find some of our additional content here.

This is the reset router guide for the Netgear R8500 v1.0.0.50_1.0.25. We also have the following guides for the same router: