Reset the Netgear WNDR4300

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

If you need to reset your Netgear WNDR4300 router back to factory settings, then this article shows you how. A router reset is a much bigger deal than a router reboot. Turning a router off and back on again causes a reboot. However, when you reset a router you, return it back to its factory default settings.

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 username and password are reset.
  • All WiFi information such as network name, password, and authentication method are erased.
  • Any ISP settings saved in your router will be removed. You may have to contact your ISP.
  • All parental controls, firewall settings, and port forwards will be removed.

A router reset is the last step you should take in recovering your router's password. 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 WNDR4300 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 WNDR4300 v1.0.1.42. We also have the following guides for the same router:

Recover Password in Netgear WNDR4300

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

If you are unable to recover your lost router password, then you may have to proceed with a full router reset.

Reset the Netgear WNDR4300

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You can usually find a small reset button on either the back or the bottom of a router. Look for something that looks 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. After a few seconds the lights should blink differently. When this happens, the reset is complete. You can hold the button down as long as you like, it will not hurt anything.

Keep in mind that this will completely reset your Netgear WNDR4300 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 WNDR4300

Now you need to log in using the factory default username and password. Our WNDR4300 Login Guide has all of the information that you need.

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. Our Choosing a Strong Password guide can help you pick a strong 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 WNDR4300 Guides

This isn't our only Netgear WNDR4300 guide. We also have the following guides for this router.

This is the reset router guide for the Netgear WNDR4300 v1.0.1.42. We also have the following guides for the same router: