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Reset the Netgear WNR2000

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Setup Router Staff
Last Updated: | Reading Time: 5 minutes

This guide shows you how to reset your Netgear WNR2000 router to factory default settings. Resetting a router is different than rebooting a router. 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: Since this erases everything you have done to the router, there are some things you need to consider first. The following settings will be changed in your router:

  • The router's login credentials are reset.
  • Your WiFi name and password are reset.
  • All ISP settings will reset to default, 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 WNR2000 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 WNR2000 v2. We also have the following guides for the same router:

Recover Password in Netgear WNR2000

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.

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

A router reset should be the last thing you try if you are unable to login.

Reset the Netgear WNR2000

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You can usually find a small reset button on either the back or the bottom of a router. This is what a typical reset button looks like:

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. The blinking pattern of the lights on the front of the router should change when the reset is complete. It is harmless to hold the reset button too long.

Keep in mind that this will completely reset your Netgear WNR2000 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 WNR2000

Now you need to log in using the factory default username and password. Just follow our WNR2000 Login Guide to find 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 talks about choosing a strong 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 WNR2000 Guides

We have collected a lot of information about the Netgear WNR2000 router. You can find some of our additional content here.

This is the reset router guide for the Netgear WNR2000 v2. We also have the following guides for the same router: