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Reset the Netgear WNR3500

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Setup Router Staff
Last Updated: | Reading Time: 4 minutes

This article covers how to reset the Netgear WNR3500 router back to factory default settings. A router reset is a much bigger deal than a router reboot. Every time your router loses power it reboots. A Router Reset completely erases the router and returns it to factory settings.

Warning: Before you continue, there are a few things you need to know. The following settings will be changed in your router:

  • The router's username and password are reset.
  • 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, 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. 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 WNR3500 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 faster than ever deal!

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 WNR3500 v2. We also have the following guides for the same router:

Recover Password in Netgear WNR3500

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

Just keep in mind that a router reset should be done as the last resort when you are unable to login to your router.

Reset the Netgear WNR3500

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NordVPN is the fastest VPN deal!

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There is usually a small reset button located on either the back or the bottom of a router. What you are looking for is 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 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.

Just don't forget that this will totally reset your Netgear WNR3500 router.

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 WNR3500

Now that you have finished resetting your router, you need to log in using the default username and password from the factory. You can find all of the information that you need in our WNR3500 Login Guide.

Change Your Password

Be sure to change your router's default password after you get logged back in. It's a very bad idea 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 WNR3500 Guides

We have collected a lot of information about the Netgear WNR3500 router. You can find some of our additional content here.

This is the reset router guide for the Netgear WNR3500 v2. We also have the following guides for the same router: