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Reset the Sitecom WL-173

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

This guide shows you how to reset your Sitecom WL-173 router. Resetting a router is different than rebooting a router. Rebooting a router is simply turning it off and back on again. This is very different from a reset, which erases a router completely and returns it to factory default 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 to factory defaults.
  • Your WiFi login, password, and network name are reset.
  • 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.

Resetting your router should be considered the last step. Before you reset your router, you may want to try recovering your router password with our Router Password Finder.

Other Sitecom WL-173 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.

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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 Sitecom WL-173. We also have the following guides for the same router:

Recover Password in Sitecom WL-173

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.

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

Only after you have tried to recover your missing router username and password should you perform a full router reset.

Reset the Sitecom WL-173

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On most routers you can find a small button on the back or the bottom labeled reset. What you are looking for is something that looks like this:

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.

Watch the front panel lights while you hold the reset button down for at least 10 seconds. After a few seconds the lights should blink differently. When this happens, the reset is complete. Do not worry about holding the button down too long; this is harmless.

Don't forget, this step will totally reset your Sitecom WL-173 router back to factory settings.

Be sure to only reset your router if you have tried everything else, such as running our Router Password Finder software, which can find your lost or forgotten router password for you.

Login to the Sitecom WL-173

Now that you have finished resetting your router, you need to log in using the default username and password from the factory. Just follow our WL-173 Login Guide to find all of the information that you need.

Change Your Password

You need to change your router's default password after you log in for the first time. It's a very bad idea to leave your router's password set to the factory default. If you need help coming up with a strong password, check out our Choosing a Strong Password guide.

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 Sitecom WL-173 Guides

If you want additional help with your Sitecom WL-173 be sure to check out some of our other guides.

This is the reset router guide for the Sitecom WL-173. We also have the following guides for the same router: