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Reset the TP-Link Archer C20

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

In this article, you will learn how to reset your TP-Link Archer C20 back to factory settings. This is a much bigger deal than a router reboot. Every time your router loses power it reboots. This is very different from a reset, which erases a router completely and returns it to factory default settings.

Warning: This is not a step to be taken lightly. A router reset will affect the following settings:

  • The router's login and password are reset to factory defaults.
  • All WiFi settings are reset, including network name and password.
  • If your router has any ISP settings they will be removed, and you will have to contact your ISP.
  • Any firewall settings, parental controls, and 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 TP-Link Archer C20 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 TP-Link Archer C20 0.9.1 4.16 v0001.0. We also have the following guides for the same router:

Recover Password in TP-Link Archer C20

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 - Lost or Forgotten Router Password Recovery Tool

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

Reset the TP-Link Archer C20

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NordVPN is the fastest VPN 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.

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

Router Reset Button

Reset buttons are usually tiny. Yours may look slightly different than this. Sometimes the reset button is under a pinhole on the back of the router, and you need a paper clip to push it.

Keep an eye on the lights on the front of your router while holding the reset button down for about 10 seconds. You should notice that the blinking pattern of the lights on the front of the router changes after a few seconds. You cannot hold the button too long, and it will not hurt the router to hold the reset button down for longer than 10 seconds.

Remember, this will totally reset your TP-Link Archer C20 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 TP-Link Archer C20

Once the reset is complete, you need to login to your router using the default IP address, username, and password. We have a Archer C20 Login Guide with all this information ready for you.

Change Your Password

Be sure to change your router's default password after you get logged back in. Leaving a router password set to default is a very serious security risk. If you need help coming up with a strong password, check out our Choosing a Strong Password guide.

Tip: Write your new password down on a note and tape it to the bottom of your router for future reference.

Other TP-Link Archer C20 Guides

Here are some of our other TP-Link Archer C20 guides that you might be interested in.

This is the reset router guide for the TP-Link Archer C20 0.9.1 4.16 v0001.0. We also have the following guides for the same router: