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Reset the TP-Link TL-WR1043ND

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

This guide shows you how to reset your TP-Link TL-WR1043ND router to factory default settings. This is not the same thing as rebooting a router. Rebooting a router is simply turning it off and back on again. This is different from a reset because a reset completely erases all settings from the router.

Warning: Proceed with caution; resetting your router can be a major headache. A router reset will affect the following settings:

  • The router's login and password are reset.
  • Your WiFi name and password are reset.
  • All ISP settings will reset to default, and you may have to contact your ISP.
  • All port forwards, firewall settings, and parental controls 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. Make sure that you have tried to recover your router password using our Router Password Finder first.

Other TP-Link TL-WR1043ND 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 TL-WR1043ND. We also have the following guides for the same router:

Recover Password in TP-Link TL-WR1043ND

Before you resort to doing a full router reset, 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 - Recover Lost or Forgotten Router Passwords

Do not do a full router reset until after you have tried every other option to log in to your router.

Reset the TP-Link TL-WR1043ND

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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

Reset buttons are usually tiny. Yours may look slightly different than this. You may need a paper clip to push the reset button.

Hold the reset button down for about 10 seconds while watching the lights on the front of your router. Notice how the lights on the front of the router are blinking. When the lights do something different, the router is reset. Keep holding the button as long as you want, it will not hurt anything to hold it down too long.

Remember, this will totally reset your TP-Link TL-WR1043ND 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 TP-Link TL-WR1043ND

Now that you have finished resetting the router, you need to login to the router interface using the default username and password. We have a TL-WR1043ND 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. 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 TP-Link TL-WR1043ND Guides

This isn't our only TP-Link TL-WR1043ND guide. We also have the following guides for this router.

This is the reset router guide for the TP-Link TL-WR1043ND. We also have the following guides for the same router: