Change your WiFi Password

So you bought a wireless router, now the question is how do I change the password so I can connect to it. Some routers come with "easy setup", where you press a button on the router, connect your device through their software, the device sets up automatically and you never have to worry about a password. This is all good and well, but what if you want to connect your phone, tablet, or just want to set your OWN password for wireless access.

The easiest way I've found to do this is to connect your computer to the router with an ethernet wire. If when you first turn on your router the connection is not protected then you don't have to, and can connect through wi-fi.

Navigate to 192.168.1.1 in your browser (in most cases). You should be presented with a log-in box. For my Linksys router the default was un: *leave blank* pw: admin . Of course you can refer to your manual, or visit the manufacturer webpage if that doesn't work.





After logging in, you are directed to the router administration page.

These will vary slightly, but the general idea is the same. Navigate to the wireless security section, and there you should have the options to change the encryption method, wireless password, among other settings. The wireless password (or key) is what you want to change, make sure it's something hard to guess for others, and write it down in case you forget it.



Let me warn you now (if you connected wirelessly), after you save the settings you will be redirected from the admin page and disconnected from the router (Linksys does this anyway). Don't panic, you changed the wireless password, what'd you expect? Reconnect to the router using your new password and navigate to 192.168.1.1 again. Log in (same credentials as before, we didn't change these).

Let me make a suggestion, change the log in password for the router control panel. Imagine someone gets your wi-fi password, logs onto your router using the default log in and changes all the settings (that will be the least of your worries)! This can be done through the same control panel. Of course you will be logged out after the changes are saved.



I hope this helps someone, and if you are unable to reconnect using your new wi-fi password (or you happened to forget it) you can either connect to your router with an ethernet cable and follow the above steps again, or you can reset your router.

If you are having issues, or need help with other network issues, don't hesitate to ask in the forum!


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