Internet, Networking, & Security Home Networking 153 153 people found this article helpful How to Connect to Your Home Router as an Administrator Use the router's IP address to access its settings and make changes by Bradley Mitchell Writer An MIT graduate who brings years of technical experience to articles on SEO, computers, and wireless networking. our editorial process LinkedIn Bradley Mitchell Updated on September 11, 2020 reviewed by Jon Fisher Lifewire Tech Review Board Member Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek. our review board Article reviewed on Feb 09, 2020 Jon Fisher The Wireless Connection The Wireless Connection Introduction All About Wireless What Does Wireless Really Mean? 802.11 Standards Explained The Range Of A Wireless Network Dual-Band Wireless Networking Explained How Bluetooth Works With Wireless Measure It: Wi-Fi Signal Strength What Is A Wi-Fi Hotspot? The Best Wi-Fi Channels For Your Network Access Your Router As An Administrator 5 Tips for Securing A Wireless Network How Many Devices Can Connect To One Wireless Router? How To Connect At Home How to Name Your Wireless Network How to Change Your Wireless Router's Admin Password Change the Wi-Fi Channel Number to Avoid Interference Build a Wireless Home Network Use Wireless Speakers In Home Theater Connect Your Echo & Alexa To Wi-Fi Connect Google Home to Wi-Fi Wirelessly Connect An iPad To Your TV Use a Free Firewall Program How To Connect On The Go How to Find Free Wi-Fi Locations Get 4G or 3G on Your Laptop Connect To Wi-Fi in Your Car Get Wireless Internet Access in a Hotel Use Your Android As A Wi-Fi Hotspot Set Up Personal Hotspot On Your iPhone Connect Nintendo Switch To Bluetooth Headphones Connect To A Wireless Network With Windows Access Your Computer Remotely How to Troubleshoot Wireless Issues 7 Reasons Wi-Fi Connections Drop Disable Automatic Wireless Connections on Windows How to Hack-proof Your Wireless Router How to Fix OS X Bluetooth Wireless Problems What to Do When Google Home Won't Connect To Wi-Fi How to Hide Your Wireless Network Can't Connect To The Internet? Try This What to Do When There's No Internet Connection The Future of Wireless 5G Changes Everything How 4G And 5G Are Different Why 5G Really Is Faster All About 5G Cell Towers 5G Challenges: Why It Isn't Rolling Out Faster Is 5G The High-Speed Replacement for Cable? When 5G Is Coming to the US The 12 Best 5G Phones Coming in 2019 Tweet Share Email To access a router as an administrator, you must know the router's IP address and the administrative user's password and username. How to Access a Router as an Administrator Lifewire / Tim Liedtke Follow these steps to connect to your router as admin: These steps work for nearly any router and modem, and can be accomplished through any modern web browser, on both desktop and mobile devices. Verify that your computer is connected to the router using either an Ethernet cable or a wireless connection. If you're trying to access a router outside of your network you need to enable what's usually called Remote Administration. You'll also need to know the router's external IP to make this work so that you can enter that address into the browser. However, this type of connection isn't guaranteed even if the remote admin setting is on since the IP address can easily change (if it's a dynamic IP, which most home networks are). Identify the IP address of the router. Most routers are manufactured to use a default address such as 192.168.0.1, 192.168.1.1, 192.168.2.1, or 192.168.1.100. If those don't work and you don't know the router's default IP address is, or if it was changed, see our How to Find Your Default Gateway IP Address guide. Open a web browser such as Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Firefox and request a connection to the router using its IP address. For example, type http://192.168.1.1 in the address bar to connect to a router that has 192.168.1.1 as its IP address. Enter the administrative login information to authenticate and access the admin settings. Routers are shipped with default usernames and passwords—usually the word admin but might be different for your router (some might not even have a password or might not use a username). Follow these links to see the default passwords and usernames for NETGEAR, D-Link, Linksys, and Cisco routers if you have one of those routers, or consult the router documentation if you're not sure what it is. Some routers are not accessed in the way described above. Most are, but a few, like Google Wifi, require different (usually easier) steps, such as using a mobile app. What If I Can't Access My Router? If after trying the username and password on the router, the browser returns an error message, your computer might not be connected to the correct router. Or, the username and password combination might not have been correct. If you're sure that you're using the correct IP address to access the router, try the following procedures: Reboot the router. Open a web browser such as Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Firefox, and request a connection to the router using its IP address. Temporarily disable the firewall. Open a web browser such as Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Firefox, and request a connection to the router using its IP address. Reset your router to factory defaults. This restores the router to its default condition with the IP address, username, and password that it was shipped with. Open a web browser such as Microsoft Edge, Internet Explorer, Chrome, or Firefox, and request a connection to the router using its IP address. 1:23 How to Reboot a Router & Modem Administer a Router Over Wi-Fi Setting up a router for the first time is best done over a wired connection so that the connection isn't dropped if the security or wireless settings are changed in the process. When you access a router over Wi-Fi, keep the computer close to the router, in the same room if necessary, to avoid connection drops due to interference or weak wireless signals. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Email Address Sign up There was an error. Please try again. You're in! Thanks for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. Thank you for signing up. Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit