192.168.1.1 is a default IP address that was introduced by some companies like Linksys or Netgear to help their users, especially beginners, easily install and configure their broadband routers.
To see how easy it is to access the configuration panels, just do the following. Open your favorite web browser (Mozilla Firefox, IE, Opera, Google Chrome) and type 192.168.1.1 in the address bar at the top. There is no need to add http: // in front of it because the browser will automatically add this prefix when you enter the default IP address. After doing that, press the Enter button on your keyboard and you will be able to access the configuration panel where you configure your router to suit your needs.
The IP address 192.168.1.1 is actually a private IP address (IPv4) and we can practically configure any unit (router, computer, modem) with its help. Since it is a private IP address, it cannot be used on the Internet, but only within a network. This is what private IP addresses are intended for.
Can I reset my router’s default password?
There are cases where we desperately need to access our router’s configuration panel but cannot remember the username and password. A real nightmare, don’t you think? Well, if this happens, there is still some hope.
First, you can try using different combinations of usernames and passwords that can be found on the Internet. You would be surprised to know that you can easily find the default username and password for your router. Sometimes it is enough to know who the manufacturer is, and in other cases we can look up the default login details for a specific router model. In most cases, the combination of usernames and passwords for routers with a default IP of 192.168.1.1 is admin, admin; administrator password; blank, admin. Note that the words in bold are the usernames and the others are the passwords. Hopefully a combination will work. If not, search the Internet.
The last option for you, if nothing else works, is a hard reset. Although it sounds scary to a novice user, it really is nothing important. Each router has a hardware reset button. Just press and hold that button for half a minute and in a few moments your router will be back to its factory settings. Once done, try the default usernames and passwords that we mentioned above. This time it should work. The first time it was probably unsuccessful because someone changed the default login details.
