Reset AT&T Router Quickly and Easily. (Including Third Party AT&T Routers)

ByGraeme Hardware

Reset AT&T Router Quickly and Easily. in this guide with us and learn how to do it yourself. We have gathered up a lot of useful information for you. Even if you are not an electronics guru, we’ve written an article that shows you how to reset, restart, and power cycle your AT&T router.

You can also read some handy AT&T router resetting tips and tricks on the web. Check out our Amazon Associates recommendations below to enhance your current home WiFi setup.

This guide will also work if you have a non-standard AT&T router such as Asus, TP-Link, Netgear, or any other router brand in your home. This means that this guide should still be incredibly helpful to you for understanding the basics of your home internet setup. Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

Reset AT&T Router

Why Would I need to Reset my AT&T router in the first place?

You can easily reset your AT&T router on your own, which can save you lots of hassle, stress, and money on call out fees.

If you own a AT&T router, chances are at some point you have had problems with it. Have you had trouble streaming media or downloading files online because it’s acting up? 

You will learn how to reset your AT&T router and fix all of these issues with a few basics in this guide. When you learn how to do it yourself, you won’t need to call anyone else for your first line of troubleshooting and diagnostics. This new sense of independence makes living with an unpredictable internet connection much less terrifying.

What does resetting a AT&T router mean?

‘Resetting’ a router is always a little confusing, even though it shouldn’t be. The reason is that the term ‘resetting’ can mean a few different things, depending on who you ask and what their understanding of the process is.

Resetting often gets used instead of restarting or power cycling a router. Sometimes you will hear someone asking you to give your router a quick reset, when in fact they meant to say restart.

Resetting should actually refer to a configuration reset, such as a factory reset and not a restart or a power cycle. What makes this even more confusing is the fact that issues that you are trying to solve can sometimes be solved by a reset or a restart.

How do I know if I need to reset or restart my router?

The most obvious symptom is a lack of internet service. The first thing most people will do when faced with a similar issue is to simply restart the router, or power it off at the AC power and then power it back on again. Once the router has restarted, you can continue to troubleshoot your AT&T router.

The most common reasons why you might want to restart your AT&T router or AT&T router are:

  • Slow internet
  • WiFi signal keeps dropping
  • No internet connection at all, red light 
  • Router frozen, lights no blinking
  • Can’t connect to the WiFi

You want to reset your router if you are experiencing issues like these:

  • You have lost your login details for your router
  • You cannot access your router via WiFi or Ethernet
  • You suspect that unauthorised users are accessing your router and you can’t change your WiFi password
  • You want to sell your router and you want to erase all of your personal data from the unit

Reset Methods

There are many ways to reset your AT&T router, regardless of the make or model. We will cover some fundamental ways for you to reset your AT&T router or router, as well as other manufacturers. The good news is that it is very easy to do, no matter which method you choose, although in the case of a factory reset you will need to do a little prep work, which we will cover below.

Reset via login

Resetting your AT&T Hub is very easy, but you will need some details in order to accomplish this. The first thing that you will need is your router’s IP address. Don’t panic, this is printed on the underside of your router. AT&T default IPs normally look something like:

192.168.100.1

If you have set up your IP address to match a different subnet then you will need to consult your records and find out what it was set as. If you still can’t find it, then you can try a few other things. 

Log onto a Windows computer and press the following keys:

Windows + R

Next, type in the following command:

Next, type in this command:

tracert 8.8.8.8

This will show you a series of hops that your data takes to Google’s DNS server 8.8.8.8. The first IP address is usually your router. In this example, the IP address is 192.168.101.1, so we would take it and enter it into a web browser. This will take you to the router’s login page.

Once you login to your router, navigate to the settings or administration tab on your router. You will then find the ‘Factory Reset’ or ‘Reset Router Defaults’.

Here is an example of an Asus router menu:

Reset via Mobile App (If applicable)

If your router happens to come with a mobile app then you can also perform a factory reset via your smart device like a mobile phone or tablet. Once installed, it is just a matter of opening the app and logging on with your router’s credentials.

From there, you can use all of the same functionality as the web login, allowing you to reset your router from wherever you are, in some cases even when you are not at home. 

Factory reset

Sometimes it is necessary to restore the defaults of your AT&T router, and this could be necessary for a few reasons. The first, and most common issue that people experience that necessitates a factory reset is a forgotten username and password to get into the router.

This is usually found on the underside of the router itself, but you are able to reset these to something more secure or memorable if you need to. Whatever the reason is for not being able to login to the router, all you need to do is the following.

  1. Look on the back of your AT&T router and find the small hole labeled ‘Factory Reset’ and insert a pin or paper clip until you feel a gentle click of the button being depressed.
  2. Hold it in until you see the LEDs on the device start to flash. 
  3. Wait for the LEDs to go back into a ready state.
  4. Once this has completed then you can login with the supplied credentials under the router.

You can now log in and check that you are connected to the internet. If you are still having problems with your router then you will need to contact AT&T, or you can reach out to your router’s support team if you are using a non AT&T router. 

AT&T Support  https://www.att.com/support/contact-us/

TP-Link Support  https://www.tp-link.com/uk/choose-your-location/

D-Link Support https://www.dlink.com/en/support

Asus Support https://www.asus.com/support/

NETGEAR Support https://www.netgear.com/support/

Restarting AT&T Router

If you need to troubleshoot your router before taking the more drastic steps of a factory reset, then sometimes a simple router restart will do the trick. You will also hear the term ‘reboot’ thrown around, which is the same thing as a restart.

If you have a mobile phone or tablet running on the AT&T network, you can do a simple restart of your router via the mobile app. If those options are not working for you, then you can try one of the following methods as a quick fix.

Powering off the device (Have you tried switching it off and on again?)

Some people will tell you that you have to turn your router off completely to clear a fault. The easiest way to do this is to unplug the router’s power cable, wait 5 to 10 seconds, and then plug it back in, and make sure that the power button is still on. 

The time spent while switched off and unplugged allows for all the electronic components in the device to fully discharge, and lose the temporary data in their storage, allowing the device to operate as intended.

This temporary storage is also called volatile memory, and is designed to be emptied out when power is lost. The actual configuration settings of your router are stored in non-volatile memory.

Login and reset your AT&T router

It seems so easy to simply restart the router, so why would you want to login and restart the router if it requires a simple power cycle? If you don’t have physical access to your router (it is locked in another room, installed in a hard to reach space, or you need to restart the device remotely and you are not at home)

Every router model is different, so be sure to look at your specific model router on how to login and perform a restart. Simply log into your router and go to the admin panel. From there, look for a restart or reboot option, and click that. The router should restart and then come back online after a few minutes.

Factory reset your AT&T Router

Be sure to take note of your router’s current settings before you perform a factory reset. AT&T routers retain the correct customer account data for your AT&T router, so it should reconnect without any further intervention needed from your end.

However, you should note all of the settings of your device before undergoing a factory reset in case there is a WiFi or network setting that you have changed or configured at some point in the past that you can’t quite remember.

It is far easier to note these settings down than it is to reconfigure all of your wireless devices if your WiFi name or password suddenly changes. 

And we’re done!

Hopefully, your router is now back online after rebooting, restarting, or resetting it. You should also have a much better understanding of how the different procedures work, and which should be used when.

You can reset or restart a router easily, but if you want to troubleshoot it, you’ll have to know how exactly to do it. We have hopefully provided you with some information and techniques so you can fix up your internet.

You would then have achieved the first step toward establishing your self-sufficiency in maintaining your internet connection once your router is set up. Ultimately, this saves you time and money by avoiding unnecessary phone calls from the internet provider.

Until next time, happy surfing. 

Graeme is a CompTIA and Microsoft Certified IT professional with an interest in computers, cybersecurity, internet technologies, WiFi routers, and Internet Service Providers. He is highly knowledgeable and has over 20 years of experience working in the industry and has written for places such as CBT Nuggets, InfoSec, and Engineering.com.