Can't access router settings from router address

[coolstorybro]

Background info: I can no longer connect to my wireless internet after having virtually no problems. I do still have internet, just not wifi.

So the problem is, according to system preferences on my macbook pro, my router's ip address starts with 172.... but when I put in said router address in my browser it does not work. What is the problem here? I have tried every default router address I have found on the internet to no avail. Help?

[phoenix_2000]

it seems the IP you gave is the external IP for your router (the IP anyone on the outside would use to connect with it), but you can't connect to your router's external IP while you are on the same network as that router.
(some professional routers do have that capability, but i doubt you have it).
every router also has an internal IP, usually starting with 192.168.
in most cases, the router's IP is 192.168.0.0 or 192.168.0.1, unless your admin changed that.

and if you can't get on the router, try and see if your router has a reset button. in some cases it's a smal hole in the back through which you'll have to push a needle for a few seconds.

[JorgeM]

Your router's IP address is going to be the default gateway IP address that you can find in the TCP/IP configuration of your client.

If you open a web browser and type http://172.x.x.x, that will get you to the login page. If it doesnt, its because the router may be listening on a port other than port 80, such as 8080 for example. You would then type http://172.x.x.x:8080.

These ranges are all internal private ranges:
10.x.x.x./8
172.16.0.x-172.31.255.255/16
192.168.x.x/24

In any case, before you reset the router to defaults, take a look at the router's documentation.