Member Avatar for DeviousRidr

My buddy was over earlier today showing me how to setup QoS on my Linksys WRT54G Wireless Router and somehow disabled the wireless interface to the router. Unfortunately I found this out after my roommate started his afternoon long campaign on the Xbox, and the settings we changed earlier gave the Xbox priority on the network and has been eating majority of the bandwidth. The router is on the opposite end of the house from my comp, so my question is, is there any way to reset the router back to default config (already used the reset and tried leaving it unplugged for an hour) without having to go out and get 200' of ethernet cable? Thanks..... MK2

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had the router's wireless switched off during QoS fiddling and lost remote admin access; ’s point about settings surviving simple power cycles is why the wireless won’t just come back by unplugging. Practical options that avoid stringing a 200' cable across the house are listed below.

Try a true factory reset first. With the WRT54G powered on, press and hold the recessed Reset button (paperclip) for about 10 seconds until the LEDs change, then release and wait for the unit to fully reboot. After that connect to the router’s default LAN address (check the label/manual) and use the printed/default login to re-enable wireless. If a normal reset fails, a more aggressive NVRAM clear (commonly called a 30/30/30 reset) is sometimes used, but use it only if the simple reset does not work.

If reset methods don’t help, the easiest, least risky ways to get back in are: temporarily move a laptop or PC close to the router and use a short 3–15 ft patch cable; buy a cheap short cable (most stores sell them for a few dollars); or use a pair of powerline Ethernet adapters to bridge the two ends of the house. As a stopgap to stop the Xbox from eating bandwidth, physically disconnect or power‑off the console until admin access is restored.

Advanced recovery (serial console or TFTP firmware restore) is possible for experienced users but requires opening the case, a TTL USB adapter and model‑specific steps; it can void warranty and should be a last resort. After regaining access, re-enable the radio, secure the network with WPA2 + a strong passphrase, and save a backup of the working config. For ’s later question: use WPA2‑PSK and a strong password (and consider MAC filtering or reduced transmit power) rather than relying on hiding the SSID alone.

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Member Avatar for jbennet

you will need the ethernet cable.

I have that same router. It does not lose its setings on poweroff or reset.

Member Avatar for lilsteph79

I need to know how to lock mine so everyone in the apt cant pick it up and i can't find my disk.

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