How to change your WiFi password on any router

Short answer: Log into your router’s admin page, open the section usually called Wireless or WiFi Security, and enter a new password in the Network Key or Passphrase field. This is different from the admin login password, and saving it disconnects every device until each one reconnects with the new one.

Log into your router

Find your router’s admin address first — commonly 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1, though the exact address depends on the brand. Sign in with the admin username and password, not the WiFi password you’re about to replace. If you’ve never changed the admin login, check the label on the router itself; that’s usually where the manufacturer prints the default.

Find the WiFi password setting

The setting lives in a different place depending on brand:

• Netgear, Linksys: Wireless > Wireless Security, listed as “Network Key” or “Password”
• TP-Link, Asus: Wireless > Wireless Settings, listed as “WiFi Password” or “PSK Password”
• eero, Google Wifi, Deco: in the phone app, under network settings, no browser login needed
• Cable gateways (Xfinity, Spectrum): the WiFi tab on the gateway’s own admin page

If your router broadcasts a separate 2.4GHz and 5GHz network, some models let one password cover both, while others need each band changed on its own. Check that you’ve updated all of them before closing the page. Guest networks are a separate setting again, sometimes on the same Wireless page and sometimes tucked under its own tab, so if you’ve ever turned one on it’s worth checking it wasn’t left with an old, easy password of its own.

Choose a password that’s actually strong

A WiFi password sits on a sticker in some houses for a decade, so it’s worth getting right the first time. Longer beats cleverer: a random passphrase of four or five unrelated words resists automated guessing better than a short password with a symbol swapped in. Run whatever you land on through the password strength checker before saving it — it flags the common weak patterns, short length, dictionary words, keyboard sequences, that are easy to miss by eye.

Avoid anything printed elsewhere in the house, avoid your address or phone number, and skip the temptation to reuse an old password with one digit changed. That pattern is one of the first things automated guessing tools try.

Save it and reconnect your devices

Saving the new password drops every connected device, including the one you’re using to log in if it’s on WiFi. That’s expected. Go device by device and enter the new password: phones and laptops usually prompt for it automatically, but smart plugs, cameras, and thermostats often need their own app or a physical reset button to rejoin, since some of them have no screen to type into.

If you’ve forgotten what’s actually supposed to be on your network, pull up the connected devices list before you start, so you know what to expect once everything finishes reconnecting.

When to actually change it

There’s no fixed schedule that fits every household. Good reasons to change it: a device showed up on the network list that you don’t recognize, you gave the password out to a lot of guests or a short-term renter, or you moved into a place and the previous occupant’s WiFi credentials are still active. Outside of those, a WiFi password doesn’t need routine rotation the way an online account password might. The bigger risk is usually a weak password from the start, not an old strong one.

If you manage more than one router, find the admin login for each model rather than guessing. Default credentials and admin paths vary enough between brands that assuming they match is a good way to get locked out of your own network.

What changing it doesn’t fix

A new password locks out anyone using the old one, but it won’t help if the underlying issue is a weak admin login or an outdated router that’s stopped getting security updates from the manufacturer. Those are separate problems worth checking on their own. A strong WiFi password keeps casual guessing out; it’s not a substitute for keeping the router itself current.