Question How can I successfully change the CR1000A router PassWord? Manual is No Help.

[tperk100]

Are there password configuration requirements for the CR1000A Router? …like no special characters etc.? If so, what are they?

Under Advanced, System Settings, User Settings, using the PW Generator in Bitwarden PW Manager, I changed the PW from the factory default to a more complex one. I applied the changes, then logged out of the router.

Trying to log back in, the router would not accept the new password, NOR would it accept the factory PW. So I had to push factory re-set button on rear of router for 15 seconds. After the router came back up, it would not accept the factory default PW. Tried numerous times. Would not accept my “new” PW either. Not knowing what else to do, I factory re-set the router again. Now is does accept the factory PW.

However, copying and pasting the PW would not work! I had to enter the PW one character at a time. I had not tried this after the first re-set.

How can I successfully change the router PW?

Thanks

 

[COLGeek]

After you initially changed the admin password, did you restart the device?

Also, be diligent about ensuring no extra spaces get added when copying/pasting passwords. Those spaces will count as a character and cause failure.

 

[bill001g]

Generally the factory password is ok on the router. Every router should have a unique one unlike years ago where they were all linksys or something silly. It should not be a huge security exposure to use the factory one.
I think by default there is no way to even attempt to use the admin password if you are not on the local network. There are options to change this so it can be admin from internet but that would not be a recommended thing to do.

So even if someone has your password they would have to connect to your network. You might be able to set it so admin can not be done via wifi which then means someone must be inside your house. At that point they could just factory reset the router like you are doing.

The most risky thing that many routers have on by default is called WPS. This is a wifi setting used by people who can't resist buying "smart" internet devices. Many of these require the WPS feature to connect. WPS was hacked almost within days. It can now be cracked with a mid range cell phone in minutes. You want this feature off.

 

[BFG-9000]

The typical way to directly change the password in NVRAM without going through the GUI is to Telnet (or SSH) into the IP address, login with the old password, then issue the "passwd" Linux command which will first prompt you to enter the new password, then to retype it to confirm.

If the manufacturer is more security-minded then encrypted SSH may be required to enable unsecured Telnet via commandline or GUI, but that is unlikely for an ISP device that enables Remote Console or WPS by default, and usually you would try Telnet first anyway because your machine may not already have a compatible key exchange method for SSH so might require some tinkering to get working (may be easier with Mac or Linux).

Here's a pretty thorough teardown of it, with a link to its FCC RF test report. You could contact the device manufacturer listed in the report (Wistron NeWeb Corp.) with any questions, as nobody at Verizon is likely to know much about it.