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General discussion

WIFI security passphrase lost on Comcast router

May 25, 2005 7:16AM PDT

I am looking to help my brother-in-law regarding his WIFI security passphrase. He doesn't remember setting up a passphrase (didn't use the wireless part of his "Wireless G Cable router WCG200-CC) and now wishes to.) This router was provided by Comcast and he has a simple home network with other PCs and printers.

Is there a way to reset the security option or is there a default passphrase?

Discussion is locked

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Most routers have a reset....
May 25, 2005 8:12AM PDT

button to restore default settings. All saved settings are lost and need to be reset.

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I should have said the WEP Passphrase
May 25, 2005 2:11PM PDT

When I posted the message, I should have said the WEP Passphrase. I have been able to get a strong signal from the router but unable to connect to the internet. I tried resetting the router but the only thing that changed was the SSID name: it went from his previous SSID (similar to his email account name) to Customer ID. This SSID is also WEP protected.

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Resetting...
May 26, 2005 12:38AM PDT

When Michael suggests resetting the router, that's not just a basic power cycle to refresh it, but it means finding the little button on the bottom or back or inside a little hole (through which you poke an unbent paper clip) that if you hold it in for several seconds (or maybe press the button while simultaneously plugging it in/turning it on), the device flushes its entire memory and resets everything to the factory defaults. This means you'll have to reconfigure everything from the get-go, but that's about the only way to go about setting a "new" passphrase when the old one is unknown.

dw