Changing your Password

How often do you change your passwords?  Do you frequently use the same password in numerous applications?  Is your password complex enough?  What you were using a few years ago may not be the best choice now.  Then it's probably time to take a look at your wireless router security as well as your general use of passwords within applications and software.

Please keep in mind that when you change your WiFi password, or any password will also cause the need to change it on ALL of your devices, this includes tablets and wireless printers. Most devices are very simple to change, but depending on the device, there are some additional steps to connect with a new password.  Remember our Help Desk is more than happy to assist.

When creating a new password there are a few things to be considered to assure you are better protected.  We have supplied some recommend criteria for what is best suited for a home WiFi connection.  These are just recommendations and you can set this however you like.

Your password should:

• Have at least 10 characters
• Include Upper and Lower case letters
• Have at least one number
• Use WPA2/AES (Older devices may not support this.  These devices are items like Laptops running Windows XP/Vista, iPod 1-3, some versions of Kindles, and iPads).
• be random
• significantly different from previous passwords you have used in other applications
• And include at least two special characters (ie !,#,@, () _ ? / > . ) this can include spaces

Below are examples of things NOT to use in passwords;

• Should NOT contain your user name, you or children/families real name, or your companies name
• Should NOT be your Street Address or phone numbers
• Should NOT be your family/pet name
• Should NOT be a birthday/anniversiers
• Should NOT contain a complete or dictionary word (ie password, watermelon, Chiefs)
• Passwords from applications and services should not be the same password
• Should NOT be obvious information about yourself or location that anyone who knows you can guess

Help yourself remember your strong password by following these tips:

• Create an acronym from an easy-to-remeber piece of information.  For example, pick a phrase that is meaningful to you, such as My son's birthday is 12 December, 2004.  Using that phrase as your guide, you might use Msbi12/Dec,4 for your password.
• Substitute numbers, symbols, and misspellings for letters or words in an easy-to-remember phrase.  For example, My son's birthday is 12 December, 2004 could become Mi$uns's Brthd8iz 12124 (It is OK to use spaces in your password, it is a special character).
• Relate your password to a favorite hobby or sport.  For example, I love to play badmiton could become ILuv2playB@dm1nt()n

If you feel you must write down your password in order to remember it, make sure you don't label it as your password, and keep it in a safe place.

Examples of good passwords are something like:

• Dflv3702wrH3$1
• 3kd4#l;23!ndRE@
• !n33d@N3w?@55w0R)

If you can't seem to think of a good password, we do have a password generator that you can use,m this can be found by going to this page.  This might help with making a password.  As always please feel free to call our Help Desk at 1-888-565-3200 for assistance if the guides below don't work for you, or if you have any further questions.  You can also email us or chat with us.  This can be done by going to our Contact Us page.

Did you know that with the right software a WEP encryption on a router can be cracked in as little as eight seconds?  We recommend changing your password if you are using a WEP or WPA encryption on your router.  How do I change this you ask?    Well if you are using one a Nex-Tech provided router such as a Comtrend 5374 or a Linksys 1900 AC, simply click the name on either one below and we will show you how!

 Comtrend 5374

To get into your Comtrend 5374, you will first need to make sure that you are cabled into port or LAN 1 on the router.  This will prevent you from being kicked off the network when we change the wireless password.  To access the routers interface to make changes, you will need to open a web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Google Chrome).  Once you have that program open, please go to 192.168.1.1.  This will give you a prompt to enter in a username and a password. 

You will enter in user (for the username) and user (for the password). 

Once you are into the router you will see a screen similar to the one you see below.  This is the device's main page.  From here you will want to click on Wireless.

Once under Wireless you will click on Security. 

From here you will see an option for a "WPA/WPAI passphrase".  This is where you will change your wireless password.  Once you have entered in the password, click on Apply/Save. You can see what you set your password to by clicking on "Click here to display".

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Linksys 1900AC

You can get into the Linksys 1900 by going to 192.168.1.1 in a web browser.  This is done by connecting to the Linksys by either a cable into one of the LAN ports, or by connecting wirelessly to it (keep in mind if you are making changes via wireless, once you change the password you will loose connection to the router).  It will require either a email address and password, or the password of admin.  The email address you would have setup through Cisco. 

Once you login you will see a main page.  On the left side you will see a menu bar.  In here you will want to go to Wireless.

From here you can change the WiFi passwords for both the 2.4GHz network and the 5GHz network. 

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Calix 844e

First we will need to get into the configuration of the 844e from an internet device. This can be a computer, tablet or smart phone. This can be done either by a wired connection or by wifi. If connected via wifi your device will be disconnected from wifi once the password is changed.

To access the routers interface, you will need to open a web browser (Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, or Google Chrome). Once you have that program open, please go to 192.168.1.1. This will give you a prompt to enter a username and a password. We'll use "support" for both the username and password in the example below but the login for your device will be located on the device itself via a sticker.  Should you need assistance finding your username and password please call the Help Desk at 888-565-3200

Click Login or Hit Enter on the keyboard.

Once logged in you should see the router GUI.

Click on Wireless.

On the next page we will see the 2.4Ghz & 5Ghz options on the left. Each frequency can have a unique name(SSID) & password; however, for ease of use we typically set both passwords to be the same.

Click on 2.4G Network.

Click on SSID Setup. You can change the name of your wifi signal(SSID) in the "Rename SSID" field.

Click Apply to save changes. Please Note: If you are connected via wifi you will be disconnected.

Click on Security. The Security Type should be set to WPA2-Personal. If you are having trouble with older devices on wifi you may have to use WPA/WPA2-Mixed. From this page your wifi pass can be set in the "Use Custom Security Key" field.

Click Apply. Please Note: If you are connected via wifi you will be disconnected.

The process is the same for the 5Ghz Network.

Click on 5G Network.

Click on SSID Setup. You can change the name of your wifi signal(SSID) in the "Rename SSID" field.

Click Apply to save changes. Please Note: If you are connected via wifi you will be disconnected.

Click on Security. The Security Type should be set to WPA2-Personal. If you are having trouble with older devices on wifi you may have to use WPA/WPA2-Mixed. From this page your wifi pass can be set in the "Use Custom Security Key" field.

Click Apply. Please Note: If you are connected via wifi you will be disconnected.