Resetting router password... a less than satisfied experience for us

[althetrainer]

When my husband bought me a new laptop we also bought a router for wireless Internet two years ago. We paid the Geek guy from Best Buy to set everything up at home for us. When he asked me to come up with a password he said "This is probably the only time you will ever need your password so doesn't matter what password you use". So I came up with something and didn't even bother to write it down. Two years later (this Christmas), my husband bought himself a new laptop and he too wanted to use the wireless Internet. The problem was... I couldn't remember the password for the router. Another Geek guy came to set up the new computer for my husband. I just assumed resetting the password for a new computer part of the job. He said he would normally charge $140 to reset the password. I asked if there's any way to recover the password he said 'no', but he could lower the charge for us, since he's already at our house, to $79 reset the password for us. We felt that we really didn't have any choice so agreed to pay the $79 for him to do the job.

As he was working on my husband's new laptop in the basement I used my own laptop to search online and found out it was not that difficult to reset the password. According to my readings, all we have to do is to reset the router to default password then give it a new one. Unfortunately, by the time I found out about this he was already "on the job".

I know I was responsible to write down any passwords (I am usually very good at that) but the first Geek told me that it was the only time ever I needed that password...

From now on, we will write down everything even they tell you that you will never need it again. We paid the money but this is definitely a less than satisfied experience for us.

Oh well, lesson well learn...

[eldiablo]

Google is your best friend and knowing how to look for the info.It just may take some time and a bit of research. Count yourself lucky that it only cost you a couple of hundred dollars to learn this lesson. Many people end up paying substantially more.

[balance]

wow $79 to reset a router password... (you can buy a new router with that no offense)

when I have a computer problem, I always google it and take the time to read whats there, I know some folks aren't computer savvy but some website have step by step guides (pictures included)

a side note, write down the password that you don't use often in router manual/roger manual or even a sticky note and stick it in the back of the monitor

[astrotrain]

Wow, I had to comment, you got suckered!!

Jeeze it takes 2 mins to reset the router hence password by sticking a toothpick in the hole and to google the default password which is usually admin, admin.

BTW I just had to do the same 2 hours ago, sigh network issues . . .

I am not surprised the OP had some issues with this but the husband?? Come on now,

The Geeks probably love couples like this so they can take advantage . . . $75 for 5 mins of work, jeez lawyers don't make that much . . .

[l69norm]

Resetting the password is easy, but what about all the other settings in the router that will get wiped?

I think the password part is free. What you are paying for is setting up a router again from scratch, especially since the op might not even have any isp account settings ,etc. Also, what about the other devices the op owns like maybe a ps3. The geek guys going to have to setup all those devices too.

[althetrainer]

Yea, we are not tech savvy people so ended up paying for the lesson. Definitely will write down everything from now on. If I knew fixing the password cost that much I would have done my research before the guy even got here. We have Wii and Xbox but none of them are connected to the router so the Geek guy pocketed our money faster than he could push the paper clip into the reset button hole.

[_Allan_]

Wow, I had to comment, you got suckered!!

Jeeze it takes 2 mins to reset the router hence password by sticking a toothpick in the hole and to google the default password which is usually admin, admin.

BTW I just had to do the same 2 hours ago, sigh network issues . . .

I am not surprised the OP had some issues with this but the husband?? Come on now,

The Geeks probably love couples like this so they can take advantage . . . $75 for 5 mins of work, jeez lawyers don't make that much . . .

Some lawyers are $1000/hr ... or $16/minute.

[Jimbobs]

Wow, I had to comment, you got suckered!!

No, you didn't get suckered as others are a little too quick to suggest. You needed something done, you didn't have the knowledge to do it, so you paid someone to do so. Sure, you then looked it up and decided it was easy to do it - had you looked it up in the first place.

Would you feel the same way if your furnace wasn't working and your house was getting cold. Or your car wouldn't start in the morning when you needed to get to work. Or your kid was sick and you needed a doctor. Sure you could look them all up and maybe even fix these issues yourself. You might even get it right.

I think the fact that the guy was willing to reduce his price was pretty decent of him.