How to Change Your Wi-Fi Password

Your Wi-Fi password is one of those things most people set up once and never think about again — until someone asks what it is, or until you suspect someone has jumped on your network uninvited. Changing your Wi-Fi password takes about five minutes, requires no technical knowledge, and can be done from your phone or laptop. This guide walks you through it, step by step.

When Should You Change Your Wi-Fi Password?

There are a few good reasons to change it:

You have given it to a lot of people (guests, tradespeople, neighbours) and you would rather start fresh
You are moving into a home where others knew the previous password
Your broadband provider sent you a new router
You suspect someone is using your connection without permission
You simply want something easier to remember than the random string printed on the router

What You Will Need

A device connected to your Wi-Fi (phone, laptop, or tablet)
The router’s admin login — usually printed on a sticker on the bottom or back of the router

The router admin login is different from your Wi-Fi password. The admin login lets you into the router’s settings page. It is often something like admin / admin or printed on the router alongside the Wi-Fi details.

Step-by-Step: How to Change Your Wi-Fi Password

Find your router’s IP address. This is the web address you type to get into the router settings. Common ones are 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1. It is often printed on the sticker on the router. Some routers use an address like routerlogin.net instead.
Open a web browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox — any will do) on a device that is currently connected to your Wi-Fi.
Type the IP address into the address bar at the top (not the search box) and press Enter. You should see a login page for your router.
Log in with the router admin username and password. These are printed on the sticker — often “admin” for both, or a random password shown on the label.
Once inside, look for a section called Wireless, Wi-Fi Settings, or WLAN. The exact name depends on your router brand.
Find the Password, Passphrase, or Security Key field.
Delete the old password and type your new one.
Click Save or Apply.
The router will restart briefly. All devices that were connected to your Wi-Fi will disconnect and need to reconnect using the new password.

How to Choose a Good Wi-Fi Password

Your Wi-Fi password is the main line of defence against strangers using your connection. Here are some guidelines:

At least 12 characters. Longer is harder to guess and harder to crack.
A mix of letters, numbers, and symbols. Something like Sunflower-74-Rain! is both memorable and secure.
Avoid obvious choices: your house number, your surname, “password123”, or the same password you use everywhere else.
A passphrase works well: three or four random words joined by hyphens or punctuation are genuinely hard to crack but easy to tell a guest.

What to Do After Changing the Password

Once the router restarts with the new password, you will need to reconnect all your devices:

On each phone, tablet, and laptop, open Wi-Fi settings.
Find your network name (it has not changed, only the password has).
Tap it and enter the new password when prompted.

Devices to remember include: smart TV, streaming sticks, games console, smart speaker, smart doorbell or security camera, printers, and any smart home devices. This can take 10–15 minutes if you have many connected devices, but you only need to do it once.

Tips and Common Mistakes

Write the new password down before you save it. Do not lock yourself out by changing it and then forgetting what you chose. Keep it somewhere safe, like a notepad in a drawer or a password manager.
Do the reconnection when you have time. Changing the password right before you need to use the smart TV for movie night means 10 minutes of reconnecting everything. Do it on a quiet afternoon.
Check if you have a 2.4GHz and 5GHz network separately. Many modern routers broadcast two different network names. If yours shows two (often named something like “HomeWifi” and “HomeWifi_5G”), you may need to change the password on both.
Do not change your router admin password at the same time. The admin login and the Wi-Fi password are separate. Changing both at once and then forgetting them can lock you out of the router entirely.

What if the Router Has a Dedicated App?

Many modern routers — especially those from Virgin Media, Sky, BT, or Vodafone, as well as mesh Wi-Fi systems like Eero or Google Nest Wi-Fi — come with a companion app on your phone. In these cases, the process above is replaced by opening the app and finding a Wi-Fi or Security section. The steps vary by provider, but it is generally even simpler than logging into the router settings page.

Frequently Asked Questions

What if I cannot log into my router’s settings page?

Double-check the IP address (try both 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.0.1), and make sure you are using the admin login from the sticker on the router — not the Wi-Fi password. If you have changed the admin password in the past and forgotten it, you will need to do a factory reset of the router (usually a small button on the back held for 10 seconds), which will also reset the Wi-Fi password back to the one on the sticker.

Will changing the Wi-Fi password kick everyone off?

Yes, everyone — including you — will be disconnected when the router restarts with the new password. You will all need to reconnect using the new one. This is intentional if you are trying to remove someone from your network.

Can I keep the same Wi-Fi name after changing the password?

Yes. The network name (called the SSID) and the password are separate settings. You can change just the password and leave the name exactly as it was.

How often should I change my Wi-Fi password?

There is no strict rule. Most households change it whenever circumstances change — a tenant moves out, a lot of guests have been given access, or they suspect an issue. For typical family use, once every year or two is reasonable.

What if my router is rented from my broadband provider?

You can still change the Wi-Fi password on a rented router — it does not affect your broadband contract. The process is the same. If you are unsure, your provider’s website usually has a specific guide for their router model.

Last updated: November 13, 2026