A beginner guide to setting up a Synology router | soft and hard reset

Note: A soft reset will create a new administrators account while disabling any administrators accounts that the router was previously using. So you can either create an administrators account that uses a new user name, or reuse an existing name from an admin account that you have forgotten the password to.

• Locate the reset switch on the rear of your router.
• Using some sort of reset tool, ie a paper clip. Gently press and hold the reset switch for 5 seconds.
• Connect to Synology Router Manager via a web browser.

Note: There will be no indication that your router has been placed into soft reset mode. So your router will remain connected to the internet and any wireless access points you have created, will continue to work. If you have problems connect to your router, try using a network cable from your computer to your router. The port on your router to use is port 2, as that is usually the maintenance port.

Accessing Synology Router Manager, is then done via a web browser using the IP address assigned to your router. If you are not sure of your routers IP address, try using the default IP address (192.168.1.1 ) used when setting up all Synology routers.

• You should presented with a Reset Password page.
• Fill out the form to create a new administrators account or reset the password to an existing account. 
• Select Submit.
• Refresh your browser to see the Synology Router Manager sign in page.

After performing a soft reset your router may now have multiple administrator accounts. So for security reasons it is best practise to delete any admin accounts that are no longer needed or have been disabled.

• Log into your active administrators account
• Open Control Panel, and select User
• Highlight the disabled admin account you no longer need
• Select the delete icon
• When prompted, confirm that you wish to delete the account.

In this video we are going to demonstrate how you perform a hard reset on a Synology router. As a hard reset will return your router back to its factory defaults. Typically you would perform a hard reset if you want to delete all settings and apps, and then reconfigure it from scratch. 

Note: While performing a hard reset can be useful if you decide to reconfigure your router from scratch. It will not return the routers firmware to a previous state. Instead it will continue to use the version that was last downloaded. This is in keeping with Synology, who do not recommend that you attempt to downgrade the firmware of your router. 

• Log into SRM with administrators privileges
• From the SRM desktop select Control Panel
• Using the sidebar in Control Panel, select System
• Under Configuration Backup and Restore chose Restore factory default settings
• You will now be prompted to confirm that you wish to perform a factory reset
• When you select Erase All Data your router will be return to its factory defaults.

Notes: You will know that your router is being reset because the status light on the front of the unit will flash amber, or blue in the case of the Synology MR2200ac. It should also be noted that it can take between 10 to 15 minutes for a Synology router to perform a hard reset. 

After factory resetting your router, the SSID will also reset. So if you need to reconnect to your router via WiFi ie to reconfigure it. The name of the routers wireless access point will start with “Synology_[part of its serial number]”. If prompted for a password when connecting to the SSID, you will need to enter the word “synology“. To then reconnect to Synology Router Manager, if you type either 192.168.1.1:8080 or http://synology.router.com you will be shown the setup wizard.

If you can’t access Synology Router Manager in order to perform a hard reset. You can hard reset the router directly from the unit. 

• Locate the reset switch on the rear of your router.
• Using some sort of reset tool ie a paper clip, gently press and hold the reset switch for 10 seconds.
• When the status light on the front of the router starts to blink green release the reset switch.
• Wait roughly 10 minutes for the reset process to finish.

• Synology support article – Synology Router User Guide 1.3.
• mydoodads support article – A beginners guide to setting up a Synology router | Initial setup.
• Amazon store link – Synology router RT6600ax.
• Amazon store link – Synology router WRX560.
• Amazon store link – Synology router MR2200ac.
• Amazon store link – Synology router RT2600ac.