Rebooting the router is sometimes a routine process that amazingly helps solve internet issues, whether some websites are not loading, YouTube videos suddenly stop during playback, or you can’t connect to Wi-Fi through a printer or phone. Whatever the case may be, restarting the router usually resolves any problem, and we have previously explained in detail the reasons for that.
However, sometimes it may be challenging to physically restart the router by unplugging and reconnecting the power or pressing the Power button to restart it. Therefore, we previously explained how to create a small file on the desktop that automatically restarts the router when double-clicked. Instead of that method, we will now discuss another method in this article that achieves the same task but relies on Windows CMD commands.
Article updated on 04/05/2023
This method relies on Telnet Client commands to remotely control the router connected to the computer, whether the connection is via Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi. In case you’re not familiar, Telnet (short for TErminaI NETwork) is basically a protocol used to log into another computer and work on it remotely through the command line. Telnet is often used to configure network-related devices like routers. You can refer to our previous article on “What is Telnet in Windows” to learn more about it. In short, Telnet commands can be executed on any operating system, whether Windows, Linux, or macOS. Specifically for Windows, you first need to enable Telnet Client commands through the Control Panel.
Whether you’re using Windows 7 up to Windows 11, all you need to do is open the Run window by pressing the Win + R keys together on the keyboard, then type the command [optionalfeatures] and press Enter to display the Windows Features window. Now scroll down, check the box next to “Telnet Client,” and click OK to activate the feature. It will only take a few minutes until you see the message “Windows completed the requested changes,” then close all windows. Telnet commands are now successfully activated, and you can start using them to manage the router.
There are certainly many commands because the control options are diverse, but at least we will discuss how to use them to reboot the router only.
Now open the Command Prompt on Windows using any method we discussed before, but the easiest way is to press the Win + S keys together on the keyboard to open the search bar, then type “CMD” or “Terminal” if you’re using Windows 11, then from the search results, press “Open” to run the Command Prompt. Once the CMD or Terminal window appears, type the command [ipconfig] and press Enter to display information about the currently connected network. The most important information here is the router’s IP address, located in front of the Default Gateway section. In most cases, this IP will be 192.168.1.1. After knowing it, enter the command “telnet 192.168.1.1” but replace the IP with the address shown in the Default Gateway.
By pressing Enter to execute the previous command, you will be asked to enter the username and password to log in to the router remotely; in some cases, only the password may be required. At this stage, try using “admin” as the username and password, as it is the default login for any router. But if login is denied, refer to the topic of knowing the username and password for the router to know what to do.
After entering the username and password correctly, you should see the router’s name or model in the Command Prompt window, allowing you to enter commands under that router’s name. As shown above, in my case, I’m using a TP-Link router. In any case, to complete the router reboot, you will need to enter one of the following commands, as each router has its diverse settings and different names:
rebootset rebootsys rebootsystem reboot
Once you find the correct command compatible with your router and execute it, you should notice that your internet connection is disconnected from your device and any device connected to the router in general since it is rebooting. This is all about rebooting the router using CMD; it is an easy method if you know exactly how it works, as you can do it instead of physically going to the router and restarting it in the traditional way.
