reset router password without changing settings/get settings before reset?

Question

I seem to have lost the router password to my wndr3700 and I need to add a new portforward to my already large list, thing is, I know I can do a factory reset, but that will also lose all of my portfowards and other settings. Is there some way of resetting just the password, or saving the settings so that I can restore them after the reset?

Answer 1

The official Netgear answer is :

Unfortunately, there is no way to recover a lost or forgotten password from a router or access point; you will need to reset the device to factory defaults.

If you have ever taken a backup of your router's configuration, you can use it to recover the password using the Nirsoft RouterPassView :

The backup file of the router usually contains important data like your ISP user name/password, the login password of the router, and wireless network keys. If you lost one of these password/keys, but you still have a backup file of your router configuration, RouterPassView might help you to recover your lost password from your router file.

Answer 2

More than likely not possible (at least, easily) since the router doesn't have a way of connecting that wouldn't require you to authenticate. Without physically taking the devices non-volatile storage out and reading it, I don't think this is possible.

I know it's repeated a lot, but it's essential -- keep good, regular backups of both your data and hardware settings for devices with complex setups.