Wi-Fi extenders come with a default username/SSID, but this can always be changed by the user during the initial setup process, and also at any later stage as well. This is the network name that the extender shows up as when you do a search on your device for nearby networks in range.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to do this, mainly for the wireless username (also sometimes called the SSID), but for the admin name of your extender (to access the settings). We’ll cover all the bases of how to change the name you assign to your extender, both when your extender is brand new out the box, and also when you’ve already given it a name but want to change it to something else.

Let’s get started.

What Names/Usernames Does A Brand New Extender Have?

When you first get a brand new extender out the box, here’s what is normally the case:

• Wireless name/SSID – Is normally something very obvious that shows on the nearby networks list (eg. “TP-Link-Extender”), and is an open network to begin with, meaning no password is required to connect. Just click on it and begin the setup process (detailed in the next section) to set your own username.
• Admin username – Will be the default one listed on the sticker, often just “admin”, to put you into the extender’s settings panel.

Be aware that if your extender is actually second hand, it may still have the previous user’s settings stored on it. Factory reset it to restore all defaults (see section further below).

How To Change Your Extender’s Name When Brand New

When you’re first using a brand new extender out the box, the process of assigning a name to it (both the admin and wireless name) is taken care of during the normal setup process. In other words, run through the process of connecting your extender to your router, and this is taken care of as part of the setup. You get to assign your own wireless name and admin username for the extender.

Let’s list the normal set steps for more clarity:

Initial Setup Steps:

1. Note down login details on your extender on the label and plug it in near the router for initial setup (you can move it later once configured)
2. Find the extender’s SSID (network name) on your device and connect (it’s an open network when brand new, with no password needed).
3. Open any web browser on your phone/tablet and type in the access URL (on the label) into the address bar:
   1. • TP Link – http://tplinkrepeater.net
      • Netgear – http://mywifiext.net
      • Linksys – http://extender.linksys.com
      • Wavlink – http://wifi.wavlink.com
4. Enter the default admin username/password on the label (often just “admin” and “password”):

This should take you to the extender’s admin/settings/configuration page, which then allows you to begin the proper setup process, where you assign your own wireless and admin usernames. You might need to select the Quick Setup/Setup/Configuration option to begin this.

Firstly, run through the steps to add a new admin username/password, which is what you’ll use to login to the extender’s settings on all future occasions. Then move onto the wireless setup:

1. Find and connect to your router’s Wi-Fi network on the list within the extender.
2. Adding your own SSID/wireless name – Either copy or modify your router’s credentials for the repeater. You’ll have some boxes to confirm the extender’s new SSID/network name and password. The SSID is usually the same as your router’s, but with an extra “EXT” or “EXTENDER” bit on the end, but you can edit this to anything you want (eg. “Bob’s-Extender”). And the wireless password is set the same as your router and cannot usually be changed.
3. Save settings and find and connect the device to the new extender network you’ve just set up, which will have the SSID/name you set, and the same password as your main router.
4. A green light indicates the repeater is connected and working.
5. Then move the extender round to where you need it, still making sure it is within range of the router’s signal.

See our full guide on setting up a Wi-Fi extender on a browser for more detailed steps. Running through this process always gives you the option to edit the extender’s SSID/username to be whatever you want it.

How To Change Your Extender’s Name When It’s Already Been Configured

If you’ve actually already set up your extender and given it a certain name, but you want to change it to something else, this is also easy and a very similar process.

1. Open any web browser on a device connected to the extender’s Wi-Fi network.
2. Type in the default login URL of the extender (on the label) into the address bar. Common ones are:
   • • TP Link – http://tplinkrepeater.net
     • Netgear – http://mywifiext.net
     • Linksys – http://extender.linksys.com
     • Wavlink – http://wifi.wavlink.com
3. Enter the custom admin username/password you will have set yourself previously if you’ve configured the extender already (factory reset if you’ve forgotten them – see below).

Once inside the extender’s admin/settings panel, then here are your steps depending on which username you want to change:

Changing SSID/wireless name – You’ll have to reconfigure the extender from scratch. Run through the Setup/Quick Setup process all over again, finding and connecting to your router by entering the password. Then, on the screen that allows you to set/edit the SSID of the extender’s network, alter it to whatever you want (even making it identical to your router if you want), and continue with the rest of the setup.

Changing the admin username – You can either set up the extender again as above, or just scroll through the menus to find the tab which allows you change the admin credentials. It might be under Settings, Access, System Tools, Admin, Advanced, or something similar, and will vary between brands. There will be a tab where you enter the current username/password, and then set new ones and save them.

Useful Links For Different Extenders

Here are links to useful help guides for changing the extender name for different brands:

• TP Link – see our own guide for changing both the admin/wireless name for these models.
• Netgear guide
• Linksys guide
• D-Link guide

What If You’ve Forgotten Your Extender’s Name?

If you find yourself messing about too much with usernames you can’t remember, or perhaps you’ve set the extender’s SSID to be hidden but forgot the name you set it to and can’t look it up, the best option is to factory reset the extender. This reverts all setting to default and allows you to set it up again and assign usernames/passwords you can note down.

To do this, push a pin into the reset hole on the extender when it’s plugged in for a few seconds, until the light blinks or goes out:

 

Then wait a minute or two for it to re-initialize, and run through the extender setup process again as laid out above, where you can set a new admin and wireless name for it.

Can You Change The Extender’s Password As Well?

Username and passwords usually come together and are therefore set together, but the difference between admin and wireless credentials can be confusing, so let’s quickly cover passwords as well, and whether you can change them.

Wireless password – With Wi-Fi extenders, during setup they always clone or copy the wireless password of your main router, and cannot usually be altered. So no matter what, your extender’s Wi-Fi password will always be the same as your router’s when configured. To change it, you must also change your router’s password.

Admin password – This is always set, and therefore changed, along with the admin username. The two always come together, so whenever you set or change the admin username, there will always be a box underneath it to also change the admin password that goes with it as well.