Description
The administrator user name or password for the SonicWall appliance can be lost or corrupted in various cases. When this happens, there is no way to change the password or discover it as an administrator, and SonicWall technical support cannot help with password resets or recovery.
SonicWall appliances are first and foremost security devices, which means they don’t have backdoors or other exploitable access methods built in. While this may result in an administrator being locked out of their device, the benefits of a robust and secure network outweigh these concerns.
If you’ve misplaced your SonicWall administrative credentials, you only have two options, which are outlined below.
Solution 1: Reset the SonicWall to factory defaults and import a supported settings file
Safe mode is activated on the SonicWall. Entering Safe Mode using the GUI and Command Line Interface is a good place to start if you’re not sure how to accomplish it.
Factory Default Settings will be used to boot the SonicWall to the current firmware (or an Upgraded Firmware).
Connect to the SonicWall using the method and credentials listed below.
- SonicWall Generation 5 or SonicWall Generation 6 (SOHOW, TZ series) Generation 7 or SonicWall (TZ series)
- X0 is the management interface.
- 192.168.168.20 is the IP address of the local device.
- 192.168.168.168 is the SonicWall’s default IP address, and the administration credentials are admin | password.
- 6th Generation (NSA series) MGMT is the SonicWall Management Interface.
- 192.168.1.20 is the IP address of the local device.
- 192.168.1.254 is the SonicWall’s default IP address.
- admin | password are the admin credentials.
Follow the instruction in the upper right-hand corner of the GUI to register the SonicWall.
CAUTION: If you’re having trouble registering your SonicWall because of a DNS error, go to Network | DNS and change the SonicWall DNS to any public DNS server (8.8.8.8 | 4.2.2.2).
- Import the Settings File that you want to use. The admin | password credentials will still be required when
- the SonicWall reboots; this can be modified by going to System | Administration.
- 2nd option: Reset the SonicWall to factory defaults and rebuild the settings Manually
- Safe Mode should be enabled on the SonicWall. Entering Safe Mode using the GUI and Command Line
- Interface is a good place to start if you’re not sure how to accomplish it.
- Factory Default Settings will be used to boot the SonicWall to the current firmware (or an Upgraded Firmware).
Connect to the SonicWall using the method and credentials listed below.
- Sonicthe management interface.
- 192.168.168.20 is the IP address of the local device.
- 192.168.16Wall Generation 5 or SonicWall Generation 6 (SOHOW, TZ series) Generation 7 or SonicWall (TZ series)
X0 is 8.168 is the SonicWall’s default IP address, and the administration credentials are admin | password. - 6th Generation (NSA series) MGMT is the SonicWall Management Interface.
- 192.168.1.20 is the IP address of the local device.
- 192.168.1.254 is the SonicWall’s default IP address.
- admin | password are the admin credentials.
Follow the instruction in the upper right-hand corner of the GUI to register the SonicWall.
CAUTION: If the SonicWall won’t register due to a DNS error, go to Network | DNS and change the SonicWall DNS to any public DNS server (8.8.8.8 | 4.2.2.2).
Begin manually configuring the SonicWall as if it were brand new.
