I recently sold my cable modem/router on Facebook Marketplace and realized afterward that I forgot to do a factory reset before selling it. I'm not very tech-savvy, so I'm wondering if this oversight poses any risk to me. What should I be concerned about, if anything?
3 Answers
It’s a bit inconsiderate not to clean it before selling, but you can do a quick wipe down with disinfectant wipes! If you want to be extra thorough, you can use Q-tips with rubbing alcohol to clean the ports and use a vacuum with a brush attachment to get rid of dust. Just make sure to tell the buyer to reset it—that’s good practice! Oh, and now they might even have access to passwords you used, so it’s better to be cautious next time.
The main concern is if you used the same password for other accounts. If you did and didn’t reset it, they could ask you for it when they set it up. But generally, routers have a reset function, so they can just reset it to factory settings and it won't hold your old credentials.
Exactly—most routers have a reset button, so there’s no need to worry.
If the buyer is tech-savvy, they might be able to access some of your previous router info, like your admin password and MAC addresses. They could even see some of your browsing history if you had logging enabled. To stay safe, make sure to use a new username and password for your new router. You might also consider powering off your current modem for a little while to possibly get a new IP address from your ISP. But honestly, they’re probably just going to look up how to reset it when they can’t log in with the default password, which should wipe everything.
Thanks for clarifying that! Glad to hear they can just reset it. Appreciate your help!