Forgot your switch password? Don’t panic, here are detailed solutions!

It is said that many people are confused about the password when logging into the switch. It is also said that the most common question among friends is: What is the default password of the switch? What should I do if I forget the password?

Ding ding ding ding! Here I come, the editor, instantly transforming into Zhuge Liang to teach and answer questions for my friends, so that they can become the new generation of password experts in no time.

Knowledge point 1: What are the ways to log in to the switch?

You can log in to the switch through the console port, Telnet, or Web.

Knowledge point 2: How to connect to the console port of the switch?

Knowledge point 3: What are the authentication methods when logging into a switch?

• AAA authentication method: Log in using username + password.
• Password authentication method: Log in using only the password.
• None authentication method: No username or password is required to log in.

Question 1: What are the default passwords of the switches?

When logging into the switch, you must be careful to check the version of the current switch and the method used to log in. The default password may be different for different versions or different login methods. For Telnet login to the switch, there is no Telnet user configured on the device by default, so you need to configure it yourself.

Question 2: What should I do if I forget my password?

If you haven't changed the default password of the switch and you forget the password, you can easily solve it by looking at the table above.

If you have changed the default password, or if there is no default password, you can solve the problem by recovering the password. However, please note that the method of recovering the password is different under different login methods.

The operation interface of different switches may be different.

Recovering the Console Port Login Password

(1) Method 1: Log in to the switch through Telnet and change the console port password.

If you have a Telnet account and administrator privileges, you can log in to the switch through Telnet, change the console port password, and then save the configuration.

• Step 1: Log in to the switch using the Telnet account.
• Step 2: Change the console user's password.

For example, the authentication mode is changed to password and the password is "huawei@123".

 system-view [HUAWEI] user-interface console 0 [HUAWEI-ui-console0] authentication-mode password [HUAWEI-ui-console0] set authentication password cipher huawei@123 [HUAWEI-ui-console0] return

• Step 3: Use the save command to save the configuration to prevent configuration loss after restart.

(2) Method 2: After clearing the console port password through the BootROM, change the console port password.

If the switch has dual main control boards, you need to unplug the standby main control board before restarting the switch. After completing the following operations, plug in the standby main control board and execute the save operation to ensure that the configurations of the active and standby main control boards are consistent.

The switch's BootROM provides the function of clearing the console port password, which allows you to skip the password check when you log in through the console port. After the switch starts, change the console port password and save the configuration.

• Step 1: Connect the switch to the computer via a serial cable and restart it. When the message "Press Ctrl+B to enter Boot Menu..." appears, press Ctrl+B and enter the password (the default password is [email protected]) to enter the BootROM main menu.
• Step 2: Follow the switch prompt and select Clear password for console user in the BootROM main menu to clear the console port login password.
• Step 3: Follow the switch prompts and select Boot with default mode in the BootROM main menu to start the device.

Do not select "Reboot" based on your own imagination, otherwise the password clearing will be invalid.

• Step 4: After the system is started, no authentication is required when logging in through the Console port. After logging in, configure the Console port password. For example, change to password authentication and change the password to "huawei@123".

 system-view [HUAWEI] user-interface console 0 [HUAWEI-ui-console0] authentication-mode password [HUAWEI-ui-console0] set authentication password cipher huawei@123 [HUAWEI-ui-console0] return

• Step 5: Use the save command to save the configuration to prevent configuration loss after restart.

Recover telnet login password

If the Telnet login password is lost, you can log in to the switch through other methods (such as the Console port) and reconfigure it.

• Step 1: Log in to the switch through other methods (such as the console).
• Step 2: Change the user password.

For example, the aaa authentication mode is configured for VTY0 to 4, the original user name is "huawei", and the password is configured to "huawei@123".

 system-view [HUAWEI] user-interface vty 0 4 [HUAWEI-ui-vty0-4] authentication-mode aaa [HUAWEI-ui-vty0-4] quit [HUAWEI] aaa [HUAWEI-aaa] local-user huawei password irreversible-cipher huawei@123 [HUAWEI-aaa] local-user huawei service-type telnet [HUAWEI-aaa] local-user huawei privilege level 3

Recover web login password

If the web login password is lost, you can log in to the switch through other methods (such as the console port) and reconfigure it.

• Step 1: Log in to the switch through other methods (such as the console).
• Step 2: Change the user password.

For example, the user name is "huawei" and the password is "huawei@123".

 system-view [HUAWEI] aaa [HUAWEI-aaa] local-user huawei password irreversible-cipher huawei@123 [HUAWEI-aaa] local-user huawei service-type http [HUAWEI-aaa] local-user huawei privilege level 3

Recovering the BootROM Login Password

You can log in to the switch through other methods (such as the console port) to reset the BootROM password.

• Step 1: Log in to the switch through the console port.
• Step 2: Run the reset boot password command in any view to restore the BootROM password to the default password ([email protected] by default).
• Step 3: Run the reboot command in the user view to restart the switch.
• Step 4: When the message Press Ctrl+B to enter Boot Menu... appears during the restart process, press Ctrl+B and enter the default password to enter the BootROM main menu.
• Step 5: According to the switch prompt, select "Modify bootrom password" in the BootROM main menu and change the password as prompted.