The default password as we have known it is now a thing of the past. There seems to be some confusion about the new default password and why you are just now seeing the change.
A quick explanation of why the change was made, on January 1, 2020 a law in California changed the way passwords are handled for any device connected to the internet. The new California state law (SB-327) states that manufacturers of any device connected to the internet (IoT-device) that want to sell their products in California have to equip the devices with “reasonable security feature(s)”. Manufacturers failing to do so will face enforcement from the California Attorney General and local officials.
Even if you are not in California you may be impacted by this law. Manufacturers cannot make this fundamental change to just the products going to California, so the change will be seen everywhere.
What this means to your Xerox device is that there will no longer be a universal default password as there is now. The 1111 default password that is used on most of the Xerox devices does not meet the regulations in the new law. Going forward the default password for the devices will be the serial number of the machine. The password on most devices is case sensitive, so if your serial number contains letters, please use the correct case. The system administrator should then change the password to something unique and memorable. Be sure to store this new password in a secure location.
You may have been prompted by the device for this new default password if the software/firmware is updated. Once an update takes place for whatever reason, including service calls and firmware/software upgrades, the new rules will apply and the new default password for your machine will then be the serial number of the printer.
Instructions for changing the password are found in the online knowledgebase for your printer at www.support.xerox.com. If your machine gets defaulted to the serial number as the password, you should then change it to something else that will be more secure and unique and that you can remember.
Below is a video on changing the system administrator password, the steps are similar on most of the printers and multifunction devices.
Xerox® VersaLink® Changing the System Administrator Password
Once you change the password from the default, if the new password is lost or forgotten a service technician visit will be required to reset the password to the default. There is not a way to reset the password remotely.
The main take away here is that depending on when the device was manufactured or the software/firmware version installed or upgraded, the default administrator password may be the device serial number instead of the original 1111. Now you know!!
