Debbie is trying to log in to her router; SSID is correct but login fails. What is the likely problem?

• A. The passphrase is case sensitive, and she left caps lock on.
• B. The router’s firmware is outdated.
• C. The password is stored in the browser cache.
• D. The device MAC address is not whitelisted.

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is that router admin credentials are case sensitive. The password you type must match exactly in uppercase and lowercase letters. If Caps Lock is on, every letter comes in as uppercase (or in the wrong case), turning a correct password into an incorrect one and causing the login to fail even though you know the password. Seeing the SSID means the device can reach the wireless network, but that doesn’t guarantee you can access the router’s admin page—the login uses a separate credential. The other possibilities are less likely: firmware status wouldn’t typically block a login just because the password is wrong, browser cache wouldn’t change the actual credential the router checks, and MAC address whitelisting would usually prevent access regardless of password rather than flip the password’s case. So, Caps Lock likely altered the password input, making the login fail.