How-to Guide
How to Factory Reset an Android Head Unit and What You Lose
Quick answer
Open Settings, then System, then Reset. It wipes every app, every login, your Bluetooth pairings and any setting you changed, and gives you back the unit as it left the factory. Set the clock before you sign in to Google afterwards, or the sign in fails with an error that never mentions the clock.
What this gives you
You get a clean start on a unit that's gone odd, and you don't have to pull it out of the dash or wait on anyone. Most of what looks like a hardware fault on an Android device is a software state, and a reset is the cheapest way to find out which one you've got.
Before you start
- Anything stored on the unit you want to keep, copied off to a USB drive first. Downloaded offline maps, saved tracks and any files go with everything else.
- Your Google account details, because you'll sign in again from scratch.
- A list of the apps you actually use, so you're not trying to remember them afterwards.
- Half an hour, and an internet connection, because the reinstalls need one.
Step by step
- Try the cheaper things first
Try a power cycle, then the current software, then a reset. If you're behind on software, running the update does a reset as part of it, so you'd be doing this twice.
- Save what you can't get back
Offline map regions are the big one on a touring build. They're a long download, and you rarely have a fast connection where you need them.
- Open Settings, then System, then Reset
That's the path. Read the confirmation before you accept it, because there's no undo once it starts.
- Let it finish and come back on its own
Don't switch the ignition off while it runs. It restarts itself.
- Set the time zone, the date and the time before anything else
If the clock's wrong, you can't sign in to Google. If you get a message saying something went wrong, set the time, power the unit off for ten seconds so it sticks, then try again.
- Update the Play Store, then sign in
Open the Play Store, tap the three dots for the menu, then select Update. Do that before you sign in and you avoid most login problems on a freshly reset unit.
- Pair your phone and reinstall your apps
Bluetooth pairings are gone on both sides, so delete the unit from the phone as well before you pair again. Then reinstall your apps and download your offline maps.
If it does not work
- If the Play Store tells you something went wrong, it's the clock almost every time. Set it, power off for ten seconds, then try again.
- If your phone won't pair afterwards, delete the head unit from the phone Bluetooth list as well. The phone is still holding the old pairing.
- If you get the same fault straight back after the reset, it isn't a software state, so a reset was never going to fix it. Check the software version next.
- If your unit reboots in a loop after you reset it, run the current software update from a FAT32 USB drive.
Worth knowing
A software update from USB does a reset as part of the install, so if you were going to do both, run the update and you've done both.
Still need help?
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