How Do I Factory Reset Roku

Author: John Williams

Will you give up your rock? Whether you're donating it to a friend or selling it online, you probably don't want to leave your Roku account connected to the device.

After all, this account is tied to your credit card number, so it pays for Roku TV and movie rentals. No matter how much you love your friend, you probably don't want to give him free movies for life. And you're almost certainly signed in to Netflix, Hulu, and plenty of other accounts when you use Roku, and you probably don't want to give your friends lifetime access to those things.

Fortunately, you can easily restore your Roku to factory settings. Go to Settings> System> Advanced system settings> Factory reset and look for the option.

You will need to enter a numeric code to restore factory settings; This is just to make it difficult to activate the option by mistake.

Enter the code into the remote and it will begin the factory reset process, eventually leaving your Roku exactly as it was when you first took it out of the box. All settings and channels will be lost, as will all accounts.

If you have an older Roku device, it's unlikely you'll find this option in the menu. However, you can still restore the device to its factory settings due to a hidden secret screen. You need to press several buttons on the remote to run it.

Press in sequence:

Main button five times.

Fast forward three times.

Unscrew twice.

A secret screen will be displayed with all your Roku information as well as factory reset options.

Select "Restore Factory Settings" and you will be asked if this is what you want.

Select " Roku Factory Reset" and the process will start as described above.

Roku is incredible hardware that can replace cable television packaged in a box that fits in the palm of your hand. No matter how great a device is, it's not perfect. Sometimes it freezes. There have been several instances where mine has been stuck on a "recovery" screen. In other cases, the device does not turn on properly.

When there are problems with Roku, the best solution is usually a soft recovery. If this doesn't resolve the issue, it usually will after performing a factory data reset. This is how you can do both.

A soft reset will simply restart the Roku without losing any data or settings.

From the remote

If Roku freezes, you can try resetting settings using the remote by pressing the following buttons:

start 5 times

1 time up

unscrew 2 times

Fast forward 2 times

This should work on all Roku models.

From the menu (newer models 4, Premier and Ultra)

On the home screen, select Settings> System> Power> System reboot.

Using the button (older models)

Find the "Reset" button on the back or bottom of the device. Some models will require a paper clip to press the button.

Roku 2 play button

Press the button, then release it after about a second. The device should reboot successfully.

power pull

If none of the above soft reset options work for you, it may take around 20 seconds to unplug the power cord and plug it back in.

hard reset

A hard reset will erase all settings on the device and return it to factory settings.

Through the menu (newer models 4, Premier and Ultra)

If a soft recovery does not resolve the problem, a hard recovery may be the only option. This will erase all data on the Roku and restore it to factory default settings.

From the home screen, select the following steps, depending on your device:

Settings> System> Advanced system settings> Factory reset.

Settings> Restore factory settings> Restore factory settings> Yes.

Using the button (older models)

Disconnect all cables except the power cable.

Press and hold the Reset button on the back or bottom of the device for about 20 seconds. Some models will require a paper clip to press the button.

Continue pressing the Reset button, then unplug the power cord from the back of the device.

Release the Reset button, then reconnect all cables to the device.

Roku should do a factory reset and then show you the setup process again.