Ways To Reset An Xbox One (Factory Reset, Soft Reset, Hard Reset)
Most Xbox One users don’t encounter problems with their console but for those who may have to deal with some problems, knowing how to reset their device might find it handy. There are three types of reset that you can perform on an Xbox One. Each of them may be necessary to fix a certain problem. This brief article will show you what’s the difference between each of these resets.
Three types of resets on an Xbox One
Below are the 3 types of resets that you can perform on your Xbox One. Let’s discuss each of them briefly.
What is Soft Reset?
Soft reset, also known as restart, happens when you turn off the console via the Power Center or using the Guide button. Your Xbox One is NOT powered all the way down when you restart it and it still retains information from its last power-on state. This can be a useful trick if your console runs slow or if you encounter a minor glitch with your game.
To restart your Xbox One via the Power Center:
- Press and hold the Xbox button in the center of your Xbox One controller to open the Power Center.
- Select Restart console.
- Select Restart.
To restart your Xbox One from the guide:
- Press the Xbox button to open the guide.
- Select System > Settings > General > Power mode & startup.
- Select Restart now.
What is Hard Reset?
On the other hand, a hard restart or reset occurs when you power down your Xbox One. The other name we use for this type of reset is power cycle. You can do this by pressing and holding the Xbox button in front of the console for about 10 seconds. Once the console is off, you can leave the console unplugged from the power outlet for about 2 minutes to clear its memory.
Like soft reset, this won’t erase any data but it may be helpful in fixing temporary or minor bugs that may have developed after leaving the console on for a long time.
You can turn the Xbox One back on by pressing the Power button in front of the console.
What is Factory Reset?
Xbox One factory reset wipes the data stored in the hard drive and returns the software settings to its factory state. This reset will erase all saved game data, installed apps and games, and other settings that you configured before. In other words, the software will revert to a state when your console was first shipped.
Reasons why you might want to factory reset your Xbox One
Doing a factory reset is usually a recommended troubleshooting step if you encounter problems that regular steps like soft or hard reset can’t fix. For example, if your console keeps on freezing or crashing games all the time, it’s possible that there may be a software issue behind it, or the game in question may have corrupted files. To fix the problem, you can perform a factory reset to bring back the known working factory state of the software.
You also need to factory reset your Xbox One if you plan in giving it away or if you want to sell it. Doing so will remove all your personal information such as your gamertag, saved games, downloaded apps and games, from the hard drive.
How to factory reset your Xbox One?
Reverting the software settings of your Xbox One to its factory state is simple. Keep in mind that this will erase your data so be sure to back up the stuff you need before proceeding.
On your controller, press the <strong>Home </strong>button.
You can also press left on the D-pad until the main Home menu appears.
Go to Settings menu.
Select the gear icon to open the settings menu.
Go to System.
Select System from Settings menu.
Go to Console info.
Select Console info under System.
Go to Reset console.
Select Reset console under Console info.
Format the hard drive.
Select Reset and remove everything for a full factory reset.
Once you’ve selected Reset and remove everything, there will be no prompt to ask you for a confirmation. Be careful not to proceed with the reset if you haven’t prepared your backup yet.
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