How to reset a printer to factory settings without losing what you need

Knowing how to reset a printer to factory settings is useful when settings have become a tangle nobody can untangle, when the admin password for the printer’s web page is lost, or before you sell or give the printer away. It is also a step people reach for too early. A factory reset erases more than most people expect, and it fixes only problems that live in the settings. This guide explains what a reset clears, what to save first, where to find the option and how to get the printer working again afterwards.

Menu names differ between brands and models, so the paths below describe where the option usually sits rather than an exact sequence. Your printer’s manual has the definitive steps. For other printer problems, start with the printer troubleshooting guide.

What a factory reset erases

On most printers, a full reset returns the following to their original values:

• Network settings: Wi-Fi network name and password, fixed IP addresses, Wi-Fi Direct and Ethernet settings.
• Security: the admin password for the printer’s web page and any access restrictions.
• Preferences: language, country, default paper size and type, tray settings, sleep and auto-off timers.
• Stored data: address books, speed dials, scan-to-email and scan-to-folder destinations, fax numbers and logs, and stored or held print jobs.

What it usually does not change:

• the installed firmware version,
• hardware faults, worn rollers or clogged print heads,
• service counters such as the ink pad counter on inkjets or the fuser counter on laser printers,
• cartridge levels or cartridge recognition problems.

So a reset will not clear an “ink pad full” message (see printer ink pad full) or a cartridge not recognized error.

When a reset makes sense, and when it does not

Good reasons to reset:

• The printer is going to a new owner, or back to a leased-equipment provider.
• Nobody knows the admin password and the web page settings are locked.
• Network settings were changed by hand (a fixed IP address, an old network) and the printer will not join the current network.
• Someone changed several settings and the printer now behaves oddly in ways that settings could explain.

Try these first:

• Restart the printer, the router and the computer, in that order.
• If the problem is only the connection, look for a network-only reset (often called Restore Network Settings or Reset Network). It clears Wi-Fi settings but keeps your address book and preferences.
• For connection problems, the printer offline fix and printer keeps disconnecting from Wi-Fi guides solve most cases without any reset.

Step 1: Save what you will need

1. Print a network configuration page. It is usually under Reports, Information or Network in the control panel, or a button combination in the manual on printers without a screen. It shows the current IP address, network name and settings, which helps if you need to set the same values again.
2. Export address books and scan destinations. Many printers can export these from their web page (type the printer’s IP address into a browser). Save the file somewhere safe.
3. Note changed settings. If you rely on non-default trays, paper types or energy settings, write them down.
4. Find the Wi-Fi password for your network. You will need it to reconnect the printer.

Step 2: Find the reset option

On printers with a display or touchscreen, the option is usually in one of these menus:

• Setup or Settings, then Restore, Reset or System
• Tools, Maintenance or Service
• Administration or Device settings on office models

Look for wording such as Restore Factory Defaults, Factory Reset, Restore All Settings, Initialize or Reset All. Some printers offer several levels, for example network only, all settings, or all data. The manual explains each one.

On the printer’s web page, the reset is usually under a General, System or Maintenance section and may ask for the admin password. If the password is lost, the reset has to be done from the printer itself.

On printers without a screen, the reset uses a combination of buttons, often held while switching on or for a set number of seconds. These sequences are model-specific. Use the one from your manual; guessing can start a cleaning cycle, print reports or change other settings.

Step 3: Run the reset

1. Make sure no job is printing and nothing is stuck in the paper path.
2. Choose the reset level you want and confirm.
3. The printer restarts, sometimes more than once. Do not switch it off while it is doing so.
4. Wait until it shows the first-time setup screen, a language prompt or a steady ready light.

Step 4: Set the printer up again

1. Choose language, country and paper settings as prompted.
2. Reconnect it to your network with the Wi-Fi password, or plug in the Ethernet or USB cable.
3. Print a new network configuration page and note the new IP address.
4. On each Windows computer, remove the old printer entry in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, then add it again with Add device. If Windows does not find it, see printer not showing up in Windows 11.
5. On a Mac, delete the printer in System Settings > Printers & Scanners and add it again; see printer not working on Mac if it does not appear.
6. Re-import address books and scan destinations if you exported them.
7. Set a new admin password on the printer’s web page, especially for a network printer.

Resetting a printer before you sell it or give it away

A printer stores more personal data than people expect: your Wi-Fi password, names and email addresses in the address book, fax numbers, and on some models scanned or held documents. Before it leaves your hands:

1. Run the full reset level, not just the network reset. On office models, look for an option that erases all data or stored jobs.
2. If you registered the printer with the manufacturer’s app or online account, remove it from that account so the new owner can register it.
3. Remove it from every computer and phone that used it, so they do not keep trying to reach it.
4. Take out any cartridges you want to keep, and pack loose parts as the manual describes for transport.

For a leased office printer, check the lease terms; some providers handle the data wipe themselves when they collect the device.

If the printer still misbehaves after a reset

Then the problem was not a setting. Common next steps:

• A connection that keeps failing points to the network side; see printer offline fix.
• Errors in Windows such as “Driver is unavailable” come from the computer, not the printer; see printer driver is unavailable.
• Mechanical messages, jams and print quality problems need the guide for that symptom, such as paper jam but no paper.
• If the printer will not power up at all, see printer won’t turn on.