Resetting your Chromebook to its factory settings can be helpful in various situations, such as when you want to sell or give away your device, or when you’re experiencing performance issues or software conflicts. You can reset your Chromebook to factory settings.
Here’s a complete guide that you can follow to reset your Chromebook without affecting the ChromeOS. If your Chromebook is not responding, the process of resetting your Chromebook to factory settings ensures a clean slate and optimal performance.
How to Reset your Chromebook to Factory Settings
In this section, we’ll discuss different ways to reset Chromebook to default settings. However, it’s crucial to back up all your important data before you reset your Chromebook to factory settings because all your data will be erased from your device.
Once done, you can follow the below-mentioned steps to reset your Chromebook to factory settings:
1. Reset Your Chromebook From the Settings
The Settings serve as the all-in-one solution for your Chromebook, allowing you to make any changes to your device. To reset your Chromebook, use the Powerwash feature if you are logged into your Chromebook, as it provides a straightforward method to reset your Chromebook to factory settings.
Here are the steps to do so:
1. Click on the clock in the lower right corner of your screen to open the Quick Settings Panel.
2. Then, click on the gear icon to open the Settings application.
3. In the left pane, click on the System Preferences option.
4. On the left pane, scroll down and look for the Reset section. Then, click on the Reset button under the Powerwash menu.
5. After that, you’ll encounter a Restart your device popup. Click on the Restart button and follow the on-screen instructions. Within a few minutes, your Chromebook will factory reset itself.
Make sure to have at least 60% battery before you proceed with the reset process. Alternatively, plug in your charger to your Chromebook, as the process may take some time to complete the reset.
2. Factory Reset Chromebook Without Password
Do you know that you can also reset your Chromebook to factory settings without logging in? In case you have forgotten the password for your Chromebook and want to reset it, you can use the Chrome OS keyboard shortcut.
To do this, follow the steps mentioned below:
1. Restart your device.
2. Once you are on the login screen, press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + R keys simultaneously.
3. A Reset window will pop up. Here, click on the Powerwash button.
4. After that, It will start the factory reset process on your Chromebook without requiring a password.
Once you’ve reset your Chromebook. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up your Chromebook, and you are good to use the Chromebook like new.
3. Hard Reset Your Chromebook Using Recovery Mode
Sometimes, you may occasionally encounter situations where your device becomes unresponsive or freezes. In such cases, a simple reset might not solve the problem, and you may need to perform a hard reset or force reset to get your Chromebook back up and running.
A hard reset is not like a powerwash where only the software is reset; instead, it resets both the hardware and the software to factory settings.
Here are the steps to perform a hard reset on a Chromebook:
1. Turn off your Chromebook completely.
2. Hold the Refresh button and press the Power button on your Chromebook.
Note
On Chromebook tablets, press Volume Up and Power together to enter recovery mode.
3. Once the Chromebook displays the Chrome OS missing/damaged screen, release all the keys.
4. Press Ctrl + D to open the Chrome Recovery Screen.
5. After that, follow the on-screen instructions to successfully hard reset your Chromebook.
Conclusion
Chromebooks are renowned for their simplicity and efficiency, providing users with a streamlined computing experience. ChromeOS, being an exceptionally lightweight operating system, doesn’t experience the slowdown issues that Windows often does over time.
However, there may come a time when you need to refresh your device or troubleshoot issues by returning it to its factory settings. For that, you can follow the above-mentioned methods. However, sometimes a simple restart can also fix some temporary issues. Check out our guide to learn different ways to restart your Chromebook.
