How To Hard Reset The Amazon Firestick With The Remote

A hard reset isn’t your first stop when troubleshooting the Amazon Firestick but it can be a useful final step if all else fails. A hard reset is also known as a factory reset as it wipes the device and returns it to the state it was in when it first left the factory. You can use the remote to hard reset or a couple other ways. I’ll show them all here.

A hard reset is ideally your last resort in troubleshooting or a practical measure if you’re selling or giving away your Amazon Firestick. It wipes all data, all logins, any subscription details and any personal information you have have saved on it. It removes all the apps you added and any you sideloaded. It wipes the device clean.

Hard reset the Amazon Firestick with the remote

To hard reset the Amazon Firestick with the remote takes just a few seconds. The Firestick will then go quiet as it wipes everything and rebuilds the core OS. Getting to that point takes just a few seconds but the actual wipe process might take a few minutes.

1. Power everything on, including your TV.
2. Use the remote to navigate to Settings and My Fire TV.
3. Select Reset to Factory Defaults.
4. Confirm your choice within the popup box by selecting Reset.

Once you confirm, the stick will become unresponsive to any further commands. You will now have to sit and wait until it has wiped all data and restored any core files it needs to go back to stock. This can take between 5 and 10 minutes. You must not turn off the Firestick while this is happening otherwise you could brick it.

If you’re having trouble using the remote to navigate the Firestick menus, which happens, you can use a key combination to reset it. It achieves the same goal as above without having to use the settings screen.

1. Make sure your Amazon Firestick is powered on.
2. Hold down the right button on the directional control and the back button for at least 10 seconds.

If you have your TV turned on, you should see a prompt asking you if you really want to factory reset your Firestick. Confirm and it will begin the process.

Hard reset the Amazon Firestick with the app

If your Amazon Firestick doesn’t respond to the remote, which also happens, you can use the app to factory reset it. This may bring everything back to life again. As long as you have the app installed and registered with your Firestick, you don’t even need the remote. If your Firestick is mostly working, you may even be able to register the app with it so you can use it to reset.

Make sure your phone is on the same WiFi network as the Firestick for this to work.

1. Open the Fire TV app on your phone.
2. Select your Firestick from the main menu.
3. Select Settings and System in the app.
4. Select Reset to Factory Defaults and confirm your choice.

If you need to register the Firestick with the app first, you may be able to do that depending on why you’re resetting it. If you open the app and don’t see your Firestick already there, let the app detect it and select it within the app. A four digit code should appear on your TV screen when the Firestick is the TV source. Enter that code into the app to register the Firestick with the app.

Troubleshooting the Amazon Firestick

If you’re hard resetting because your Firestick isn’t working properly, you may be able to get it working without wiping it. Try one or all of the following and you may avoid having to reset it.

Restart the Firestick

A simple reboot might get it working again enough so you don’t have to hard reset it. Remove power from it and leave it for a few seconds or use the remote and select Settings, Device and Restart.

Check the batteries

You would be amazed at how many users talk on forums about their Firestick not working properly or their remote not responding and who haven’t checked the batteries. It’s a fundamental check and definitely something to try if your remote isn’t responding as it should.

Re-pair your remote

If the Firestick remote has new batteries and still isn’t working, you could try to re-pair the two. Power on your Firestick, hold the remote close to it, an inch or two away, press and hold the Home button for at least 10 seconds. Try using the remote as usual.