How to Restore Xbox One to Factory Settings
The Difference Between Resetting, Hard Resetting, and Factory Resetting
Before you factory-reset your Xbox One, make sure you know about the different types of resets that your console can undergo:
Press the home button on your Xbox One controller. This is the illuminated button with a stylized X that is centrally located on the front of the controller near the top.Alternately, you can press the left bumper until you reach the home tab, and then press left on the d-pad.
When you turn your Xbox One off normally, it goes into a low-power mode, so when you turn it back on, that’s just a regular reset or soft reset. The console never actually turns all the way off.When your Xbox One powers down all the way and turns back on, that’s called a hard reset. It’s similar to what happens when you shut down a computer, and no data is lost.When changes that have been made to an Xbox One after it left the factory are reversed, and the console is returned to a state similar to that when it was first shipped, this is called a factory reset. This process restores the factory settings and permanently deletes all of your games, saved data, and other settings.
Do You Need to Perform a Factory Reset?
Before you totally reset an Xbox One, try less severe fixes first. If the system isn’t responding, press and hold the power button for at least 10 seconds. This will perform a hard reset, which fixes a lot of problems without actually obliterating all of the data on your system. If your Xbox One is malfunctioning so severely that you can’t access the settings menu, or it isn’t outputting video to your TV, scroll all the way to the bottom of this article for instructions on how to perform a factory reset using a USB flash drive. The other reason to factory-reset an Xbox One is to remove all of your personal information, your Gamertag, and downloaded apps and games before trading in or selling an old console. This prevents anyone else from gaining access to your stuff.
