Reset a Shelly device

Which reset do you need

Two different operations get called “reset”, and picking the wrong one costs you the device’s whole configuration.

Network reset clears the Wi-Fi credentials and switches the access point back on. Schedules, scripts, calibration and the device name all survive. This is what you want when the device has moved house, the router changed, or you typed the password wrong.

Factory reset returns the device to how it left the factory. Everything is gone.

Start with a network reset. It solves most cases, and it is far less work to undo when it turns out the fault was somewhere else.

What a reset clears

	Network reset	Factory reset
Wi-Fi credentials	Cleared	Cleared
Access point	Switched on	Switched on
Device name and room	Kept	Cleared
Schedules and scenes	Kept	Cleared
Scripts	Kept	Cleared
Cover or dimmer calibration	Kept	Cleared
Device password	Kept	Cleared
Firmware version	Kept	Kept
Claim to a Shelly account	Kept	Kept

The last row is the one that catches people out. Neither reset releases the device from the account it is claimed to. A device that reports “owned by another user” will keep doing so after any number of factory resets. On Gen1 devices the cause is usually an ID collision rather than an actual previous owner — see device owned by another user.

The five methods

The same five work across the range. Which ones are available depends on the device and its settings.

1. The reset button

The button is on the device housing, sometimes behind a small hole.

Hold 5 seconds — network reset, access point back on
Hold 10 seconds — factory reset

Shelly Dimmer 2 with the reset button marked on the housing — The button position varies by model. On in-wall devices it is often only reachable with the device out of the box.

2. Power cycles

Available only if the device has power-cycle reset enabled in its settings.

Five successive power cycles put the device back into access point mode. One cycle is off and on again, so that is ten flips of the breaker, with about two seconds between each.

This is the method to reach for when the device is already installed and the button is behind a wall plate.

3. The switch input

Available only if Enable factory reset from input is switched on.

At least one minute after the device has powered up, flip the connected wall switch ten times. On Plus and newer devices the input must be powered between L and SW for this to work.

4. The app

In Shelly Smart Control or at control.shelly.cloud: open the device settings, choose Factory reset, and confirm.

Factory reset option in the Shelly Smart Control device settings

5. The web interface

Open the device’s IP address in a browser, go to Settings, and use Reset next to Factory reset device. See the web interface.

Factory reset in the device web interface settings

Gen1 and Plus differ on one point

On Gen1 devices — Dimmer 2, RGBW2, Plug S and their contemporaries — a 5-second hold resets the network settings and enables the access point.

On Plus, Gen3 and Gen4 devices, a 5-second hold enables the access point and Bluetooth, without clearing the Wi-Fi credentials. The device stays on your network; it simply becomes reachable directly as well.

That difference matters when you are trying to get back into a device that is still online but unreachable. On a Plus device the 5-second hold is non-destructive, so try it before anything else.

Tips & best practices

Try a network reset first. Losing a dimmer’s calibration or a cover’s end limits to a factory reset you did not need is an hour you will not get back.
Note the device ID before you reset. It is printed on the housing and it does not change, so it is how you find the device again afterwards.
A factory reset does not fix a failed firmware update. See update problems.
Enable power-cycle reset before you close the wall on anything mounted where the button will be unreachable.
Reset before you sell or hand over a device — and release it from your account in the app as well, or the next owner cannot use it.