factory reset meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

factory reset

noun

Etymology So called because such a reset would revert a device back to its original state, as it would have been when it was assembled in a factory.

Computer hardware, Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences A process that restores an electronic device to its factory setting by erasing all user data and personalized configurations.

A factory reset returns your Android device to “out of the box” condition. It deletes all user data and settings.2014, Mark Edward Soper, The PC and Gadget Help Desk, Que Publishing, →ISBN, page 590:
Even so, Ms. Rogers contended that Ms. Patterson’s guilt was apparent in the various layers of deception in which she’d engaged[…]. She also forced a factory reset on her phone multiple times, according to testimony.2025 July 7, Victoria Kim, Livia Albeck-Ripka, “Erin Patterson Is Found Guilty of Murder in Australia Mushroom Poisoning Case”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

factory reset

verb

Etymology So called because such a reset would revert a device back to its original state, as it would have been when it was assembled in a factory.

Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences To perform a factory reset of (a device).