Google Home: Wipe and reset to factory settings to sell or troubleshoot your speaker
Everything from music services to your private data will get scrubbed from memory when you follow these steps.
The reset button for the first-generation Google Home Mini is indicated by a raised circle on the base, lined up with the power supply port.
There are lots of good reasons why you might want to reset your Google Home smart speaker or display to factory settings. Maybe it quit working and you've exhausted other ways to troubleshoot the problem. Or perhaps you want to sell your old Google Home Mini since you've upgraded to the new, better-sounding Nest Mini (although you might want to consider putting the old speaker in one of these unusual locations instead). Whatever your reason, sometimes a factory reset can breathe new life into an old device.
A factory reset will wipe all the information from your device -- including personal information -- and put it in a condition like it just came from, well, the factory. With privacy concerns surrounding always-listening devices as serious as ever, you may want to perform a reset just to harness control of your personal data.
Here's everything you need to know about how to wipe the slate clean on your Google Home device.
First, identify your device
Depending on which Google Home smart speaker or display you have, there are slightly different procedures for resetting to factory settings. There's even a difference between the previous-generation Google Home Mini (it has a dedicated factory reset button) and the newer Nest Mini (the one with the hole on its base for mounting). Here's how to reset each different model.
The original Google Home lineup consisted of a Mini, a Max and one in between called, simply, a Google Home.
Original Google Home: Press and hold the microphone mute button on the back of the speaker for 15 seconds until Google Assistant tells you it's resetting.
Google Home Mini (1st Generation): Press and hold the factory reset button (the small, raised circle on the base of the speaker) for about 15 seconds until it plays a sound to confirm it's resetting.
Google Nest Mini (2nd Generation): Flip the microphone switch to the off (orange) position, then press and hold the center of the speaker (where the lights are) for about 15 seconds until it plays a sound to confirm it's resetting.
Google Home Max: Press and hold the factory reset button near the power cord on the back of the speaker for 12 seconds, or until Google Assistant tells you it's resetting.
The Google Nest Hub Max and Nest Hub have volume buttons on the back that you'll need to hold down to do a factory reset.
Google Nest Hub and Nest Hub Max: Press and hold both volume buttons on the back of the device for about 10 seconds until Google Assistant tells you it's resetting.
Once your Google Home speaker or display is reset, you won't regret changing these five Home settings right away. While you're at it, here's how to make sure the Google Home plays your favorite music without error messages. Now's also a good time to adjust Google Home's new "Hey, Google" sensitivity controls to make sure your speaker hears you when you want it to (and doesn't when you don't).
