How to Reset Sony Smart TV [Android TV, Google TV, and Older TVs]

When you have no limits on how much you want to spend on a Smart TV, the best choice is the range of Smart TVs from Sony. Sony has been in the television business for a long time and has been making wonderful smart TVs. Sure, their TVs are expensive, but there are reasons why they might be expensive. Sony’s TVs have great displays and even the sound department is perfect. Of course, then you have the polished and optimized user interface of the OS that runs on these TVs.

Just like smartphones, you may encounter different software issues on your TV. There can be many reasons why you might want to reset your Sony Smart TV. One of the most common reasons is that there could be some problems or a bug that could be hammering your TV viewing experience.

Other reasons could be that you might be giving it away to someone else or it can also be that the TV is being sold to someone else. Whatever the reason might be, resetting your TV is a good way to clear all personal info stored on the TV. Resetting brings your TV to the factory settings.

So let’s take a look at how you can reset your Sony Smart TV.

Sony Smart TVs come with different operating systems. You will see the newer pens running with Google TV. There are other Sony TVs out there that run on Android TV and others that run on Sony’s own in-house OS. Follow the methods that work best for your particular type of Sony Smart TV.

How to Factory Reset Sony Smart TV [running on Google TV OS]

Google TV is the new Android TV OS that has been made available for a number of Sony TVs. If you have a Sony TV powered by Google TV, here are the steps to perform a reset.

how to reset sony smart tv
  1. Press the Quick Settings button on your Sony Remote Control.
  2. Select the Settings option followed by System.
  3. Navigate to About and choose the Reset option.
  4. Here, you will have to select Factory Reset.
  5. Now, choose the Erase Everything option.
  6. This will now perform a factory reset and delete all of the data stored on your TV.

How to Factory Reset Sony Smart TV [running on Android TV OS]

If you have an older Sony TV that runs on the Android TV OS platform, you can follow these steps to perform a factory reset.

how to reset sony smart tv
  1. Grab the TV remote for your Sony Android TV.
  2. Press the Home button on the TV remote and select the Settings option.
  3. Depending on the Android TV OS version the steps to access the Reset option will vary.
    • Some TVs require you to select Device Preferences and then select Reset.
    • Other devices will require you to select Device Preferences followed by About and then choose Factory Data Reset.
    • Meanwhile, other Sony Android TVs will have you select the Storage option followed by Reset.
  4. Select the Erase Everything option. You might be asked to enter a PIn or password.
  5. Once that has been entered, the Factory Reset will begin.

How to Force Factory Reset Sony Smart TV [1 to 3 button shortcut]

For some reason, if you aren’t able to open the Settings menu on your Android TV you can perform a forced Factory Reset. But, this will work only on select models. Here are the models.

  • 2018 models: XBR A9F and Z9F series
  • 2019 models: XBR Z9G, A9G, X850G (55/65/75/85), and X950G series
  • 2020 models: XBR A8H, X800H, X850H, X900H, X950H (49/85), X950H (55/65/75), Z8H, and Z9H series
  • 2021 models: XR/X95/85/75/65J Series

Now, follow these steps to forcefully format your Sony TV.

how to reset sony smart tv
These are the buttons placed on the back of the TV, follow the below steps to perform a reset.

If your TV has just one button

  1. Unplug the TV from its power source.
  2. Now, press and hold the Power button present on the TV.
  3. Keeping the power button pressed, plug the TV back into its power source.
  4. Keep the button pressed till the White LED light appears.
  5. The light can take around 10 to 15 seconds to appear so be patient with it.
  6. Once the light appears the factory reset will take place.
  7. Your Sony TV will reboot twice.
  8. When the TV reboots, you should see the welcome screen. That indicates that the factory reset has been completed.

If your TV has three buttons

  1. Remove the plug from its power source.
  2. Now, keep the Power and Volume Down buttons pressed.
  3. Keeping both the buttons pressed, plug the TV into its power source.
  4. Keep the buttons pressed until the light indicator on your TV appears.
  5. Once the light appears, release the buttons.
  6. The factory reset is now beginning.
  7. Once the reset has been done and your TV reboots twice or more times, you can set it up right away.

How to Force Factory Reset Sony Smart TV [Four or More Buttons Shortcut]

This will work with Android Sony Tvs that are running on Android 6.0.1 or higher. 

  1. Unplug the TV from its power source.
  2. Press and hold the Volume Down and Power buttons on the TV.
  3. Keeping the buttons pressed, plug the TV back into its power source.
  4. Keep the buttons pressed until you see the green LED indicator
  5. This indicator can take 10 to 15 seconds to appear.
  6. Release the button after the LED light comes on and grab the remote when the Welcome screen appears on your TV.
  7. Now, press the Home button on your TV remote.
  8. Navigate to Settings followed by Storage and Reset.
  9. Choose Factory Reset.
  10. The TV will begin to perform a factory reset right away.

How to Force Factory Reset Sony Smart TV [Other TVs]

If you own a Sony TV that isn’t powered by Android and Google TV, you can follow these steps to factory reset Sony TVs running on the in-house operating system. Here are the steps.

  1. Grab the remote and press the Home button on it.
  2. Select the Settings option followed by System Settings.
  3. Next, you need to highlight the Customer Support option.
  4. Now select the Factory Settings option.
  5. Finally, click on OK
  6. The Sony TV will now begin to perform the factory reset right away.

If for some reason the Home button or the Home menu doesn’t seem to work for you, you can follow this alternative method to perform a factory reset on your Sony TV.

  1. Unplug the TV from its power source.
  2. Wait a few minutes.
  3. Plug the TV back into its power source.
  4. The TV should switch on automatically.
  5. When the TV switches on, press the Up button on the remote. Also, keep the Power button pressed.
  6. The Reset option should appear on your screen right away.
  7. Select it and the reset process will begin right away.

How to Perform Soft Reset on any Sony Smart TV

So far we have seen the steps that let you perform a hard reset or a factory reset. There is also a soft reset option that you can follow. When you perform a soft reset no data is deleted. Only temporary files and cache files as well as the RAM of your TV will be cleared.

how to reset sony smart tv

All you need to do is switch off the TV and unplug it from its power source. Wait for a minute or two and then plug the TV back into its power source.

Conclusion

This concludes the guide on how you can perform a soft, hard, and forced factory reset on your Sony TV. Do note that before you begin to factory reset your Sony TV, make sure to take a picture of all the custom settings that you have adjusted, as all of those settings, apps, and accounts will be wiped from the device.

If you have questions or queries, feel free to leave them in the comments section below.

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AUTHOR.

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Joshua D'souza

Enjoy games, 90's hip-hop, and tech. Loves exploring the infinite world of laptops and food. Every ready to provide assistance in anything that rocks his boat. Will gladly enjoy capturing memories through various lenses. Worked previously at PiunikaWeb as an author and researcher.

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