How to Factory Reset Smart Glasses?

How to Give Your Smart Glasses a Fresh Start: A Step-by-Step Guide to Factory Resetting

Experiencing glitches, connectivity issues, or planning to sell or gift your smart glasses? Factory reset Smart Glasses can often resolve stubborn problems and wipe your personal data clean. While the exact steps vary depending on the brand and model of your smart glasses, the process generally involves a combination of using a companion app or pressing physical buttons on the device.

This guide will walk you through the typical steps for factory resetting popular smart glasses, including examples for Ray-Ban Meta, Google Glass, Snapchat Spectacles, and Amazon Echo Frames. We’ll also clarify that while the app and re-pairing process might differ slightly between iPhone and Android, the factory reset on the glasses themselves is usually the same regardless of your phone’s operating system.

Important Note: A factory reset will erase all data on your smart glasses, including photos, videos, settings, and paired device information. Make sure to back up any important data before proceeding.

What a Factory Reset Smart Glasses Does

Performing a factory reset essentially restores your smart glasses to their original out-of-the-box state. This can be helpful for:

Troubleshooting persistent software issues or errors.
Resolving connectivity problems with your phone or Wi-Fi.
Removing all personal data before selling or giving away your glasses.
Starting fresh with a new user or device pairing.

General Approach to Factory Reset Smart Glasses

Most smart glasses will have one of two primary methods for factory resetting:

Via the Companion App: The dedicated mobile app for your smart glasses often includes an option within its settings menu to perform a factory reset. This is usually the simplest method when available.
Manual Reset (Using Buttons): Many smart glasses have a physical button combination or sequence that can be pressed on the frames or charging case to initiate a factory reset, independent of the app connection. This is useful if you’re having trouble connecting to the app.

The steps below provide examples for specific brands.

Ray-Ban Meta Smart Glasses

You can factory reset your Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses using the Meta View app or manually.

Method 1: Factory Reset via Meta View App

Open the Meta View app on your paired iPhone or Android device.
Tap on the settings icon (usually a gear or profile picture) in the bottom left.
Swipe down and tap on Device Settings.
Select General.
Tap on Factory reset.
Follow the on-screen instructions to confirm and complete the reset.

Method 2: Manual Factory Reset Smart Glasses

Ensure your glasses are powered on and closed (right temple arm folded in).
Press the capture button (the button on the top of the right temple) 5 times quickly. The notification LED on the inside of the right temple should turn solid orange.
Immediately after the LED turns solid orange, press and hold the capture button again.
Keep holding the button until the notification LED starts flashing.
Release the capture button. The LED will cycle through white and then blue before turning off, indicating the reset is complete.

After the reset, you will need to unpair the glasses from your phone’s Bluetooth settings and set them up again through the Meta View app. The re-pairing process is guided by the app and will be similar on both iPhone and Android.

Google Glass (Explorer Edition / Enterprise Edition)

Factory resetting Google Glass is typically done through the on-device settings.

Activate Glass by tapping the touchpad.
From the Home screen (the time display), swipe backward on the touchpad until you reach the Settings bundle. Tap to select it.
Swipe forward through the settings cards until you find Device Info. Tap to select it.
Swipe forward again through the device info options until you see Factory Reset. Tap to select it.
You will likely see a confirmation prompt. Tap again to confirm and begin the factory reset.

Alternatively, for troubleshooting more severe issues, you can access a recovery mode:

Turn off your Google Glass.
Press and hold the camera button, then briefly press the power button once.
Continue holding the camera button for about 10 seconds until Glass enters Recovery Mode.
Use the touchpad to navigate the recovery menu and select Factory reset.
Tap to confirm the reset.

The factory reset process is performed directly on Google Glass and does not rely on the connected phone’s operating system.

Snapchat Spectacles (Various Generations)

The factory reset process for Snapchat Spectacles involves using the physical button(s) on the glasses. The exact sequence can vary slightly by generation.

For Spectacles 1 and 2:

Ensure your Spectacles are charged.
Press and hold the button on your Spectacles for 20 seconds. You may see the outer LEDs flash during this time.
After holding for 20 seconds, release the button.
Immediately press and release the button once more.
If successful, the outer LEDs should show a specific pattern (e.g., three LEDs in a triangle rotating) indicating the reset is in progress.

For Spectacles 3:

Ensure your Spectacles are charged.
Press and hold either button on your Spectacles for 25 seconds. You should see the LEDs flash.
At the 25-second mark, release the button and immediately press and release the opposite button.
The outer LEDs should flash in a staggered pattern to indicate the reset.

After a factory reset, you’ll need to re-pair your Spectacles with the Snapchat app on your phone. This process is managed within the Snapchat app and is similar for both iPhone and Android users.

Amazon Echo Frames (2nd Generation)

Factory resetting Echo Frames (2nd Gen) is done using the volume buttons.

Ensure your Echo Frames are charged.
Press and hold both the volume up and volume down buttons simultaneously for 60 seconds.
Wait for the status light on the frames to flash red and blue.
Release the buttons. The frames will then be factory reset.

You will need to set up your Echo Frames again through the Alexa app on your iPhone or Android device after the reset.

Note: For Echo Frames (3rd Generation) which use a charging stand, the reset process may be different. Refer to the Amazon support documentation for the specific instructions for your model.

iPhone vs. Android: Factory Reset Smart Glasses – Does it Matter?

For the factory reset process itself, the operating system of your connected phone (iPhone or Android) generally does not make a difference for the smart glasses themselves. The reset is initiated either through the glasses’ own hardware (buttons, on-device menu) or via the dedicated companion app which functions similarly on both platforms.

However, after a factory reset, you will need to re-pair your smart glasses with your phone. This re-pairing process will utilize your phone’s Bluetooth settings and the smart glasses’ companion app. The steps within the phone’s settings or the app might have minor interface differences between iOS and Android, but the overall goal of discovering and connecting to the smart glasses remains the same.

When to Factory Reset Smart Glasses

Consider a factory reset as a troubleshooting step when:

Your smart glasses are unresponsive.
Features are not working correctly.
You cannot maintain a stable connection to your phone.
You are preparing to transfer ownership of the glasses.

Before performing a factory reset, you might try simpler troubleshooting steps like restarting the glasses or the companion app, or ensuring the glasses are fully charged and their firmware is up to date.

By following these steps, you can successfully factory reset your smart glasses and either resolve technical issues or prepare them for a new user.

Additional helpful information

If you are having problems pairing your smart glasses with your smart phone – Smart Glasses Not Pairing With Phone – How to Fix?