# Factory reset


> Reset a player to a clean state and reinstall ScreenlyOS, either from a USB drive with network.yaml or from the boot menu with a keyboard.
A factory reset returns a player to a clean state and reinstalls ScreenlyOS. Use it when redeploying a player to a different site, or when a device is behaving in a way remote diagnostics cannot explain.

The route below is for the Player Max. For any other player, including a Raspberry Pi, {{< support-link "contact support" >}} and we will talk you through it.

{{% comment %}}
Withheld pending a decision from the device team. The route below resets a
running, paired player from an unauthenticated USB file, so publishing it
hands anyone with brief physical access a wipe procedure.

## With a USB drive

The player already watches removable storage for a `network.yaml`, and the same file can ask it to reset.

1. Format a USB stick as **FAT32**.
2. Create a file on it named `network.yaml` containing one line:

    ```yaml
    factory-reset: true
    ```

3. Insert the stick into the running player.

The player picks the file up and resets itself. Nothing else in the file is applied, so do not combine a reset with network settings in the same file: the reset runs and the rest is skipped.

This route needs no keyboard and no display access beyond reaching a USB port, which makes it the practical option for a mounted screen.
{{% /comment %}}

## From the boot menu

This route is for the Player Max, and needs a USB keyboard and access to the display.

1. Restart the player, and press **ESC** repeatedly while it boots until the boot menu appears.
2. Select **Install** with the arrow keys.
3. Press Enter. The reset and reinstall run on their own from there.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> Choose **Install**, not the **Factory Reset** entry in the same menu. Despite the name, that option leaves the device in an unusable state. Install is the supported path.

If pressing ESC does nothing, check the keyboard is connected and try again while the device boots.

## What a reset does

The device is returned to its recovery point and ScreenlyOS is reinstalled. Its credentials are revoked, including the certificate and private key held in the TPM on hardware that has one, so the player no longer authenticates as its old self.

## Afterwards

The device comes up clean and shows a pairing code. Pair it as you would a new one: see [Boot and pair the device](/docs/screenlyos/first-device/boot-and-pair-the-device/).

Nothing is stored only on the device, so a screen rebuilt this way comes back with the same content and schedule once it is paired to the same workspace.