Your Garmin watch may be a reliable companion most of the time, but there’s always a small chance you’ll need to know how to perform a soft or hard reset.
After all, the major worldwide Garmin in January 2025 showed that this is sometimes essential knowledge.
Yet, while the steps are straightforward, it’s crucial to understand the different types of Garmin resets. You can employ a soft reboot to restart the watch, a hard reset if you want to erase data and settings, or a full factory reset if you’re looking to sell your device.
That’s where this guide comes in. Below, we explain everything you need to know about resetting your Garmin. The steps sometimes vary depending on specific Garmin models, but the general vibe is the same no matter which you have on your wrist.
How to perform a soft reset on a Garmin watch (restart)

A soft reboot on many Garmin watches can fix minor issues you might experience during usage.
For example, powering the watch off and on can often solve problems with features that aren’t working as expected, such as GPS lock-on. It’s also the best way to fix an unresponsive screen.
There are also a couple of ways to do so.
Use either of these methods to perform a soft reset (restart) on a Garmin device:
- Hold down the power button (also labeled ‘Light’ and ‘CTRL’ on some watches) for 15 seconds
- Press down the power button until the carousel of options appears, then select ‘Power off’ from the menu
Power your Garmin watch back on by holding the power button for two seconds.
Tip: Some data may be lost when restarting, so sync your data before performing a soft reset.
How to perform a hard reset on Garmin (factory settings)

Most Garmin watches allow you to perform a factory reset while maintaining the odd setting.
This is through the ‘Reset Default Settings’ option, which is a slightly less extreme step than the ‘Reset Default Settings & Delete Data’ option which we’ll discuss in the next section.
However, you’ll be required to go through setup again in Garmin Connect if you apply this reset. It will restore original factory settings and clear info such as your user profile, personal records, and metrics.
That means personalized metrics your Garmin has learned from tracking you (including advanced features like VO2 max and HRV Status) will need to be relearned unless your watch supports Physio TrueUp/Unified Training Status.
To perform this hard reset, use either of the methods below. Which is best for you will likely depend on whether your device’s display is frozen.
Method 1: Find ‘Reset Default Settings’ from the menus
- Open the ‘Menu’ on your Garmin watch by holding the button (often labeled ‘Up’).
- Scroll down to ‘Settings’, then ‘System’.
- Find ‘Restore & Reset’ > ‘ Reset’ > ‘Reset Default Settings’.
- You’ll then be asked to confirm before restoring these settings.
Method 2: Use the buttons
- Power off your Garmin device by holding the ‘Power/Light’ button.
- Before powering the watch back on, hold down the ‘Back/Lap’ button. With the ‘Back/Lap’ button still held down, press the ‘Power/Light’ button to power on the watch.
- Continue to hold the ‘Back/Lap’ button until you see ‘Restore Default Settings’ on the watch face.
- Release the Back/Lap button and select ‘Yes’.
- Once the process is complete, a blue triangle will appear on the display. This indicates it’s time to set up and pair the watch again.
Perform a hard reset and clear user data (nuclear option)

Most of the time, the hard reset method above will be enough to achieve your goal. However, this nuclear option can clear the watch’s entire contents. It will wipe user-entered information, activity history, personal records/data, Connect IQ content, and your user profile.
It’s the best setting for those selling or handing over a Garmin watch to somebody else.
However, like with the typical hard reset method, it’s important to know that learned training data can still be regained via Physio TrueUp/Unified Training Status after this reset.
There are slight variances in this method, which we’ll explain below.
- On Garmin Forerunner, Fenix, Instinct and Vivoactive watches: Settings > System > Restore & Reset > Reset > Delete Data and Reset Settings
- On the Approach golf watches: Settings > Reset > Delete Data and Reset Settings
- On the Quatix and Descent watches: Settings > System > Restore Defaults > Reset Settings
- Earlier Forerunner watch models: Menu > Settings > System > Restore Defaults > Yes.