How to reset your Sony TV with or without the remote (soft restart, power reset or factory settings)

In this article, we will discuss several options to troubleshoot your television, depending on what you're experiencing: 

1. Your TV is responsive, and you can access the TV menu with your remote control. Still, you're experiencing specific issues: e.g., an app is crashing or stuck, the TV randomly turns off and on, or you're experiencing image or sound distortions.
   You can try:
   1. Soft reset (Android TV & Google TV)
   2. Power Cycle (All TVs)
   3. Factory reset in the Settings menu (All TVs) → skip to this section of the article
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2. Your TV is unresponsive, and you can't access the TV menu with your remote control: e.g., your TV is stuck, not powering on, not displaying a picture, or continuously rebooting. You can't do anything with your remote control and can't access the settings menu. 
   You can try:
   1. Power Cycle (All TVs)
   2. Manual Factory Reset with buttons (Android TV & Google TV) 

Try each step if it applies to your situation before moving on to the next. If you aren't sure of your TV type, check if your BRAVIA TV is a Google TV, an Android TV or other. 

You can view the following tutorial explaining how to restart or factory reset an Android TV or skip to the more detailed steps below.

Tip: Learn how to turn captions on or off when watching Internet videos from YouTube

Soft reset with the remote control (ANDROID TV & GOOGLE TV)

A soft reset does not delete any information and is a safe way to troubleshoot minor issues. You can either use the remote control to start the soft reset or use the remote to go to your TV menu settings: 

Option 1: Force Restart the TV with the remote control Power button. Depending on your model, you can either:

1. Press and hold the POWER button until the TV shuts down and restarts 
   or
2. Press and hold the POWER button until a menu appears, and select Restart

Option 2: Force Restart the TV in the TV settings. 

Power cycle (ALL TVs)

A power cycle does not delete any information and is a safe way to troubleshoot minor issues when you can't use your remote control. Unplugging your TV without shutting it down will not damage the television. 

1. Unplug the television power cord from the electrical outlet. Leave it unplugged for 30 seconds.  
2. Plug the power cord back into the electrical outlet.  
3. If the TV doesn't start up, use the Power button on the TV to turn it on.
   (Tip: if your TV started after step 3, but you're still unable to operate it, check your remote batteries.)

Examples of Power button locations 

Factory Data Reset (ALL TVs)

If the previous steps didn't work, but you can access the TV settings with your remote, try performing a Factory Data Reset. This reset type returns the TV to its original out-of-the-box settings and can solve more persistent issues.  

If you can't access the TV Settings menu, please skip to the manual Factory Data Reset (applicable to Android TV & Google TV). 

BEFORE YOU START: Once you complete the reset, you will have to go through the initial setup again, similarly to when you first activated the TV. A factory data reset removes all custom settings in the TV, including Google account settings, apps, channels, and wireless network settings. 

1. On the remote control, press the (Quick Settings button), HOME button or ACTION MENU button depending on your TV/remote control.  
2. Select the settings cogor arrow 
3. The following steps will vary depending on your TV menu options (A, B or C): 
   1. Select System → About → Reset → Factory data reset → Erase everything → Yes. 
   2. Select Device Preferences → Reset → Factory data reset → Erase everything → Yes. 
   3. Select Storage & reset → Factory data reset → Erase everything → Yes. 

The factory reset may take a few minutes. Wait until the process completes. After the factory reset process completes, the TV will start the initial setup. 

Alternative: use the HELP button on your remote to perform a Factory Data Reset

Manual (Forced) Factory Data Reset (ANDROID TV & GOOGLE TV)

If you can't access the TV Settings menu using the remote control, please try a manual (forced) Factory Data Reset using the buttons on the TV. This reset type returns the TV to its original out-of-the-box settings and can solve more persistent issues (e.g., TV restarting by itself).

BEFORE YOU START: Once you complete the reset, you will have to go through the initial setup again, similarly to when you first activated the TV. A factory data reset removes all custom settings in the TV, including Google account settings, apps, channels, and wireless network settings. 

How to perform a manual Factory Data Reset by using the TV buttons 

The way to perform the manual reset differs depending on the number of buttons your TV has:

1. Only one button on the TV: The power button  is located on the TV's bottom centre or left side when viewed from the front. 
2. Three buttons on the TV: the power button and volume buttons are on the right or left of the back of the TV. 
3. More than three buttons on the TV.

If you can't find the buttons on the TV, refer to the TV Startup Guide or Reference guide, accessible on your product page on this support website. 

Follow the instructions according to the number of buttons on your TV:

Type A: Your TV model has one button  

Type B: Your TV model has three buttons (left, right or back of the TV)  

Type C: Your TV model has more than three buttons