How Do I Reset My HP Printer?
Quick answer
There are three resets. Restart: power off at the switch, wait 30 seconds — fixes most problems. Network reset: clears WiFi/IP settings only — coordinate with IT on shared printers. Factory reset: wipes everything, including network setup and address books, and won't cure hardware faults — an error code that returns after resets means a part is failing.
"Reset" means three different things on an HP printer, and they're not interchangeable. A restart clears a bad mood; a network reset clears a broken connection; a factory reset clears everything — including settings your office depends on. Pick the smallest one that solves your problem.
Level 1: The restart (do this one first, always)
Turn the printer off at its own power switch, wait 30 seconds, turn it back on, and wait for Ready. This clears the memory, kills a wedged job, and recovers a crashed firmware state — it resolves more printer problems than every other step on this page combined. If you're chasing a fuser error (50.XX), make the wait 20–30 minutes so the fuser truly cools.
Level 2: The network settings reset
This wipes only the connection settings — WiFi credentials, IP configuration — and is the right tool when the printer won't join the network or is stuck with a broken configuration. You'll find it on the control panel under the network/wireless menu (menu names vary by model — look for "Restore Network Settings" or similar).
Office warning: if your printer has a static IP or IT-configured settings, a network reset erases them, and every computer in the office will lose the printer until it's reconfigured. On a shared machine, this is an ask-IT-first step, not a try-it-and-see step.
Level 3: The factory reset (last resort, eyes open)
A factory reset returns the printer to out-of-box state: network configuration, tray and paper defaults, address books and scan-to-email setups on MFPs, security settings — gone. It lives in the panel's Settings/Maintenance menu ("Restore Factory Defaults"; the exact path varies across HP's lines).
Before you do it, be clear about what it can and can't fix. A factory reset can cure genuinely scrambled settings or a misbehaving configuration nobody can untangle. It cannot fix hardware: a fuser error, a recurring jam, a grinding noise, or streaky print will all survive a factory reset — you'll just spend an afternoon reconfiguring the printer on top of your original problem.
Which reset for which problem
- Stuck, unresponsive, or erroring once — restart.
- Won't connect / offline problems — restart first; network reset second (with IT's blessing on shared machines). See the offline guide.
- Settings chaos nobody can unwind — factory reset, after noting the current network settings so you can put them back.
- The same error code returning after every reset — stop resetting. The printer is reporting a failing part, and the code it shows is the diagnosis. That's the point where a reset stops being a fix and starts being a way to postpone one.
If the same error code returns after every reset, stop resetting — the printer is reporting a failing part, and each reset just postpones the fix. The code on the panel tells a technician which part before they arrive.