# How to Factory Reset a Chromecast: Find Your Model First > Google documents five groups of streaming devices with different reset procedures: the button is on the back or the side, the light blinks yellow, orange or red, and only two have a published hold time. Includes the Wi-Fi network change that usually makes a reset unnecessary. - Canonical URL: https://techxtelco.com/streaming/reset-chromecast/ - Published: 2026-07-07 - Updated: 2026-09-13 - Topics: Streaming, Devices, Guides - Author: Michel Elijah - Image: https://anrkjmgqmwfosbvyzrzc.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/article-images/reset-chromecast/hero-v2.webp - Publisher: Tech X Telco (https://techxtelco.com) There is no single way to factory reset a Chromecast. Google groups its streaming devices into five reset sections, and the button is in a different place, glows a different colour and needs a different hold time on several of them. Work out which one is behind your television first, so you follow the instructions for the right model. **Quick answer** On a Google TV Streamer or Chromecast with Google TV, reset from the TV: your profile, All settings, System, About, Factory Reset. Older Chromecasts have model-specific button and LED sequences; the first generation has a different release signal. Use the matching section below. Keep the device connected to power throughout. Google’s only statement about what you lose is that a reset returns the device to its default factory settings, clears your data and cannot be undone. It does not list what is erased, so assume you will be setting the device up from scratch on your Wi-Fi network. ## Restart First, Reset Second A factory reset is the end of a troubleshooting sequence, not the start. If the problem is the remote rather than the device, Google’s own order is to reboot the streamer, unpair the remote, reset the remote, and only then set the device up again. Google includes a streamer reset only after the earlier remote checks fail. It clears the device setup, so leave it until those checks are exhausted. ## Which Device Do You Have? Google groups the instructions into five sections: Google TV Streamer (4K); Chromecast with Google TV; Chromecast 2nd generation, 3rd generation and Ultra; Chromecast 1st generation; and Chromecast Audio. Check the model on the device, its packaging or purchase record before proceeding. Do not identify a model by trying reset gestures. ### Reset by Device, in Google’s Own Words Identify the model first. Keep the device powered and follow its own button and LED sequence. - Google TV Streamer (4K) From the TV: your profile, All settings, System, About, Factory Reset. From the device, no remote needed: hold the button on the back for 10 to 12 seconds, the LED blinks yellow, release when it turns solid white. - Chromecast with Google TV From the TV: the same profile, All settings, System, About, Factory Reset path. From the device, no remote needed: hold the button on the back, the LED blinks yellow, release when it turns solid white. Google states no hold time for this one. - Chromecast 2nd generation, 3rd generation or Ultra Google Home app: Home, All devices, touch and hold the tile, Settings, More, Factory reset, Factory reset. Only available on the network the device was set up on. From the device: hold the button on the side, the LED blinks orange, release when it turns solid white. - Chromecast 1st generation Google Home app: the same path, with the same same-network requirement. From the device: hold the button for at least 25 seconds or until the solid light flashes red, then release once it blinks white and the TV goes blank. Google says support has ended and this device no longer receives software or security updates. - Chromecast Audio Google Home app: the same path, and here Google does not attach the same-network note. From the device: hold the button on the side, the LED blinks orange, release when it turns white and the device reboots. Three traps are worth naming. The button is on the back of the two Google TV devices and on the side of the older ones. The pre-reset blink is yellow on the Google TV devices, orange on the 2nd and 3rd generation, Ultra and Audio, and red on the 1st generation. And Google publishes a hold time only for the Streamer and the 1st generation, but the other button methods still require holding the button until the specified LED change. ## Changing the Wi-Fi Network Instead If the old network is still available, changing the saved Wi-Fi connection may avoid a reset. Google says its streaming devices can only remember one Wi-Fi network at a time, and the method depends on whether the device can still reach the old one. ### Two Different Situations - The device is still connected to a network you can reach. On a Chromecast with Google TV or Google TV Streamer: Settings from the top right of the TV, Wi-Fi network, the network name, Forget network, then set the device up on the new one. On a Chromecast 3rd generation or older, Ultra or Audio: Google Home app, Home, All devices, hold the tile, Settings, Device information, Wi-Fi, Forget this network. Note this is a different Home app path from the reset one, which goes through Settings then More. - The old network is gone entirely. Google says that if the device is not currently connected to a Wi-Fi network, perform a factory reset, then set it up on the new network. This is the one case where a reset genuinely is the documented answer to a Wi-Fi change. ## After the Reset You are back to a first-time setup: the device joins your Wi-Fi network again and you sign in again. Because Google never enumerates what a reset clears, treat anything you configured on the device as gone, and have your Wi-Fi password to hand before you start rather than halfway through. For the older Chromecasts, remember the Google Home app route needs your phone on the same network the device was set up on, which is exactly the thing that has usually changed. ## Sources and How This Was Checked Every step, button position, light colour and hold time here is quoted from Google’s own support pages, read on 12 September 2026. No Chromecast or Google TV Streamer was available to test, so nothing in this guide has been performed on hardware and none of the timings has been confirmed with a stopwatch. Google’s pages carried no visible published or updated date. The reset page groups models together and says that a reset clears device data. Identify your model before using these steps and have your setup details ready. We also read the Android version of the reset page; the iPhone and iPad tab may word the Google Home app steps differently. ### Official Pages Used - [Google: How to factory reset your Chromecast or Google TV Streamer](https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/6254654?hl=en): the five device sections, button positions, light colours, hold times and the statement of what a reset does. - [Google: Change the Wi-Fi network of Google streaming devices](https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/7331010?hl=en): the one-network limit, both Forget network paths and the case where a reset is required. - [Google: Troubleshoot the Chromecast or Google TV Voice Remote](https://support.google.com/chromecast/answer/12934376?hl=en): the order to follow when the remote rather than the device is the problem. Related on Tech X Telco: [Chromecast remote not working](https://techxtelco.com/streaming/chromecast-remote-not-working/), which is the guide to read before you reset anything.