🎥 Video Tutorial

To reset a Cisco switch to factory defaults, follow these steps.
You'll need:

  • 🧵 A console cable
  • 🖥️ A Telnet-capable terminal application

🛠️ Steps to Reset

  1. Power Off the Switch 🔌
    Unplug the switch from power.

  2. Enter Recovery Mode ⚙️

  3. Press and hold the MODE button.
  4. While holding it, plug the power back in.
  5. Keep holding the MODE button until you see the boot log appear in your Telnet terminal. Screenshot 1
  6. Initialize the Flash File System 💾
    Once in terminal access, enter the command:
flash init

Screenshot 2

  1. Delete the Configuration File 🗑️
    Run the command:
delete flash:config.text

Screenshot 3

Confirm with y to accept deletion. Screenshot 4 5. Delete VLAN Configuration (if exists) 📂
Run the command:

delete flash:vlan.dat

Screenshot 5 Again, confirm with y to delete. Screenshot 6 6. Restart the Switch 🔁
Run:

reset

Screenshot 7

Wait for the switch to reboot.

✅ After Reboot

Once the switch boots up, it will present the System Configuration Dialog — the default setup wizard. 🎉 Screenshot 8 You're now ready to reconfigure your switch from scratch! 💡