Factory reset

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Factory reset

Erase your Box and return it to the state it shipped in: what a factory reset deletes, what it keeps, how to start it, and how to set the Box up again afterwards.

Erase your Box and set it up again from scratch. A reset cannot be undone.

Try these first

What it erases and keeps

  • Erased: chats and memory, your Signal link, Tailscale, saved Wi-Fi networks, your password (every device is signed out), on-Box backups, customizations.
  • Kept: downloaded AI models, the Box ID, and the factory password on the sticker.

Reset your Box

  1. Open http://box.local and sign in.
  2. Tap Settings ▾ at the top right, then Factory reset….
The Settings menu open at the top right of the chat screen, with Factory reset… circled
  1. Tap OK in the browser prompt. This opens a confirmation page; nothing is erased yet.
  2. Choose one:
    • Back up to my USB drive first, then reset (shown if your Box backs up to USB). Leave the drive plugged in; the reset starts once the backup is safe.
    • Reset without backing up. Without a USB backup drive, this button reads Yes, factory reset this box.
  3. Wait about 60 seconds while the page shows Factory resetting….

Set it up again

  1. Reconnect:
    • On Wi-Fi: join the box-setup Wi-Fi network. The setup page usually opens by itself.
    • On a network cable: open http://box.local.
  2. Sign in with the factory password on the sticker.
  3. Follow Set up your Box.
  4. To restore a backup, tap Restore from my backup or Have a backup of this Box? Restore it instead on the Choose your password page. You need the password from when the backup was made.
  5. Set up the extras again: Tailscale, Signal, other devices.

If something goes wrong

  • "Backup didn't finish": the Box was not reset. Check the drive and start again, or choose Reset without backing up.
  • USB drive plugged in but not offered: tap Cancel, then Settings → Backups → Use this drive.
  • Changed your mind during the backup: tap Cancel — don't reset.
  • Your phone lost its connection to the Box: expected on Wi-Fi. Join box-setup.
  • Box doesn't come back after a few minutes: email michael.maddison@voxcura.io. See Get help.

Verified on Box software 0.2.8 · 2026-10-05