If you’re looking to sell, give away, or decommission your Apple Airport Express, factory resetting it is a must. This will remove all your saved configurations and restore the device back to its original settings. In this article, we’ll take a look at how to factory reset an Apple Airport Express.
To start, you’ll need some sort of reset tool to complete the process. Once you have the tool, locate the reset switch, which is recessed on the rear of the Airport Express. Next, remove the power from the device, and using your reset tool, press and hold down the reset switch. With the switch held down, reconnect the power and continue to hold it for six seconds.
You’ll know the factory reset was successful when the status light on the front of the Airport Express starts to rapidly flash amber. At this point, you’ll need to wait for roughly a minute for the Airport Express to restart.
Now, let’s take a look at the Airport Utility. Within the utility, you might find that the network diagram still displays the Airport Express. This is because the device was being used as a Wi-Fi extender. However, with the Airport Express now factory reset, the icon becomes grayed out.
If you select the Airport Express, a pop-up window will appear informing you that the device cannot be found. You can select “forget” to remove the device from the network diagram. Beside the “other devices” option, you’ll find a number one in brackets. When you select this option, a pop-up menu will be displayed, and you’ll see the factory default name for your Airport Express.
To confirm that your Airport Express has been factory reset, select your device from the list. This will display a configuration wizard. However, since there is no option to restore previous settings, you’ll need to select one of the three options: create a new network, add to an existing network, or replace an existing device. If you’re not interested in any of those options, you can simply select “cancel” to close the pop-up wizard.
Once you’ve completed these steps, you can safely give away or dispose of your Apple Airport Express. And that’s how to factory reset an Apple Airport Express in just a few simple steps.