The Ring Doorbell 2 has one reset button – the orange button on the back of the unit, under the faceplate. How long you hold it determines what happens: a quick 5-second press restarts the device without touching your settings, and a full 20-second hold wipes everything back to factory defaults. That’s it. Two options, one button.
The Doorbell 2 was discontinued in 2020, but it still works fine and Ring still supports it. If you’re troubleshooting, selling, or handing it off to a new owner, this guide covers both reset types.
Finding the Reset Button
You need to remove the faceplate first. The orange button is on the back of the unit – not the doorbell button on the front, but the small button hidden underneath the faceplate. You’ll need a Torx T15 screwdriver (or the one that came in the box) to loosen the two screws on the bottom of the faceplate.
If you’ve never done this before, see the full Ring Doorbell 2 faceplate removal guide first. Takes about two minutes.
Soft Reset (Restart – Keeps All Settings)
Use this when the device is acting up, freezing, or having a temporary Wi-Fi glitch. It’s a restart – nothing gets erased, your Wi-Fi password stays saved, your settings are untouched. The doorbell just reboots.
Remove the faceplate
Loosen the two Torx T15 screws on the bottom of the doorbell and slide the faceplate off to expose the back of the unit.
Locate the orange button on the back
You’ll see a small orange button (sometimes described as having an orange dot). This is the only reset button on the device.
Hold the orange button for 5 seconds, then release
The front LED ring will spin white while the device restarts. Takes about 30-60 seconds to come back online.
Reattach the faceplate
Once the LED stops spinning and the doorbell is back online, slide the faceplate back on and tighten the screws.
Factory Reset (Hard Reset – Wipes Everything)
This deletes all settings – Wi-Fi config, device name, everything. The doorbell goes back to the state it was in when it came out of the box. Use this when you’re selling the house, transferring the device to a new owner, or dealing with a persistent problem that a restart hasn’t fixed.
After a factory reset, the device shows up as unlinked in the Ring app. The new owner (or you) will need to go through the full setup process: open the Ring app, tap the menu, select Set Up a Device, and follow the steps to reconnect it to Wi-Fi and link it to a Ring account. If you’re transferring to someone else, make sure you’ve removed it from your account first – see how to change ownership of a Ring Doorbell 2.
Remove the faceplate
Loosen the two Torx T15 screws on the bottom of the doorbell and slide the faceplate off.
Press and hold the orange button for 20 seconds
Keep holding even after the LED starts flashing. The light will flash rapidly during the reset process.
Release and wait
After releasing, the LED will go through a cycle – it may flash a few more times, then turn off. Give it a minute or two. The reset is complete when the LED goes off.
Set the device up again
Open the Ring app, tap the menu icon (top left), select Set Up a Device, choose Doorbells, and follow the on-screen steps to reconnect the doorbell to Wi-Fi and your Ring account.
Reboot From the Ring App (No Screwdriver Required)
If the doorbell is online and you just want to give it a kick without touching the hardware, you can reboot it from the app. This is the same as the soft reset above – restarts the device, keeps all settings intact.
- Open the Ring app and tap the three lines (top left).
- Tap Devices and select your doorbell.
- Tap Device Health.
- Scroll down to the Tools section.
- Tap Reboot This Device and confirm.
The doorbell will drop offline for a minute or two and come back on its own. If it doesn’t reconnect, check the battery charge level – a low battery can cause reconnection failures after a reboot.
When the Reset Does Not Work
A few things to check if the factory reset isn’t completing:
- Battery too low – the reset process needs enough juice to finish. Charge the battery fully and try again.
- Not holding long enough – 20 seconds is longer than it feels. Count it out.
- Releasing too early – keep the button held even after the LED starts reacting. Only release after the full 20 seconds.
Thinking About Upgrading?
The Doorbell 2 is solid hardware, but it’s been out of production since 2020 and the current lineup has moved on. If you’re resetting because you’re done with it, the Ring Battery Doorbell Plus is the obvious upgrade – head-to-toe HD+ video, improved night vision, and still battery-powered with the same easy install. About $80 most of the time.