On every GoPro with a rear touchscreen (HERO8 Black through HERO13 Black), the resets live under Preferences > Reset: Factory Reset, Reset Presets, Reset Camera Tips, and Format SD Card. A frozen camera is different — hold the Mode button for about 10 seconds to force a restart, which changes nothing else.
Older models differ (the HERO4 has no factory reset at all; the HERO11 Black Mini is button-driven), and the connections reset moves around by generation. This page covers every model, newest first, with what each reset does and doesn’t touch. Two things no factory reset does: it never deletes what’s on your SD card, and it never rolls back firmware.
These resets are also a useful troubleshooting step if you’ve pulled an older GoPro out of a drawer and it’s not behaving — or if you’ve picked one up used and want to clear the previous owner’s settings and start fresh.
Which reset fixes what
| Problem | The reset to use |
|---|---|
| Camera frozen or unresponsive | Forced restart — hold Mode ~10 s (nothing else changes). Won’t power on at all? Work through this checklist. |
| Won’t pair with the app / forgotten Wi-Fi password | Reset Connections — clears pairings and generates a new password |
| Settings in a weird state, presets messed up | Reset Presets — restores the preloaded presets, deletes custom ones |
| Selling or lending the camera | Factory Reset — everything back to out-of-the-box, deregisters your GoPro account/subscription |
| Card errors, SD ERR messages | Format SD Card (after saving your files) — also under the Reset menu |
| Want the beginner popups back | Reset Camera Tips |
Reset paths at a glance (newest first)
| Model | Factory reset | Reset connections | Forced restart |
|---|---|---|---|
| HERO13 Black | Preferences > Reset > Factory Reset | Preferences > Wireless Connections > Reset Connections (moved on this model) | Hold Mode 10 s |
| HERO12 / 11 / 10 / 9 Black | Preferences > Reset > Factory Reset | Connections > Reset Connections | Hold Mode 10 s |
| HERO8 Black | Preferences > Reset > Factory Reset | Preferences > Connections > Reset Connections | Hold Mode 10 s |
| HERO11 Black Mini | By buttons (steps below) | Not offered (Factory Reset covers it) | Hold Status/Pair 10 s |
| HERO7 Black | Preferences > Reset > Factory Reset | Preferences > Connections > Reset Connections | Hold Mode ~10 s |
| HERO6 / HERO5 Black | In the Preferences menu | Under the Connect/Connections category | Hold Mode ~10 s |
| HERO4 Black / Silver | None exists — partial resets via Setup mode | Setup > Reset Cam > Reset Wi-Fi | Pull the battery |
HERO13 Black
All the resets are under the swipe-down Dashboard → swipe left → Preferences > Reset: Factory Reset (“restore all of your camera’s original settings, clear all device connections, and deregister your camera from your GoPro subscription”), Reset Presets, Reset Camera Tips, and Format SD Card.
The one change from earlier models: Reset Connections moved. It’s now under Preferences > Wireless Connections > Reset Connections rather than in the Dashboard’s Connections tile. It clears your device pairings and resets the camera’s password.
HERO12, HERO11, HERO10 & HERO9 Black
These four are identical: Preferences > Reset holds Factory Reset, Reset Presets, Reset Camera Tips, and Format SD Card, while Reset Connections lives separately under Connections > Reset Connections. Factory reset deregisters the camera from your GoPro subscription but leaves the SD card’s contents and the firmware untouched.
I have a more detailed step-by-step for the HERO10 specifically, with screenshots: how to reset a GoPro HERO10 Black — the screens are the same on the HERO9, 11, and 12.
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HERO8 Black
Same four options under Preferences > Reset. The difference is Reset Connections, which on the HERO8 is nested under Preferences > Connections > Reset Connections (the HERO8 predates the HERO9’s dashboard layout, so there’s no swipe-left step — just swipe down and tap Preferences).
HERO11 Black Mini
No touchscreen, so it’s buttons: press Status/Pair to turn the camera on, press it again to reach the preferences (twice with Pro Controls), press the Shutter button repeatedly until you reach Factory Reset, select it with Status/Pair, cycle to the checkmark, and confirm with Shutter. The same button-walk reaches Format SD.
Those are the only two resets the Mini offers — there’s no separate presets, connections, or camera-tips reset (Protune settings can be restored from the Quik app). A frozen Mini restarts by holding Status/Pair for 10 seconds. After a factory reset you’ll need to set up cloud Auto-Upload again.
HERO7 Black
Effectively the same menu as the HERO8: Preferences > Reset for Factory Reset, Reset Defaults (presets), Reset Camera Tips, and Format SD Card, with Reset Connections under Preferences > Connections. The Silver and White have simpler menus but the same idea.
HERO6 Black & HERO5 Black
Both offer a factory reset (wipes settings and connections, deregisters the camera; card and firmware untouched) and a gentler restore-defaults option that leaves the date/time, camera name and password, and language in place — both found in the Preferences menu. The connections reset is separate, under the Connect/Connections category: it clears pairings and generates a new camera name and password.
Note that on these two models (and the HERO5 Session) you can’t choose your own Wi-Fi name or password — the camera generates them. Formatting the card also lives in Preferences, and a frozen camera restarts with a long hold of the Mode button (or pull the battery).
HERO4 Black & Silver
The HERO4 generation has no full factory reset. What it has, reached through Setup mode (press Power/Mode until the gear-cogs Setup icon shows, then Shutter to select): a Reset Cam option whose Reset Defaults restores most settings (but not date/time, Wi-Fi name/password, or language) and whose Reset Wi-Fi clears the wireless credentials. A frozen HERO4 is fixed by pulling the battery; the card formats from the Setup menu.
HERO (2024)
GoPro doesn’t publish reset documentation for the budget HERO (2024), which has an intentionally minimal settings system largely managed through the Quik app. If yours misbehaves, restart it, and check the app’s camera settings; for anything deeper it’s a GoPro support case.
Wi-Fi passwords and connections
On every model, Reset Connections is the fix for a forgotten camera password or an app that won’t pair: it wipes the stored pairings and generates a fresh password (shown on the camera under the wireless/connections info). You’ll need to re-pair your phone and remotes afterward. On the HERO5/6 generation the camera picks its own name and password; you can’t set custom ones.
Getting the Camera Tips back
The beginner popups that explain the icons disappear once you’ve tapped through them. Preferences > Reset > Reset Camera Tips restores them from the beginning on every model from the HERO8 through the HERO13 (on the HERO7 it’s in the same Reset menu). Handy before lending the camera to someone new.
Common questions
Does a factory reset delete my photos and videos?
No. GoPro’s own wording: restoring factory settings “will not delete any content from your SD card or have any effect on your camera’s software.” Formatting the card is a separate, deliberate step.
Does a factory reset roll back a firmware update?
No. The firmware stays at whatever version is installed. There’s no supported downgrade path; see updating GoPro firmware.
My GoPro is frozen mid-recording — will I lose the clip?
Hold Mode for 10 seconds to restart. The recorded file up to the freeze is usually intact (GoPros write continuously), though the final seconds may be cut off. If the file won’t play, the camera often repairs it on the next power-up.
Will a reset fix SD card errors?
Usually it’s the card, not the settings: format it in the camera (Preferences > Reset > Format SD Card) after saving your files, and if errors persist, try another card — see the card recommendations.
The camera won’t turn on at all — now what?
That’s a different problem from a frozen camera: work through the power-up troubleshooting checklist (power, battery, card, restart, reset — in that order).
Sources: GoPro’s user manuals for the HERO8 through HERO13 Black and HERO11 Black Mini (“Resetting Your Camera” sections), plus my own testing on the older models.
