How to reset Meta glasses: restart, force restart or factory reset

1. Which reset do you need?

There are three, and you should try them in this order. A restart and a force restart keep your photos and your pairing. A factory reset deletes every photo and video on the glasses and means pairing again. That is the order Meta gives in its help center, which this page follows (all articles checked November 12, 2026). The LED colours and button sequences in the table apply on Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta; Vanguard and Meta Ray-Ban Display differ, as noted below it.

Meta’s reset article groups “Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses” under one set of steps and does not list them generation by generation, so the procedure for Ray-Ban Meta is the one below. Meta Ray-Ban Display has its own article, and the article also has a separate tab for “Meta Glasses”. Before pressing anything, check that the steps you are following match your model.

2. Restart and force restart

A restart is the first thing to try and it costs you nothing. Meta says it will not erase photos or videos you have not imported yet and will not unpair the glasses. On Ray-Ban Meta, Oakley Meta HSTN and Meta Glasses:

1. Slide the power button back to switch the glasses off.
2. Wait a few seconds, then slide the power button forward. The glasses reconnect to the Meta AI app on their own after they wake up.

If that does not fix it, do a force restart. Meta says it will not delete photos or videos and will not make you pair again:

1. Slide the power button back to switch the glasses off.
2. Press and hold the capture button.
3. While you hold it, slide the power button forward to switch the glasses on.
4. Release the capture button as soon as the status LED turns red. If it does not turn red, slide the power button back and repeat.

Oakley Meta Vanguard works differently. To restart, hold the power button for 3 seconds (the notification LED turns white and fades as the glasses switch off), then hold it for 1 second to switch them on (the LED flashes white). To force restart, hold the power button for at least 10 seconds; the notification LED turns red while the glasses restart.

After a force restart the glasses can take a few minutes to reconnect to the app. If they still have not reconnected, Meta says to unpair them in the Meta AI app, remove them from the Bluetooth devices on your phone, then pair again. If the glasses will not stay connected even then, our guide to Meta glasses not connectinggoes through the fixes in Meta’s order, and the update guide covers a failed update.

3. Factory reset the glasses

A factory reset returns the glasses to their factory settings and deletes all the photos and videos on them. Import anything you want to keep first, because there is no undo. You will also need to pair the glasses with the Meta AI app again afterwards. The steps in Meta’s article use only the buttons on the glasses; the article does not say anything about doing them from the app.

Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta glasses:

1. Make sure the glasses are out of their case, charged and powered on.
2. Close both arms.
3. With the arms folded, press the capture button 5 times. The LED turns orange.
4. Press and hold the capture button. Release it when the LED flashes.

The “Meta Glasses” tab: close both arms, press the capture button 5 times until the notification LED turns orange, then press and hold until the notification LED pulses white and orange, and release.

Meta Ray-Ban Display has its own article. Make sure the glasses are out of the case, charged and on, fold both arms, press the capture button rapidly 5 times (the LED turns orange), then press and hold and release when the LED pulses white and orange. It also deletes all photos and videos and needs a new pairing.

If the LED does not turn orange after five presses, check the conditions Meta lists: the glasses are out of the case, charged and powered on, and both arms are folded. If a second careful attempt does not work, move on to Meta Store Support rather than repeating it.

4. Reset the charging case

Meta lists a separate reset for the case, for when the case itself is misbehaving. On the Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta case, take the glasses out and hold the button on the back of the case for more than 16 seconds. On the Meta Glasses case, hold the button on the top right of the charging pad inside the case for more than 16 seconds.

The Meta Ray-Ban Display case resets differently, with its USB-C cable instead of a button: open the case, insert and remove the USB-C cable at the port on the ridge side 3 times within 11 seconds, and watch for the LED next to the port to blink white. Meta’s pairing fix also uses the case reset: if you hold the case button for 5 seconds and the case LED never turns blue, factory reset the case.

5. Unpair before selling or gifting

Meta says AI glasses pair with one Meta Account at a time and need a factory reset before someone else can pair them to their account. So a pair you are selling needs three things, in this order, which is our reading of Meta’s pairing and reset articles rather than a single Meta checklist:

1. Import the photos and videos you want from the glasses.
2. Unpair in the Meta AI app: tap Glasses, then Device settings, pick your glasses, tap General, then Unpair glasses and Unpair. Meta says unpairing does not change or erase any settings, and you may also need to choose Forget for the glasses in your phone’s Bluetooth settings.
3. Factory reset the glasses, so the captures on them are deleted.

Reset the case as well if it goes with the pair and has been misbehaving. If you are weighing selling against trading in, the Meta glasses trade-in guidecovers Meta’s own programme.

6. When a reset does not help

Meta’s sequence ends the same way every time: if a force restart does not work, factory reset; if that does not work, contact Meta Store Support. A reset is a software fix. It cannot repair a hardware fault, so if the glasses do not power on after you have charged them with the nose bridge seated on the case’s charging port, or the same fault comes back straight after a factory reset, the glasses need repair, not another reset. Our Meta glasses repair guide explains who handles which model.

Two more things look like a glasses problem and are not. Meta’s pairing article says the usual causes of a failed pairing are the glasses’ charge level, your phone’s Bluetooth connection or an earlier pairing to a different phone, so check the phone and the charge before you wipe anything. And a glasses LED that blinks white continuously while you pair is a job for a force restart, not a factory reset, according to the same article.

7. If you own OXIVUE glasses

None of the button sequences above apply to OXIVUE frames. The M08 ($99 at checkout, listed $149; 8 MP, about 42 g, 7 hours of listening and 4 hours of calls) and the M02C ($109 at checkout, listed $159; Sony IMX219, IP65 rated for dust and water jets but not immersion) pair through their own free companion app and do not use the Meta AI app. They have no display and do not take prescription lenses. We do not publish a reset procedure on this page; if you need one for an OXIVUE pair, ask on the support pagerather than trying Meta’s presses. Compare the models on the comparison page.

Shipping, refunds and warranty. Free shipping from $99. US orders typically arrive in 5–9 business days; international orders take 9–14 business days after shipment. No refunds except transit damage (replaced or refunded); faults are repaired or replaced under the 2-year warranty; change of mind and unmet expectations are not refundable. Read the return policy and warranty, and compare every model on the comparison page.

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