HowTo: Reset a Tridium JACE to Factory Default

If you are experiencing issues with a JACE or wish to re-use it for another purpose, its usually a good idea to reset it to factory default condition and start from there. The following guide explains how to do this.

First you need to know how to make a serial connection to the JACE 8000. That is covered in this guide here.

Factory Resetting the Jace 8000

1. Ensure that the controller’s power is off.
2. Press and hold down the backup and restore button as you power up the controller, and continue holding down the button throughout the boot-up process until the button press is detected and the following confirmation banner displays:*******************************************************
   Backup/Restore button press detected. Release button now to proceed. *******************************************************

   NOTE: During this step of the procedure, the Backup LED flashes at medium speed (100 mS on, 100 mS off). Also, be aware that holding the button down too long results in the following message (which does not indicate a hardware fault). If this message appears it is best to start the procedure over, beginning with step 1:“WARNING – CHECK BACKUP BUTTON – POSSIBLE SHORT!”

3. Release the backup and restore button once the banner displays.On detecting the button release, the system begins a 10-second countdown, which displays as shown here:Press any key to restore from USB backup. If no key pressed, factory recovery will begin in 10 seconds Recovery begins in 9 seconds Recovery begins in 8 seconds Recovery begins in….
   NOTE: Pressing any key during this 10-second countdown prevents the system from entering factory recovery mode. Instead, the system switches modes to restore from a USB backup.

   When no key press is detected during the 10-second countdown, the factory recovery process begins at the moment the countdown finishes. Upon entering recovery mode, the boot process overwrites the controller with a default factory image. During this process the Backup LED blinks at slow speed (one second on, then one second off).

   CAUTION: Once in recovery mode (BACKUP LED is flashing in slow blink), do not interrupt this process. Allow the recovery to complete or the controller could be left in an inoperable state.

4. When the Backup LED stops flashing, turn the controller’s power off and back on again to reboot.
   NOTE: After recovering factory defaults the initial controller reboot process takes longer than usual.