How to Hard Reset Sony SRS X5

The front, right, and top sides of the Sony SRS X5.

Show you how to hard reset your Sony SRS X5 personal portable speaker to its default settings. Hard resetting restores the X5 to factory default state. Plus, doing this erases any earlier paired Bluetooth devices from memory. We might want to clear these to prevent this speaker from pairing to any nearby Bluetooth devices. Also, you would best reset your speaker to get it ready for sale or re-gifting, or to stop it from pairing with devices you no longer wish it to connect with.

How to Hard Reset Sony SRS X5, Step By Step

1. Turn ON the X5

Press and release the Power button for a half-second or so. Find the Power button as shown in the next picture.

The Power button on the top of the Sony SRS X5.

Find the Power button, as shown in the last picture above.

Then, the status light comes on, as shown next. This light we find on the bottom edge of the front of the unit.

The Power light glowing green on the Sony SRS X5.

Now whether it pairs or not, this hard reset routine works the same way, as follows.

2. Press and Hold the Volume DOWN and Power Buttons

Both of these buttons we find on the top of the speaker, right of center, as called out in the next picture. Both buttons are in the back row. The Volume Down button is in the leftmost position in this row, while the Power button is in the rightmost position.

The Volume Down and Power button locations on the Sony SRS X5.

Since one of these buttons is for power, you need to first press the Volume Down button by itself, Then, after a half-second, while holding that one in, press and hold the Power button. Doing it this way prevents accidently powering down the speaker before it has a chance to reset.

Then, hold both buttons in until all lamps go out, and the speaker shuts down. This takes around five seconds as the speaker hard resets.

Next, the speaker powers OFF, and the Power and Pairing lamps go dark, as shown next. Note that on this speaker, there is no power-down sound when hard reset finishes.

All top panel lamps dark.

You may release the buttons when all the lights go dark.

3. Check That your Sony SRS X5 Did Indeed Hard Reset

Next, power on the X5 once more, as described in step 1 above.

Note that after a hard reset, this speaker comes up in pairing mode. The Pairing lamp blinks in fast white blips to tell you this. This is a signal for you to look for this speaker on a nearby BT device, and pair to it if you so desire.

The fast pulsing Pairing lamp.

4. Done with How to Hard Reset Sony SRS X5 !

The hard reset is now finished. So you may now sell or gift the unit, or pair it again with your favorite Bluetooth devices.

After a hard reset, the speaker no longer automatically connects with any previously paired Bluetooth device. Thus, to restore this auto syncing, you manually pair the X5 with a device. Then after that, any time that both speaker and that device have Bluetooth turned on, and they’re near to each other, pairing would automatically take place once more.