how to reset nanoleaf light bulb

How to reset Nanoleaf light bulb? That will depend on your purpose. There are a few different methods for resetting a Nanoleaf Essentials Bulb, and each will be best for your situation.

Fully resetting a Nanoleaf Light Bulb involves power cycling it five or ten times, depending on which method works for your bulb. Other times, if you want to get rid of an app incompatibility, you can unpair the bulb and pair it again to the Nanoleaf app, Home App, or Alexa.

As you can see, there are two types of reset for the Nanoleaf Essentials Light Bulb: a soft reset via the different compatible apps and a hard reset that involves power cycling.

A hard reset must be performed carefully to avoid damaging the bulb’s internal electrical components.

How To Reset Nanoleaf Light Bulb?

how reset nanoleaf bulb

When you must reset Nanoleaf Bulb, there are a few options that you can choose from. Each one will be adequate for a specific situation.

It is necessary to understand that a factory reset, for example, will delete all the settings that you’ve already configured on the light bulb.

So, even though resetting is useful when the light bulb is malfunctioning, it will also oblige you to start from scratch.

Methods To Reset The Nanoleaf Bulb

There are a few different methods that you can apply to reset the Nanoleaf Bulb.

You can check them below and follow the instructions to ensure you reset them correctly.

Methods #1 to #4 are meant for situations when the light bulb is not responding to an app’s commands correctly.

Methods #5 to #7 are meant to reset a Nanoleaf light bulb by erasing all its configurations entirely.

Method #1: Soft App Reset

try soft reset

If all you want to do is remove the Nanoleaf Essentials Bulb from your app, there is a “soft reset” option on the app.

It is not truly a reset, but it will serve its purpose.

  1. Open the Nanoleaf App 
  2. Click on the “Settings” icon
  3. Select “My Devices” 
  4. Choose the bulb you want to unpair
  5. Click “Remove Device.”
  6. Confirm 

Since the bulb has been removed through the app, it is no longer associated with any device or user account.

Thus, it can be paired with another system.

How To Pair Again

If you’ve reset the bulb because it was malfunctioning, now is time to pair it again and ensure everything is fine with it:

  1. Turn the bulb on
  2. Open the Nanoleaf App
  3. Click on the plus sign
  4. Choose “Light Bulb” from the list of available devices
  5. Turn the bulb on and off five times to put it into pairing mode
  6. The app will automatically detect the bulb
  7. Follow the next prompts on the app

Method #2: HomeKit Reset

try the homekit reset

Suppose your Nanoleaf Essentials Bulb is working fine when you control it through the Nanoleaf proprietary app but is unresponsive through HomeKit.

In that case, you must reset it on the HomeKit app.

Here is what you must do:

  1. Open the Home app
  2. Find the malfunctioning Nanoleaf bulb 
  3. Hold on the bulb icon until a pop-up appears
  4. Tap “Settings” 
  5. Tap “Remove Accessory”
  6. Click on “Remove”

Add To HomeKit Again

  1. Open the Nanoleaf App
  2. Tap on the Settings icon 
  3. Tap on “HomeKit Setup”
  4. Enter the 8-digit HomeKit pairing code (usually found on the bulb packaging)
  5. Nanoleaf Bulb will be added to your HomeKit accessories list.
  6. Open the Home app
  7. Tap on the “+” icon 
  8. Select “Add Accessory”

After resetting and adding the bulb again, test if it is now responsive to HomeKit commands and Siri voice commands.

Method #3: Alexa Reset 

try the alexa reset

Finally, you can also reset the Nanoleaf Light Bulb on Alexa when it stops responding to Alexa’s voice commands or simply app commands.

First, you will have to remove the smart bulb from the app:

  1. Open the Alexa app
  2. Tap on the Devices tab
  3. Tap on the Nanoleaf bulb that you want to remove
  4. Tap on the three dots
  5. Tap on “Delete Device” 
  6. Confirm

After that, the bulb should be successfully removed from your Alexa app. 

Pair To Alexa Again

If your light bulb has been malfunctioning, removing it and adding it again to Alexa can be a great solution.

If you don’t remember how to add it back to Alexa, here is how: 

  1. Ensure your bulb is already set up with the Nanoleaf app
  2. Open the Alexa app 
  3. Tap on the three horizontal lines
  4. Tap on “Skills & Games”
  5. Search for “Nanoleaf” 
  6. Select the Nanoleaf skill from the results
  7. Tap on “Enable to Use”
  8. Follow the prompts
  9. Enter your Nanoleaf credentials if necessary

Now you must test if the bulb can receive commands from the Alexa app without trouble.

Method #4: Google Home Reset

try the google home reset

Google Home is the last member of the home assistant triad that supports Nanoleaf.

If you are having trouble controlling the Nanoleaf light bulb from the Google Home app, then you must remove it and add it again.

That counts as a soft reset through the app.

  1. Open the Google Home app
  2. Tap on the Nanoleaf bulb
  3. Tap on the settings gear icon
  4. Scroll down 
  5. Select “Remove device.”
  6. Confirm

If successful, the Nanoleaf smart bulb will stop responding to the Google Home app entirely.

Add The Bulb Again

try add bulb again

Now you must add the Nanoleaf bulb again to complete the reset.

Here is how:

  1. Open the Google Home app
  2. Tap on the “+” sign
  3. Tap on “Set up device.”
  4. Select “Works with Google.”
  5. Search for “Nanoleaf” 
  6. Select the brand
  7. Follow the prompts and enter the credentials if necessary
  8. Select the device again

After completing these steps, you should be able to control your Nanoleaf bulb using Google Home again.

If the trouble still happens with the connection between the device and apps, then follow the next resetting methods.

Method #5: Five Quick Power Cycles

the five quick power cycle

The most common way of resetting a Nanoleaf Bulb is by power cycling it with quick presses on the light switch.

Here is how to do it:

  1. Turn the light on and off five times
  2. Each cycle should last one second
  3. If successful, the bulb will start flashing quickly

After doing such a power cycle reset, you will have to pair the bulb again with the Nanoleaf app.

If you are selling the bulb, then simply reset it and pack it for the new owner.

Method #6: Slow Power Cycling

An alternative to the first method shown above is a slow power cycle. Some users report that this method works when quick cycling doesn’t.

  1. Turn the light on and off five times
  2. Each cycle should last three seconds
  3. If successful, the bulb will start flashing quickly

Just like quick cycling, slow cycling will also delete all the configurations once present on the bulb.

Thus, you must set the bulb again on the Nanoleaf app.

Method #7: Hard Reset

hard reset the bulb

The method here will be very similar to the ones above because Nanoleaf doesn’t count with a reset button or a full reset via the app.

If methods #1 and #2 above did nothing to your bulb, you must try this:

  1. Turn the light on and off ten times
  2. Each cycle should last one second
  3. If successful, the bulb will start flashing quickly

The above is truly the last resort you have when you need to erase all the configurations on your Nanoleaf Essentials Bulb.

What We Learned

How to reset Nanoleaf Light Bulb? There are two types of resetting for the Nanoleaf Light Bulb: an app reset that involves unpairing and pairing again to fix malfunctioning issues and a hard reset on the bulb itself.

A hard reset is the best option when you need to sell your bulb or install it in a different environment.

Nicole B
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