If your scooter is acting strangely, refusing to connect to its app, throwing a confusing error code, or just not behaving the way it normally does, a reset is often the first thing worth trying. It sounds dramatic, but in most cases it’s a lot like restarting your phone or laptop. You’re not erasing anything important, you’re just giving the controller a clean slate so it can clear out any small glitches that have built up.
The tricky part is that there’s no single universal reset for every scooter. Different brands use different button combinations, and some don’t have a manual reset at all. As one comprehensive reset guide from Dynamic Scooter puts it, there’s genuinely no one size fits all approach, since each manufacturer tends to use its own proprietary method. In this guide we’ll walk you through the most common methods, brand by brand, and help you figure out which one applies to your scooter.
Before you reset anything
A reset is a low risk fix, but it’s still worth doing a couple of things first. Make sure your scooter has at least 50 percent battery if possible, since some resets briefly cut power and a very low battery can occasionally cause the process to fail partway through. It’s also worth noting down what the issue actually is and whether your display is showing an error code, since if the reset doesn’t fix things, you’ll want that information for the next step.
If you’re dealing with a specific numbered or lettered error code rather than general odd behaviour, it’s often faster to look that code up directly. Our guide on how to read your scooter’s error codes is a good place to start, since some codes point to a specific part rather than a general glitch a reset would fix.
The universal soft reset (try this first)
Before getting into brand specific steps, there’s a simple method that works on a surprisingly large number of scooters, regardless of brand. Power the scooter off completely using the power button, and make sure it’s not connected to a charger. Then wait a full one to five minutes. This pause matters more than people expect, since it gives the internal capacitors time to discharge fully and lets the controller’s logic circuits properly reset, rather than just restarting in the same confused state.
After waiting, turn the scooter back on as normal and check whether the issue has cleared. This soft reset is essentially the scooter equivalent of turning your router off and leaving it for a minute before plugging it back in, and it resolves a surprising number of temporary glitches on its own. A step by step reset guide from Levy Electric describes this same waiting period as letting the controller’s logic circuits fully clear before restarting, which lines up with why rushing this step often means the issue comes straight back.
If that doesn’t help, move on to the brand specific method below for your scooter.
Resetting Xiaomi scooters
Xiaomi scooters, including the M365, Pro, Pro 2, and Essential models, generally don’t have a dedicated physical reset button. Instead, the reset is performed using a button combination.
With the scooter turned off, press and hold the power button, the brake lever, and the throttle all at the same time. Keep holding until you either hear a beep, see the display flash, or notice the Xiaomi logo appear briefly. On some models the screen will briefly show a code, often “14”, just before it restarts, which confirms the reset has gone through. This exact sequence is confirmed in detail by VoltRideHub’s reset button guide, which notes that the brief “14” code is what tells you the factory reset has gone through successfully rather than indicating a fault.
If your scooter is connected to the Mi Home or Xiaomi Home app, there’s also a software reset option buried in the settings menu, which some riders find safer than the manual button combination since it’s less likely to accidentally trigger something else.
If you’re hearing beeps rather than seeing codes on your display, it’s worth knowing that certain Xiaomi models, particularly the M365 and Essential, communicate faults purely through long and short beep patterns. We’ve covered exactly how to decode these in our guide on why your electric scooter is beeping, which is genuinely useful both before and after attempting a reset.
Resetting Segway and Ninebot scooters
For Segway and Ninebot models, including the ES1, ES2, ES4, and the Max series, the most common method involves the brake lever and power button together rather than the throttle.
Turn the scooter on first. Then press and hold both the brake lever and the power button at the same time for around three seconds. Release both, and the scooter should restart on its own. On some ES series models, the order is slightly different, with the throttle and brake both held down while the scooter is on, then powering it off while still holding both, before releasing and turning it back on. The official reset documentation for the Ninebot ES1 and ES2 both follow this throttle and brake sequence, and confirm that releasing the levers before powering back on with a three second hold of the power key completes the reset.
It’s worth keeping in mind that a full reset on Segway Ninebot models will also reset your Bluetooth pairing, so you’ll need to reconnect through the Segway-Ninebot app afterward if you use it.
If your reset is specifically because of a brake related error, it might be worth checking whether your scooter is showing a 19E or 20E code first, since these point to a specific brake sensor being out of position rather than a general fault a reset would clear. We’ve written full guides on both the 19E left brake knob error and the 20E right brake knob error if either of those sounds familiar.
Resetting Apollo, Kaabo, and similar performance scooters
Performance and dual motor scooters from brands like Apollo, Kaabo, Dualtron, and similar manufacturers tend to have more sophisticated displays, and many support resets directly through an on screen menu rather than a button combination.
Power on the scooter and look for a settings or menu option, usually accessed by holding down a specific button on the display for a few seconds, though the exact button varies by model and is worth checking in your manual. From there, look for an option labelled something like Settings, System, or Diagnostics, and within that menu there’s often a Factory Reset or Reset to Default option.
For models with companion apps, such as the Apollo Ride app, a software reset through the app is usually the safer route, and it often comes with the added benefit of checking for and applying any pending firmware updates at the same time, which can resolve issues that a reset alone wouldn’t fix.
If your scooter has been struggling on hills or under hard acceleration and that’s part of why you’re considering a reset, it might be worth also reading our guide on making your electric scooter faster legally and safely, since some performance issues come down to settings rather than faults.
Resetting Razor, GoTrax, Hiboy, and budget brands
Budget and entry level scooters are the most varied category here, and unfortunately also the least documented. Some Razor models have a small physical reset button located on the controller module itself, often accessed by removing a panel near the deck. GoTrax, Hiboy, Turboant, and similar brands typically rely on either a small recessed pinhole reset button, similar to what you’d find on a home router, or a reset option within their companion app.
If you can’t find a physical button, check the manufacturer’s app first, since most of these brands have shifted toward app based resets in recent years specifically because the wide variety of models made physical buttons inconsistent and confusing for support teams to talk customers through.
If your budget scooter is beeping rather than showing a code on screen, this is extremely common on entry level models without full displays, and our guide on all the beep codes explained covers what those patterns typically mean before you go further with a reset.
Resetting through the manufacturer’s app
Across almost every brand, the trend over the last few years has been toward app based resets, and for good reason. A button combination performed slightly wrong, holding the wrong button for a fraction of a second too long or too short, can occasionally cause more confusion than it solves. An app based reset removes that risk entirely.
The general process is similar across brands. Make sure your scooter is paired with its app via Bluetooth, then open the app and look for a menu, often represented by three dots in a corner of the screen. Within settings, look for something labelled Factory Reset, System Reset, or Clear Errors. Confirm the action, and the app will usually walk you through anything else needed, including waiting for the scooter to restart. EScooterNerds’ guide to resetting your scooter points out that this app based menu location, the three dots in the corner leading to a factory reset option, is fairly consistent across most major scooter apps, even when the rest of the app layout differs significantly between brands.
One genuine advantage of the app route is that many apps will also check for firmware updates at the same time, and outdated firmware is a surprisingly common cause of issues that look like hardware faults but are actually just bugs that have already been fixed in a newer version.
What a reset won’t fix
It’s worth being upfront about this, since a reset isn’t a magic fix for everything. A reset clears temporary software glitches, miscommunications between components, and minor display errors. What it generally won’t fix is anything physical.
If your scooter won’t turn on at all, a reset usually won’t help, since the issue is more likely related to the battery, a fuse, or the power button itself rather than software. Our guide on why your electric scooter isn’t turning on covers all of those causes in detail.
Similarly, if a brake or throttle sensor has physically shifted out of position, often after a drop or hard impact, a reset might briefly clear the error but it will usually come straight back, since the underlying alignment issue hasn’t changed. In these cases the 19E, 20E, and 18E guides will be more useful than repeated resets.
And if the scooter has been exposed to water and a connector has corroded, a reset won’t dry anything out or remove corrosion. In that situation, our guide on cleaning an electric scooter without damaging it is a better starting point.
After the reset, what to check
Once you’ve completed a reset, take a moment before riding off to check the basics. Test the throttle gently while stationary or on a stand, squeeze both brake levers to confirm they respond normally, and check that the display is showing your usual speed, battery percentage, and mode without any error codes or unusual icons.
If everything looks normal, take it for a short test ride somewhere quiet before heading out on your usual route. If the original issue has cleared, that’s a good sign. If it returns within the first few minutes, that’s a strong hint that the problem is something a reset alone can’t solve, and you’ll want to look into the specific symptom rather than repeating the reset.
When to get help instead
A reset is one of the lowest risk things you can try on a scooter, so there’s no harm in attempting it even if you’re not sure it’ll work. But if you’ve tried both the universal soft reset and your brand’s specific method, and the issue is still there, repeating the process over and over generally won’t change the outcome.
At that point, it’s worth considering whether the issue is something physical rather than something software can fix. If you’re not sure which category your problem falls into, booking a quick diagnostic with our team can save you a lot of guesswork, and we’ll be able to tell you fairly quickly whether you’re looking at a settings issue, a sensor issue, or something that needs a part replaced.
Still stuck? Get in touch with us and we’ll help you figure out the next step.
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