F150 has an excellent radio for navigation and entertainment while you are on the road. It has a large screen and ample power, but it has issues that will reel your mind. How do you reset your radio in the F150?
Reset an Ford F150 radio by holding the power and seek buttons. The screen will go black you will wait for the system to reboot. Once the system reboots, hold the power button down until the radio reboots in working order.
The radio is the center for your driving and communication needs. Unfortunately, it can cause significant problems when it freezes or goes black. Don’t let that derail your day! Read on and learn a step-by-step process to reset the radio in your F150.
Resetting the Radio in Your F150
There are two ways you can reset the radio in your F150 that will restore functionality if it stops working. Unfortunately, a couple of things happen that force the radio to stop working, and the way to reset it could take a few different tries to get the results you need.
So the first thing you need to know is why your F150 radio crashed.
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There are a Few Ways Your Radio can Malfunction.
Technology is helpful but can be a major pain when problems arise. Your F150 is one of the most technologically superior trucks on the market. Its radio has a few common ways it malfunctions, and recognizing them will help you choose the correct way to reset the radio. You don’t want to rip fuses out without regard, or you could damage other systems in your Ford.
Some of the ways your F150 radio can malfunction are:
- Blown Fuses – One of the most common things with F150 radios is that the fuses could blow. The fuses are located beneath the dash, and you can tell which one needs replacing by checking the owner’s manual for the radio slot or by going through the fuses individually. The broken fuse should have a missing link in the window on the fuse.
- Dead Screen – Another thing common with F150 radios is a dead screen. You can touch the screen, and nothing happens. The dead screen is one of the worst radio problems and will eventually stop the radio from working. Also, the dead screen could be hard to reset if the buttons are unresponsive.
- Frozen Screen – The frozen screen is another malfunction that plagues the F150. It will cease to run navigation or the listening screen. As a result, you cannot use buttons, and all the radio information will remain unchanged.
- Solder Issues – One of the internal issues that might not have a fix is solder issues. Sometimes the radios come from factories with problems in the soldering that could force them to overload the radio or cause the sound to be clipped.
The issues that plague the F150 radio are not always easy fixes. If resetting the radio doesn’t work, you might have to replace it or take it to someone who knows how to handle complicated radio and electrical issues. No matter your choice, you must try to reset the radio before taking any invasive steps.
Here’s a video showing one method, with written steps for a soft or hard reset below:
The Soft Reset Option for the Ford F150 Radio
From 2004 to the current year, Ford installed a radio with two different resets. The first is a soft reset that only removes power and allows the radio to restart. This is like a restart for a computer in that it is quick and can reboot the needed software in the radio.
The steps to soft reset the Ford F150 radio are as follows:
- Hold the Buttons – First, hold down the Power and Seek buttons. Once you do, the screen will go black. It might take some time to get them both pressed correctly, but once you do, the screen will revert to black with no other outputs showing.
- Wait Around – The next step is pretty straightforward. You will have to wait for the system to reboot for the next three to five minutes. The screen will pop up with the Ford logo once it begins the reboot but try and refrain from touching the screen.
- Power Button – Once the screen comes back up, you should look for the Power button. Once you find it, hold it down, and the radio should return to standard working order. If it doesn’t, there’s another reset you can try to get things back in business.
The soft reset is the best place to start. It keeps you from having to remove any parts of the dash or the radio, and it helps portions of the computer program restart and return to normal functions.
The Master Reset is the Final Option for Resetting
Another thing to try is the Master reset. This will undo all your radio and phone settings while giving you a clean start. It takes a bit of browsing through the radio’s menu to get what you need, but this reset works for all makes of Ford F150 and should solve any problems.
The steps to use the master reset are as follows:
- Enter Settings – Once the car is on and in park, you should look for the Setting menu on the SYNC screen. It should be in the upper corner of the screen and could look like a cog, depending on your SYNC edition.
- General – Scroll down through the menu for the General selection. General is a menu chocked full of options, but you are looking for the one labeled Master Reset. It reboots your radio cleanly and repairs any hangups that might have occurred.
- Master Reset – Once you have selected the master reset option, there will be a disclaimer telling you what is about to happen. Click OK, and the radio will power down before restarting minutes later.
The master reset is the last resort for F150 owners with radio problems. It will take everything back to square one and hopefully repair your issues. If not, the next step is to take it into the shop or begin the search for a new radio.
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Conclusion
Resetting the radio in your F150 is one of the best ways to repair it after the screen has frozen or gone dark. You should start by doing a soft reset that will allow any parts of the software that need to update or have faulted to run correctly.
The master reset is accomplished by going into the menu and selecting the option from the general menu. The master reset works to start the radio from scratch and will update or fix any hung-up bits of code that might have been corrupted.