When an access point or networking gear runs into issues it’s often recommended that the equipment be reset. For similar reasons… many Helium miner owners want to know how to reset their Helium miner. Here are some related frequently asked questions
FAQ
Is it possible to reset a miner to take it back to its original factory configuration?
The quick answer is no. If a miner has already been on-boarded to the blockchain, this cannot be undone.
I have a Helium Hotspot that is associated with a lost wallet. I’ve lost the 12 seed words as well. Can you reset the miner to out-of-the-box settings and associate it with a new wallet?
The answer is No. If you lost the 12 words seed phrase, you have lost all miners associated with that wallet.
What can you do with a miner that is bricked or unrecoverable?
One idea would be to take the miner apart and sell the parts. For instance you can sell the Raspberry Pi. At the present time there is a shortage of Raspberry Pis so you can get good money for a used part. The other thing you can sell is the LoRa concentrator.
I have a problem connecting to Wi-Fi, will resetting the miner help?
No, it will not help. For connectivity issues we recommend contacting the miner manufacturer.
If I sell my miner to someone else, does it need to be reset?
No it does not need to be reset. You will have to transfer the hotspot to the new owner using the Helium app.
Does unplugging a miner from the power source and powering it back on reset it?
Powering a Helium miner down and back up again does not reset it. In fact the miner retains all its configuration details such as Wi-Fi connectivity.
Background
What is Helium?
Helium is a network that connects IoT devices like dog tags, environmental sensors, bike trackers and more. It consists of gateway devices or hotspots connected to one another over the internet. Data from IoT devices is transmitted to hotspots or Helium Miners and then across the Helium network.
How do I mine Helium?
In order to mine Helium you need dedicated hardware called a Helium hotspot or miner. There are many hotspot vendors including Rak, Nebra and others. The hotspot is like a wireless access point that is used to communicate with sensors and other hotspots. It is also connected to the internet over Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
Helium devices and the network are very new. Furthermore, the network is growing very rapidly and often runs into technical issue. A quick fix for many problems is to power down the hotspot and then to power it back on. This action should not be confused with resetting the hotspot or miner.