How to reset Ubuntu to default settings? (With easy steps)

Ever wonder how you can reset Ubuntu to default settings easily? As we all know, sometimes we get really fed up with using the customised Ubuntu we use, and wish to revert to the default desktop with factory settings, so here’s your solution to it.

In this article, we will discuss resetting any Ubuntu or Debian-based distribution to its default factory settings, without needing to reinstall Ubuntu.

Steps to Reset Ubuntu to Default Settings Using the dconf Command

We can easily reset our Ubuntu to default settings using the dconf command. You can check out its man-pages by running the following command in terminal:

man dconf

For quick reference, here is how my customised and tweaked Ubuntu desktop looked before resetting to default settings.

To reset Ubuntu to default settings, just open your terminal from the menu or using the keyboard shortcut CtrL+Alt+T, and run the following command –

dconf reset -f /

This command will reset your system settings and desktop to factory settings. After running the command, your Ubuntu will revert to default factory settings, in a blink of an eye.

Your Ubuntu will look as good as new, like mine does. Everything from system settings, wallpaper, dock size, pinned icons got reverted to factory settings.

This command resets all the changes that you did to the system UI, like wallpaper, pinned applications, icon themes, screen resolution, fonts, dock, panel applets, system settings, keyboard shortcuts, menu behavior etc., to default factory settings.

It will not affect any application that you have installed. It won’t affect or delete your downloaded applications or data either. It will only affect only those applications that use dconf like the system settings.

For purpose of ease, we have added a GIF below especially for you. It will help you to understand the entire process pretty easily.

Bonus

• You can also use dconf to backup and restore your system settings

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed that how we can easily reset Ubuntu to default settings with help of a single command dconf.