How can I factory reset my Wireless Plus or my Seagate GoFlex Satellite?

Explanation on how to reset the drive

There is no real factory reset for the GoFlex Satellite or the Wireless Plus drives.  The closest you can get to restoring one of these drives to factory defaults is to format the drive.  Formatting the drive erases all data, so make sure you have a good copy of your files in another media before attempting to format the drive.  Please note that there is no way for Seagate to send the preloaded media files back to you.  The preloaded pictures and videos would need to be saved in another location prior to formatting the drive if you would like to keep them.

To format the drive on a Windows Computer :
  1. Turn the GoFlex Satellite or Wireless Plus off using the power button on the side of the drive, then connect the drive to your computer using the USB cable.
  2. Once your computer detects the drive, open (My) Computer and locate the icon for the Seagate drive.
  3. Right-click on the drive's icon and choose Format in the menu.
  4. Make sure the capacity shows the maximum capacity in the first field, and make sure you select NTFS for the File System.  Leave the Allocation unit size value to the default displayed.
  5. Give your drive a name in the Volume label field and make sure there is a check mark in the Quick Format box.
  6. Click on Start.  The drive will format. 
  7. Once the drive is formatted, put your files back into it either by Drag and Drop, or by Copy and Paste.
To format the drive on a Mac Computer :
  1. Turn the GoFlex Satellite or Wireless Plus off using the power button on the side of the drive, then connect the drive to your computer using the USB cable.
  2. Once your computer detects the drive, go to Disk Utilitiy.
  3. On the left-hand side of the window, select the Seagate drive.
  4. Click on the Partition tab.
  5. On the right-hand side of the window, you will see a dropdown for Partition Layout.  Click on it, and select one partition.
  6. After selecting the partition layout, you will be able to enter a name for your drive.  Name your drive so you can easily recognize it once it's connected to your computer.
  7. Choose the Format of the drive.  Seagate recommends you choose the Windows NT File System option to keep the flexibility to use the drive between both a Mac and a PC.
  8. Click on the Options button, and choose the Master Boot Record (MBR) option.
  9. Click on the Apply button.  The drive will format and remount on your computer's desktop.
  10. Once the drive is formatted, put your files back into it either by Drag and Drop or by Copy and Paste.
If you are not exactly looking for a complete wipe of the drive, but rather only resetting the network settings of the drive, you can perform a pinhole reset instead.  The pinhole reset is not data destructive, but it will erase your WiFi password and customer SSID you might have put on the drive.  To do the pinhole reset, find a paper clip or similar object, and then follow these quick steps.  Please note that the drive needs to be powered on in order for this procedure to work :
  1. Locate the little pinhole under the drive, next to the label.
  2. Stick the paper clip in the hole and hold it in there for 10 seconds, then let go.
  3. Power the drive off using the power button on the side of the drive.
  4. Wait for the drive to be complete powered off, then wait about 30 seconds.
  5. Power the drive back on.  Once the WiFi LED is on and solid, the drive should be reset and ready to go.
  1. ⁺ For a limited time of March 25, 2024, 10:00AM Pacific Time ("PT") to April 1, 2024 9:59AM PT, all orders placed at the Seagate store at Seagate.com will receive free ground shipping to addresses located within the United States.