You can factory reset a Cisco 7911(G) and 7941/7961(G) at boot time by following the procedure below. Performing a full factory reset will completely wipe the phone. This includes its firmware, leaving the phone in an unusable state if no TFTP server with the necessary files is available, along with a DHCP server that pushes the TFTP server (using DHCP option 150). If you have a Cisco Call Manager, this part should already be set up and the phone will simply download everything from the CCM.

Use with caution!

The factory reset will also wipe the firmware. You will no longer be able to use the phone until a new firmware is installed on the phone. This can only be done through a TFTP server with all the necessary firmware files on board!

So only perform the reset until this is set up properly or you will no longer be able to use your phone after the reset.

Reset the Cisco 7911(G)

1. Unplug the phone. When using PoE, this means unplugging the network cable.
2. While holding down # on the phone, plug the power/network cable back in. Keep # held down.
3. Release the # key when the MWI LED starts blinking.
4. You now have 60 seconds to type in the following key sequence. The order needs to be exact or the reset will fail:
   3 4 9 1 6 7 2 8 5 0 * #
5. If the input was not accepted, the phone will simply boot into its OS.
   If the input was correctly accepted, the MWI LED will start blinking very fast for about 15 seconds, then it will blink slowly for another 10 seconds, and finally it stops blinking all together. At this point the phone's settings and firmware will have been cleared.
6. Power-cycle the phone (unplug power/network cable and plug it back in).
   If you have properly configured a TFTP server and pushed it out on the network through DHCP option 150, the phone will connect to it and starts downloading the required firmware and configuration files. This will take some time and the phone will reboot several times.
   Once the boot cycle is completed, the phone will have loaded the firmware and if you have a CCM, it will have been completely provisioned (unless auto-provisioning is turned off). In any case, it will have downloaded and installed the firmware present on the TFTP server.

Note

Certain versions of the firmware claim to use another key sequence for resetting the phone. If the above one does not work, try the following sequence:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * 0 #

Reset the Cisco 7941/7961(G)

1. Unplug the phone. When using PoE, this means unplugging the network cable.
2. While holding down # on the phone, plug the power/network cable back in. Keep # held down.
3. Once the Headset, Mute, and Speaker button starts flashing in sequence, release #. Note that if your network is a little slow, the Speaker LED will stay lit for a while. At this point, do not yet release the # key.
   Personally, I noticed your best bet is to hold down the # key and let go as soon as the line buttons light up.
4. The line buttons will start flashing in sequence. You now have 60 seconds to type in the following key sequence. The order needs to be exact or the reset will fail:
   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 * 0 #
5. If the input was not accepted, the phone will simply boot into its OS.
   If the input was correctly accepted, the phone will show its Upgrade screen and will wipe its firmware and configuration.
   If a TFTP server is available and it's pushed out through DHCP option 150, the phone will then contact the server and start downloading the required settings and firmware files. During the download the screen will have a progress counter and will list the files that are being downloaded. The phone will also reboot a few times during the process.
   Once the boot cycle is completed, the phone will have loaded the firmware and if you have a CCM, it will have been completely provisioned (unless auto-provisioning is turned off). In any case, it will have downloaded and installed the firmware present on the TFTP server.