Performing a Factory Reset on Impinj RAIN RFID Readers and Gateways [VIDEO]

If you are experiencing problems with your Impinj RAIN RFID reader or gateway and are having difficulty pinpointing the cause, it is often useful to return the Impinj reader/gateway to a known state (in this case, the factory default configuration) and try again.

There are two ways to return the Impinj reader/gateway to its factory default configuration - issuing an Rshell command or pushing the Factory Default Reset (FDR) button on the device itself. This article addresses using both approaches.

One use-case where it may be necessary to return the Impinj reader/gateway to the factory default configuration is if someone has set a static IP address on the device which you are unaware of. In this situation, you would want to perform a factory configuration reset to force the reader's networking to be switched from 'static' to 'DHCP' as this will cause the reader to obtain an available IP address automatically on startup.  When using an Impinj reader, you can then connect using the speedwayr-xx-yy-zz.local alias (where xx-yy-zz are the last three octets, or groups of numbers, in the MAC address of the Impinj reader). If using an xSpan or xArray, you would use the xarray-xx-yy-zz.local or xspan-xx-yy-zz.local alias instead.

Since DHCP is the default setting of the Impinj readers, performing a factory reset will enable this mode.

When performing the factory configuration restore through the physical FDR button, please note a few key points illustrated in this video.

1. Be sure to be pressing the FDR button with the power unplugged and continue to do so while plugging in power to the Impinj reader or gateway
2. Timing is important - be sure to release the FDR button when the power light blinks red, after about 3 seconds (seen at 1:25 in the video).
3. If the status light blinks alternately between green and red before going solid green, then you have performed the reset successfully. If it goes solid green without blinking, then the reset was not successful (most likely the FDR button was released too soon).

Warning! Pressing the FDR button for longer than 3 seconds can cause a factory default restore to occur. Unlike a factory configuration restore, the factory default restore removes the Speedway reader’s custom application partition (CAP), if one exists, returning the unit to its state as shipped from the factory. Although there may be situations in which this removal is necessary, it’s important to avoid accidentally removing the CAP.

The second approach for restoring the Impinj reader's default settings is through issuing an RShell command. This command will cause a factory configuration restore. Once logged into the RShell terminal, you will want to issue the following command:

config image default

The config image default command restores the configuration to the default settings. When
complete, the command is automatically followed by a reboot. It's important to note that running this command will not uninstall any custom application installed on the reader. The custom application (if installed) is notified after the reboot, so that configuration specific to the custom application (if any) can also be restored to the defaults. This command takes no additional parameters.

If looking to also uninstall the custom application through RShell, the following RShell command can perform this:

config image removecap

Note: When factory resetting an Impinj xArray or Impinj xSpan, it can be difficult to follow the procedure for pressing the FDR button, as you aren't able to see the front status lights of the reader to determine when to stop pressing the button. If unable to reset through RShell and require using the FDR button approach, we would suggest holding the reset button in, then plugging in the power, and continue holding the reset button for two minutes. After two minutes, the unit should be factory reset.