You can restore a Jeep Wrangler’s radio to factory settings by carrying out a hard reset involving the vehicle battery, pressing the right combination of buttons, or as a last resort, accessing its engineering menu.
Read on for detailed explanations on how to reset your Jeep Wrangler radio.
Introduction
The Jeep Wrangler might be a beast of a vehicle, but like every other car out there, it has a functional radio system, which can be reset to factory mode. Do you own a jeep wrangler, and you’ve been wondering how to reset the radio?
The good news is that you can most times carry out this reset process right from your home, with little or no technical knowledge required. And this comprehensive guide contains everything you need to know about resetting a wrangler’s radio and more.
How to Reset Your Jeep Wrangler’s Radio?
Resetting a Wrangler’s radio depends on the model of the vehicle in question, and in this article, our main focus will be on the Jeep Wrangler JK and JL models.
The Wrangler JK, first released in 2007, features the innovative MyGIG infotainment system, with later variants fitted with Chrysler’s UConnect. And the Wrangler JL models, which made their debut in late 2017, feature different versions of the UConnect system only.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at the various ways to reset a Jeep Wrangler’s radio, be it on a MyGIG or UConnect system.
Jeep Wrangler JK and JL models:
- Jeep Wrangler MyGIG Radio
OR
- Jeep Wrangler UConnect Radio
Resetting the Jeep Wrangler MyGIG Radio System
The most common ways to reset a Wrangler’s MyGIG radio system include:
1. Taking out the battery
The first and most commonly used method to restore a Jeep Wrangler MyGIG radio to factory settings is to carry out a hard reset by removing the car’s battery for a specific period.
To carry out a hard radio reset on your Jeep Wrangler:
- Pop the wrangler’s hood
- Loosen the battery’s connectors using a suitably sized 10mm wrench or 10mm socket.
- When disconnecting the battery, ensure to take out the negative connector before unhooking the positive connector – the negative connector is typically black in color, while the positive connector is red.
The following video better explains the process of disconnecting a Jeep Wrangler’s battery:
- Once the battery is disconnected, leave it unplugged for about five minutes.
- After five minutes, reconnect your battery by plugging in the positive connector, followed by the negative connector.
- Upon restarting your vehicle, your radio system should be completely reset.
Alternatively, you could simply unplug your Wrangler’s negative terminal to reset its radio, but this will take considerably longer. And you’d have to leave the terminal unhooked for at least, four hours, to reset the radio.
2. Using the radio’s menu options
If removing the battery doesn’t work for you, another way by which you can reset your Jeep Wrangler JK MyGIG radio is by pressing a series of menu options in sequential order. However, this process would require you to have initially disconnected your vehicle’s battery for the specified period, using the steps detailed in 1.
To reset your Wrangler’s radio using the menu options:
- Reconnect the battery and start the Jeep.
- Once your vehicle is up and running, click the ‘RADIO MEDIA’ button on the MyGIG interface, followed by ‘SEEK UP’, and the ‘NAV‘ button.
The process detailed above is meant to reset your radio’s touchscreen setup, but if you’d rather return to the main menu:
- Hit the ‘SEEK UP‘, ‘SEEK DOWN‘, and ‘MENU‘ buttons all at once.
Resetting the Jeep Wrangler UConnect Radio System
If you own a newer model of the Jeep Wrangler, you can expect it to be fitted with the UConnect infotainment system which contains a functional radio player.
There are various ways you can reset a UConnect system, depending on the version fitted in your vehicle. However, described below is a general method to reset your Jeep Wrangler UConnect radio:
- Start your vehicle and press down on the ‘voice recognition’, and ‘phone’ buttons located on the steering wheel. Do this for at least, thirty seconds.
- Turn off your vehicle and wait for the UConnect display to go completely black.
- Afterward, open and close the driver’s door and restart the vehicle.
- Upon restarting the vehicle, the UConnect system, along with its radio, should be reset.
The exact reset method may differ slightly but should be similar for the following models:
- 2012 Jeep Wrangler
- 2013 Jeep Wrangler
- 2014 Jeep Wrangler
- 2015 Jeep Wrangler
- 2016 Jeep Wrangler
- 2017 Jeep Wrangler
- 2018 Jeep Wrangler
- 2019 Jeep Wrangler
- 2020 Jeep Wrangler
- 2021 Jeep Wrangler
- 2022 Jeep Wrangler
- 2023 Jeep Wrangler
Visiting the Engineering Menu
Alternatively, you could reset your Wrangler’s UConnect system by accessing the ‘Engineering Menu’, and subsequently picking the suitable reset option.
To do this:
- Press down on the ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ buttons on your dashboard for at least five seconds; Ensure you do this while your vehicle is running.
- Alternatively, you can press the ‘mute’, and ‘source’ buttons instead.
- Doing the above will take you to the Engineering Menu,
- Scroll down and select ‘Restore Factory Defaults’ to reset your UConnect system, including its radio.
WARNING! Accessing the Engineering Menu is not recommended for anyone with inadequate technical know-how, as you could end up messing with your vehicle’s settings.
Jeep Wrangler Radio Not Working
As a general rule of thumb, resetting your radio is usually a simple fix for common jeep wrangler radio problems, ensuring that you won’t have to take it to a costly mechanic or, worse, end up buying a new radio.
If your Jeep’s CarPlay isn’t working, check out my specific article on this, so you can use utilize the power of CarPlay once again.
Conclusion
From the steps listed above, it is clear to see that resetting your Wrangler’s radio is not rocket science. And if you follow the various steps listed above, you should get your radio up and running in no time.
If you are confused at any point, seek professional help. And if none of the procedures detailed in today’s article help in resetting your Jeep Wrangler radio, visit the nearest Jeep dealership, where qualified technicians can access your vehicle’s engineering menu and fix the problem with ease.
