How to factory reset Xbox Ally X handheld on Windows 11

• You can reset an Xbox Ally handheld in the same way as you do a gaming PC running Windows 11 using the Reset this PC feature.
• Options available include the local image and cloud download, but if regardless the option you choose your games will be deleted.

If you have an Xbox Ally X (or the base model), you can reset the handheld gaming device, and in this guide, I’ll show you the steps to complete this process.

Since the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally handhelds come with the regular version of Windows 11 Home, if the device is experiencing performance issues, such as sluggishness, battery problems, or application errors, you can use the “Reset this PC” feature to reset it to its factory default settings, in the same way this feature works on a regular computer.

However, while this process will keep your files, since games are also considered applications, they’ll be deleted through this process. After the reset, you can re-download your games using the Xbox full-screen experience.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the steps to use the “Reset this PC” feature to reset your ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X and the Xbox Ally based model to their default factory settings.

• Reset Xbox Ally to factory defaults using local image
• Reset Xbox Ally to factory defaults using cloud download

Reset Xbox Ally to factory defaults using local image

To reset your Xbox Ally handheld keeping your games, follow these steps:

1. Press Menu button from the right-top or use the “Windows key + Tab” shortcut.

2. Click the Windows desktop option at the bottom of the page.

   

3. Click the Continue button.

4. Open Settings on Windows 11.

5. Click on System.

6. Click the Recovery tab.

7. Click the Reset PC button in the “Reset this PC” setting under the “Recovery options” section.

   

8. Click the “Keep my files” option.

   

9. Select the “Local reinstall” option to reset the computer using the locally available Windows 11 image without losing your files.

   

10. Click the Next button.

11. Click the Reset button.

    

Once you complete the steps, the feature will reset Windows 11 using the locally available image, keeping all your games and files. However, this process will reset all the settings to their factory defaults and remove all the apps and programs installed in the current setup. The time to complete the process is around 20 minutes.

Reset Xbox Ally to factory defaults using cloud download

To reset your Xbox Ally handheld using the “Cloud download” option, follow these steps:

1. Press Menu button from the right-top or use the “Windows key + Tab” shortcut.

2. Click the Windows desktop option at the bottom of the page.

   

3. Click the Continue button.

4. Open Settings.

1. Click on System.

2. Click the Recovery tab.

3. Click the Reset PC button in the “Reset this PC” setting under the “Recovery options” section.

   

4. Click the “Keep my files” option.

   

5. Select the “Cloud download” option to download a fresh copy of Windows 11 instead of using the locally available image.

   

6. Click the Next button.

7. Click the Reset button.

   

After you complete the steps, a fresh image of Windows 11 will download and be used to reset the handheld, keeping all your files. However, similar to the local reinstall option, the settings will be reset, and apps and games will be removed through this process.

Also, it’s important to consider that while anyone can use the cloud download option if you select this option, you will lose the custom configurations, drivers, and applications provided by the manufacturer. However, you can usually re-download drivers and apps from the manufacturer’s support website.