How to Reset a Lorex Camera (2026): Wi-Fi Cams, Wired IP Cameras & the NVR System

Quick Answer: Lorex doesn’t have one reset process — it has three, depending on what you bought. Wired IP cameras (like the E893) and Wi-Fi cameras (like the W891) reset with a physical button under a small screwdriver-secured cover, held until an audio tone confirms it. The NVR/DVR recorder — the core of most Lorex systems — resets completely differently: through the Lorex Cloud app requesting a temporary password, or a 30-second button hold on the unit itself, per Lorex’s own support documentation. The most important thing to know before you touch anything: Lorex’s Wi-Fi cameras have no password-reset option at all — a full factory reset is the only fix if you’re locked out, while the NVR side lets you recover access without wiping a single camera setting.

Lorex is the 9th brand in our reset-guide series, joining Ring, Nest, Blink, Arlo, Wyze, eufy, SimpliSafe, and Tapo — and it’s the first brand in the series built primarily around a wired NVR/DVR system rather than a single app-per-camera account, which is exactly why its reset story looks so different from the other eight.

Reset a wired Lorex IP camera (E893 and similar)

Covers the Lorex E893 4K Smart Deterrence, the site’s top overall Lorex pick, and Lorex’s other PoE wired bullet and dome cameras, which share the same cover-and-button design per Lorex’s own troubleshooting guides for its E831CB, U3, X5, and CN101 series cameras.

1. Find the small reset-button cover on the camera housing — a screwdriver-secured panel, not an exposed button, on nearly every current wired Lorex IP camera.
2. Remove the cover with a small Phillips screwdriver to expose the pinhole reset button underneath.
3. Press and hold the button until you hear an audio confirmation tone, per Lorex’s support documentation — most current series confirm a reset in roughly 5–10 seconds, though exact timing varies slightly by model.
4. Replace the cover and re-add the camera to your NVR or the Lorex app as a new device.

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Reset a Lorex Wi-Fi camera (W891 and similar)

Covers the Lorex W891 dual-lens Wi-Fi camera, the site’s pick for Wi-Fi-only Lorex coverage.

1. Locate the Reset/microSD cover on the camera body and remove it with a small Phillips screwdriver — never use a metal tool directly on the reset button itself, per Lorex’s guidance, since it can damage the pin contact.
2. Insert a pin or paperclip into the recessed reset button and press and hold for 10 seconds.
3. Release when you hear an audio prompt and see the LED flash green, confirming the reset completed.
4. Set the camera up again in the Lorex app as a new device.

Reset a Lorex doorbell or floodlight camera

Covers the Lorex B463AJD 2K video doorbell and Lorex’s Wi-Fi floodlight cameras, which share the same battery/Wi-Fi device design.

1. Locate the physical reset button on the device body — on the doorbell, this typically means removing it from its wall mount first to access the back panel.
2. Press and hold the button until you hear a confirmation tone.
3. Set the device up again in the Lorex app as new — a reset disconnects any linked Alexa or Google Home integration along with the camera’s own settings.

Reset or recover a Lorex NVR/DVR — a completely different process

This is where Lorex genuinely breaks from every other brand in this series. Most Lorex systems are built around an NVR (network video recorder) or DVR (digital video recorder) — a physical box that owns the cameras, the local hard drive, and the admin password — rather than a cloud account tied to each individual camera. That changes how you recover access:

1. Try the app first. In the Lorex Cloud or Classic app, go to Device Settings, tap your recorder’s device name, then Device Password → Forgot Device Password. Enter your registered email and Lorex sends a temporary password you enter locally on the recorder — no camera settings are touched at all.
2. If the app option isn’t available, use the physical reset button on the recorder’s back or bottom panel. Press and hold for roughly 30 seconds, until the setup wizard reappears on the connected monitor, per widely corroborated Lorex support guidance. This restores default network and channel settings and requires reconfiguring the system from scratch — but it does not erase footage already saved to the hard drive.
3. If neither works, contact Lorex support directly for a Master Reset Code. You’ll need the recorder’s model number and MAC address (usually printed on a sticker on the back of the unit), which Lorex uses to generate a code tied specifically to that device.

The honesty-hook: Lorex’s Wi-Fi cameras have no password reset at all

Every other brand in this reset-guide series — Ring, Nest, Blink, Arlo, Wyze, eufy, SimpliSafe, Tapo — lets you change or recover a forgotten password from inside the app without necessarily touching the camera’s physical reset button. Lorex’s Wi-Fi smart-home cameras don’t offer that option. Per Lorex’s own support documentation, “there is no way to reset your smart home camera’s password” — a factory reset, which wipes the camera’s Wi-Fi credentials and local settings entirely, is the only route back in if you’re locked out.

The NVR/DVR side of Lorex’s lineup is the opposite story. Because the recorder — not each camera — holds the admin account, Lorex built a real password-recovery path for it: request a temporary password through the Lorex Cloud app, or call support for a Master Reset Code, neither of which requires resetting a single camera. If you’re choosing between a Wi-Fi camera and a wired NVR system partly on convenience grounds, this is a real, non-obvious point in the NVR system’s favor — see our NVR vs. DVR breakdown for the rest of that comparison.

It’s not just Lorex

Ring, Nest, Blink, Arlo, Wyze, eufy, SimpliSafe, and Tapo each have their own reset quirks — eufy’s HomeBase can wipe local footage, SimpliSafe gates the reset behind app removal first, Tapo’s flagship splits by hardware revision. Lorex is the first brand in the series where the split isn’t between models or revisions at all — it’s between two entirely different product categories (Wi-Fi camera vs. NVR system) that don’t share a reset process, or even a password-recovery philosophy, in common.

The bottom line

Resetting a wired or Wi-Fi Lorex camera means finding a screwdriver-secured cover and holding a pinhole button until an audio tone confirms it — 5–10 seconds on wired models, 10 seconds on Wi-Fi models like the W891. Resetting or recovering access to a Lorex NVR/DVR is a completely separate process built around the recorder itself, and it’s worth trying the Lorex Cloud app’s password-recovery option first since it never touches your cameras at all. The one thing to plan ahead for: if you’re locked out of a Wi-Fi camera’s password, there’s no recovery option short of a full factory reset — per Lorex’s own documentation, that’s simply how the Wi-Fi lineup works. If a reset doesn’t solve what’s wrong, our best Lorex camera guide covers the current lineup if it’s time to replace rather than repair.