My 6978 printer is locked by an admin and I would like to restore to factory settings but I cant

[Me69her]

My HP Officejet Pro 6978 is locked by an administrator and I am selling it and would like to clear everything and reset to factory settings but I'm not able to do that with it locked. How can I unlock this? I can never remember locking it

[VikramTheGreat]

Hi @Me69her,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

We understand that you are trying to reset your HP OfficeJet Pro 6978 to factory settings before selling it, but the printer is currently locked by an administrator, and you’re unable to recall ever setting that up. We’re here to help.

Important Notes: When an Administrator password is enabled on the printer (typically through the Embedded Web Server or HP Smart Admin settings), most security-related or reset functions become restricted. Unfortunately, for security and privacy reasons, HP does not have access to or store administrator passwords and cannot override them remotely.

1. Try Default Credentials

If you never set an admin password, try using one of the following:

• Username: admin or leave blank
• Password: admin, password, or leave blank

Sometimes the default credentials are accepted if the printer wasn’t explicitly secured.

2. Reset via HP Smart Admin

If the printer was claimed in HP Smart Admin:

• Log in at https://admin.hp.com
• Remove the printer from your HP Smart Admin account
• Then, attempt a factory reset again

If the printer is enrolled in HP+ or Instant Ink, removing it from your HP account may be required as well.

3. How to Perform a Factory Reset:

1. From the printer control panel, swipe down from the top of the screen to open the Dashboard.
2. Tap the Setup icon (looks like a gear ⚙️).
3. Select Printer Maintenance.
4. Tap Restore.
5. Tap Restore Factory Defaults.
6. When prompted, tap Continue to confirm.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

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VikramTheGreat

HP Support