Factory-resetting your dialer safely

A Factory reset in VICIfast wipes your managed server back to a fresh VICIdial installation, the same clean state it was in when first provisioned. Before the wipe begins, the platform automatically takes a safety Server snapshot of the current disk, so you have a restore point if you need to recover data after the reset. The feature is only available on managed plans where VICIfast controls the underlying VPS.

When you would use a factory reset

A factory reset is not the right tool for most operational problems. It is a last resort for situations where the server state is so damaged or tangled that recovering individual pieces is harder than starting clean. The most common scenarios include a configuration that has drifted far from a working state and cannot be untangled, a security incident where the box should be treated as compromised, or a decommission where you want the server returned to a neutral state before handing back the subscription.

For problems that do not require a complete wipe, a Server snapshot restore is almost always the better choice. Restoring from a snapshot brings back a known-good state without going through the full install cycle, and it preserves whatever was on the disk at snapshot time.

What the reset flow looks like

stateDiagram-v2
  [*] --> Running : Server is ACTIVE
  Running --> AwaitingConfirm : Operator triggers factory reset
  AwaitingConfirm --> SafetySnapshot : Operator types confirmation
  SafetySnapshot --> Wiping : Snapshot complete
  Wiping --> Installing : Disk wiped
  Installing --> FreshVICIdial : VICIdial reinstalled in under 40 seconds
  FreshVICIdial --> [*] : Server back to ACTIVE

The flow is designed so that you cannot accidentally trigger a reset. From the server detail page you initiate the reset, read a warning that lists exactly what will be lost, and then type a confirmation phrase before anything is destroyed. Once you confirm, the platform takes the safety snapshot through the Hetzner API. Only after the snapshot is confirmed complete does the wipe begin.

What you get after the reset

After the wipe, the deploy worker runs the same automated install that built your box originally: Ubuntu, secured VICIdial, your Branded subdomain and HTTPS certificate, and the platform's management layer. The full install completes in under 40 seconds from wipe to active. Your subscription stays in place, so billing is not affected and your plan-level features are immediately available again.

The reset does not change your domain or your SIP trunk credentials — those live outside the server. Once the box is back up you reconnect your carrier, import any lead lists you backed up externally, and rebuild your campaigns. If your carrier uses IP authentication, you may need to re-register the server IP with them after the reset.

Managed plans only

Factory reset requires control of the hypervisor because the wipe and reinstall happen at the disk level. On the BYOI (bring your own infrastructure) plan, where you supply your own server, VICIfast does not own the hypervisor and the factory reset option is not available. If you need to start clean on a BYOI box you would need to reprovision the server yourself and then re-run the BYOI installation flow from the dashboard.

For a complete picture of what managed plans include, see what VICIfast adds to VICIdial. For scheduled automatic backups that run without any action on your part, see scheduled snapshots of your dialer. Plan details including which tiers support the factory reset are on the pricing page.