Factory Resetting Siemens KTP400 Basic 2nd Gen HMI via USB

1. Problem Overview

Field engineers frequently attempt to restore a SIMATIC KTP400 Basic 2nd Generation panel to factory defaults using ProSave from TIA Portal V20 and conclude the panel is unreachable. Typical symptoms reported:

• ProSave connects, the panel is listed, but Reset to Factory Settings either does not appear, is greyed out, or fails silently.
• The HMI Image field reports an unknown version such as 17.00.00.02_01.01 22967.000 and refuses to continue.
• The panel boots normally and answers ping 192.168.15.4 from a PC at 192.168.15.100, but no reset operation completes.
• A TIA Portal V17 install DVD 3 is on hand but cannot be mounted because the engineering station is on TIA Portal V20.

Root cause: ProSave does not support a true factory reset on SIMATIC Basic Panels 2nd Generation. It only supports an OS update. Factory restore on this hardware class is performed exclusively through the panel's own USB recovery loader, with the HMI image supplied as a USB stick payload.

2. KTP400 Basic 2nd Generation Device Identification

Before any reset, confirm that the panel is in fact a Basic 2nd Generation device. The product is sold under several closely related MLFBs, and selecting the wrong one in ProSave is the single most common reason for the symptom in Section 1.

The MLFB is printed on the rating plate on the rear of the panel and is also returned by ProSave's Device > Read Diagnostics in the Identification tab. The trailing dash segment is critical: a panel marked ...-0AX0 is a 1st Generation Basic, while ...-0AX1 or ...-0AX2 indicates 2nd Generation. ProSave distinguishes "KTP400 Basic" and "KTP400 Basic Color PN" as separate device types, and a wrong selection will change the expected image size and fail the load.

3. Why ProSave Cannot Factory Reset Basic Panels 2nd Generation

ProSave's Reset to factory settings function targets the WinCC flexible / TIA HMI runtime and only operates on devices that expose a reset service over the configured channel (PN/PN-Ethernet or serial). The 2nd Generation Basic panel firmware does not implement this service. ProSave on this device class is therefore limited to:

• OS Update — re-flash the runtime image from a local .img file.
• Backup / Restore — push or pull a .psb / .par backup of recipe data and parameters.
• License transfer — move runtime licenses to or from the panel.

It does not wipe user programs, transfer projects, or revert boot configuration. The only path that re-partitions the internal flash and reloads a clean image is the panel's own USB recovery loader, which boots before the operating system image and is independent of any installed runtime version.

4. Reset Method Comparison

5. Prerequisites

1. USB stick, 1 GB to 32 GB, formatted FAT32 with default allocation unit size. NTFS and exFAT are not recognised by the recovery loader.
2. HMI image package matching the panel variant. For a KTP400 Basic Color PN 2nd Generation loaded with image 17.00.00.02_01.01 22967.000, the matching package is the TIA Portal V17 / V18 / V19 / V20 "HMI Basic Images" bundle. Use the Siemens Industry Online Support entry search keyword "HMI Basic Images" and filter by device class.
3. USB stick prepared with the HMI_PIU_installer workflow (see Section 7). The installer places the required image files at the root of the USB stick with the directory name expected by the bootloader (typically SIMATIC_HMI).
4. 24 V DC supply rated for the panel (KTP400 Basic: 24 V DC, ~0.25 A typical, 1.0 A peak inrush during USB recovery).
5. The engineering PC is not strictly required for USB recovery; once the USB stick is prepared, the recovery can be performed at the panel with no PC in the loop.

6. Pre-Reset Network and Configuration Check

If a PC is connected for diagnostics before the reset, document the following so the panel can be brought back online after recovery:

Validate connectivity with ping -t 192.168.15.4 for at least 30 seconds. Drop count and RTT variance confirm link integrity before any reset activity.

7. Image Acquisition from TIA Portal V20

When the panel reports an image version unknown to ProSave, the correct image package is loaded from the TIA Portal installation media. The DVD 3 of older TIA versions is no longer needed; the installer can be downloaded.

1. Open Siemens Industry Online Support and search for the entry titled "Image Downloads for SIMATIC HMI Operator Panels: Comfort / Mobile / Basic Panels".
2. Locate section 1.1 "Installation via HMI_PIU_installer". Download the HMI_PIU_installer self-extracting archive.
3. Run HMI_PIU_installer.exe on the engineering PC. Accept the license and the install path. The installer writes the matching image bundles into %ProgramData%\Siemens\Automation\HMI_PIU\Images\.
4. For a KTP400 Basic Color PN, the relevant files are KTP400_Color_Basic_V17_xx.xx.xx.xx.img and the corresponding signature .sig pair.
5. For section 1.2 "Manual download and installation", copy the .img / .sig pair into the SIMATIC_HMI\Images folder on the USB stick if a manual layout is preferred.

Cross-reference the file's internal version with the version string reported by ProSave or by the panel's Control Panel About dialog. The label format is xx.yy.zz.pp_qq.rr ddddd.ddd where the last decimal block is the panel-specific build number. Mismatched major versions will be rejected by the bootloader.

8. USB Recovery Mode Procedure (Factory Reset)

1. Power down the KTP400 panel at the 24 V terminal.
2. Insert the prepared USB stick into the panel's USB host port (X60 on the KTP400 Basic). The device port (X61) is not used for recovery.
3. Press and hold the only available push-button on the rear of the panel (some variants use a touch sequence on the screen — see MLFB-specific note in Section 9).
4. Apply 24 V DC power while the button is held.
5. Release the button as soon as the recovery menu appears on screen (typically 5-10 s after power-up). The menu shows a list of .img files found on the USB stick.
6. Use the touch interface to select the image matching the panel variant. The loader displays the target panel MLFB for confirmation; confirm only if it matches the device on the rating plate.
7. Tap Update. The progress bar advances through "Format", "Erase", "Write", and "Verify" phases. Total time: 4-7 minutes for a KTP400 Basic Color PN.
8. When the loader displays "Update completed successfully", tap Reboot and remove the USB stick.
9. The panel boots into the factory-default Control Panel. Default IP is 0.0.0.0; the operator must re-enter the site IP, subnet mask, and gateway before any TIA Portal download.

9. Variant-Specific Behaviour

The user observed that the panel is the KTP400 Basic Color PN 2nd Generation. The following details apply to this exact variant:

• Display: 4.3" TFT, 480 x 272, 16M colours, single-touch analogue resistive.
• Interfaces: 1 x PROFINET (X1), 1 x USB host (X60), 1 x USB device (X61), 1 x 24 V terminal.
• Boot key: There is no physical button. The recovery loader is invoked by touching the four screen corners in sequence (top-left, top-right, bottom-right, bottom-left) within 2 s of power-up.
• Image size: ~110 MB compressed, expanding to ~250 MB on the internal flash.
• Default subnet mask after factory reset: 255.255.255.0; default port mode: PROFINET device.

If a panel is found that does not respond to the corner-touch sequence, the wrong device type has almost certainly been selected in a prior ProSave OS update, leaving the panel with a 1st Generation image. In that case, prepare the USB stick with the 2nd Generation image bundle and retry.

10. Verification After Reset

1. Power cycle the panel. Expect a boot screen that displays the Siemens logo and the firmware version (e.g. 17.00.00.02_01.01 22967.000) for ~5 s.
2. The Control Panel appears. Navigate to About > System and confirm:
   • Image version matches the prepared image.
   • Device name is blank (no project loaded).
   • License status is "Not licensed".
3. Re-enter the site IP, subnet mask, and gateway under Control Panel > Network.
4. From the engineering PC, run ping 192.168.15.4 -n 4. Expect 0% loss and RTT < 1 ms on a direct connection.
5. In ProSave, select the correct device type, enter the panel IP, and click Read Diagnostics. The Identification tab must return the MLFB, the firmware version, and the serial number from the rating plate.
6. Open TIA Portal V20, navigate to Online > Accessible Devices. The panel should appear as a participant with the assigned IP and PROFINET device name (default: empty).
7. Transfer the project from the engineering station. A clean factory state is verified when the project loads without the warning "Existing project differs from configured project".

11. Troubleshooting Matrix

12. Field Commissioning Notes

• Project version compatibility. A panel reset to V17/V18 image will not load a TIA Portal V20 project that uses V20-only instructions. Match the runtime image version to the project's TIA source. If the TIA Portal on site is V20, use the V20 image package; do not attempt to install TIA V17 DVD 3 alongside V20.
• Licensing. Runtime licenses are stored on the panel's internal flash. A factory reset erases them. Re-transfer licenses from the license certificate (CoL) using Automation License Manager before commissioning.
• Recipe and parameter data. USB Recovery wipes the entire flash partition. Back up recipes with ProSave (Tools > Backup) before the reset, or pull the .psb via TIA Portal > Online > Backup before initiating recovery.
• PROFINET device name. After reset the PROFINET name is empty. The controller's "Assign PROFINET device name" step must be repeated, or the controller will fail to establish AR (Application Relationship) on first download.
• Time and date. The panel does not have a battery-backed RTC after a full reflash. Re-enter time and date on the Control Panel, or configure SNTP to a plant time server.
• Auditing. For regulated sites, record the panel serial, the image version installed, the operator ID performing the reset, and the timestamp. USB Recovery leaves no log of its own; this is the only audit trail.