What does reboot mean? Is rebooting the same as restarting? And what about resetting a computer, router, phone, etc.? It may seem silly to distinguish between them, but there are actually two completely different meanings between these three terms!

The reason it’s important to know the difference between restart and reset is that they do two very different things, despite sounding like the same word. One is much more destructive and permanent than the other, and there are plenty of scenarios where you’ll need to know which action to take to complete a certain task.

This may all sound cryptic and confusing, especially when you factor in variations like soft reset and hard reset. However, read on to find out what these terms really mean. That way, you’ll know exactly what to expect when you see either of these terms in a troubleshooting guide or when someone from tech support asks you to perform either.

Reboot, restart, power cycle, and soft reset all mean the same thing. When you’re told to “reboot your computer,” “reboot your phone,” “reboot your router,” or “soft reset your laptop,” you’re being told to turn the device off so it’s not drawing power from the wall or battery, and then turn it back on.