Ecobee smart thermostats offer a complete smart heating and cooling solution for your home. That’s why they are in high demand.
Maybe you purchased an ecobee from someone or you’re selling your old device, because you purchased a new one. You’re going to need to know how to transfer an ecobee to a new owner.
You don’t want your email address and personal information you used to register your ecobee and ecobee account. It’s important to ensure that your registration details are removed before the ecobee goes to its new home.
You can remove your personal details and user settings by unregistering the thermostat from your ecobee account.The new thermostat owner can then use his own ecobee account to register the device.
In this article, I detail the steps required to transfer the ecobee thermostat to a new owner. The steps will be the same across the range of ecobee thermostats.
- Relate article: Complete ecobee Thermostat Comparison
Let’s first detail the steps required to unregister your thermostat and remove it from your ecobee account.
According to the ecobee support pages, several options can be used to perform this function.
How to Unregister Your ecobee Thermostat Using the Mobile App
The first option I will cover is performing this step from within the ecobee app. If you don’t have the app installed it is available for both Android and Apple iOS smartphones and tablets.
This can be performed even if the thermostat is offline.
The following steps take you through the procedure.
- Step 1 – Install the ecobee app (if not already installed) and log into your account.
- Step 2 – Select the relevant home and thermostat that you want to deregister from the ecobee account
- Step 3 – Tap the Main Menu icon, which is located on the bottom left of the screen.
- Step 4 – Tap on the Device Settings option
- Step 5 – Choose the Remove Device option on the confirmation menu.
- Step 6 – Confirm your choice by selecting Remove Device again.
How to Unregister Your ecobee Thermostat from the Touchscreen
If you still have access to your thermostat and it is powered on, then you can unregister it using the interface by following the steps below.
- Step 1 – Tap the Main Menu option on the thermostat screen
- Step 2 – Enter the settings menu by selecting Settings
- Step 3 – Select the Reset option
- Step 4 – Select Reset Registration
- Step 5 – Confirm your selection by tapping Yes (bottom left-hand corner)
The registration details on your ecobee thermostat will now be reset.
How to Unregister Your ecobee Thermostat Using the Web Portal
This section details the steps required to deregister your ecobee thermostat through the ecobee.com web portal.
- Step 1 – Log on to the ecobee web portal. This can be accessed through the ecobee home page.
- Step 2 – Click the icon with the three lines found at the top right corner of the page.
- Step 3 – Select the My Account option
- Step 4 – Select the appropriate ecobee device
- Step 5 – Select Unregister Thermostat
Whichever method you used to access your ecobee, the device should now be unregistered from your account.
If you intend to sell it to a new owner, then resetting the ecobee back to factory settings is a good idea.
The next section details the step required to perform a factory reset on your thermostat.
How to Factory Reset Your ecobee Thermostat
These steps take you through the procedures to reset your ecobee to default factory settings. This is a useful procedure to perform before passing it to a new owner, as it is unlikely that the new owner will use the same heating system or schedules and temperature settings that you use.
These steps should be taken from the device interface.
- Step 1 – On the thermostat, select the Main Menu option
- Step 2 – Select the Settings option
- Step 3 – Select the Reset option, and you’ll now have an additional menu with three options. One will reset the registration details, another will reset schedules and preferences, the third will reset all.
- Step 4 – To perform a factory reset select the Reset All option
The ecobee will now be reset back to its default configuration and can be safely passed onto a new owner.
If you want other reset and reboot options, check out the How to Reboot and Reset ecobee article.
Registering the ecobee thermostat with a new account
In this section, I walk you through the steps of re-registering an ecobee with a new account. These steps assume that your ecobee has either had its registration reset, or a complete factory reset has been performed.
Before we start, also be sure to connect the ecobee to Wi-Fi.
The steps also apply if you are setting up the registration of a brand new ecobee thermostat.
Setting Up an ecobee Account
Setting up an account can be done from the ecobee app or through the ecobee home page. To have the best user experience, the app is highly recommended and can be downloaded directly from your phone’s app store.
- Step 1 – From the app or webpage select Create Account. You will be prompted to enter your name and email and to set a password.
- Step 2 – At this stage, you may add your address if required. Adding an address is useful as it allows the provides the thermostat with context of your local area, like local weather information.
- Step 3 – Next, select the option to Add a Device, then choose Register a Device
- Step 4 – Obtain a registration code from the thermostat. To do this open the main menu on the thermostat and tap the Registration option, if you haven’t already connected to Wi-Fi, then you will be prompted to do so. Once connected, a code will be displayed. This code will be valid for around an hour.
- Step 5 – Enter the code in either the app or web portal, depending on what method you used to register your details.
- Step 6 – You can now complete the registration process by entering details that allow your ecobee to create monthly energy consumption reports.
Summing up
Properly preparing your ecobee before passing it to a new owner is a simple process. By following the above steps you ensure that you’ve completed proper device registration.
It also ensures that details including your email address and name are no longer stored on the ecobee.
