Reset a Frozen Infotainment Screen

Last updated: June 12, 2026

If the Uconnect screen in your Abarth 595 (312, 2008–2022) has frozen on the logo, gone black, or stopped answering your taps, you can force the head unit to reboot yourself in under a minute — parked, with no tools and without losing your presets.

Which Uconnect is in your 595

The 595 shares its dash with the Fiat 500 it is based on, so the radio varies by year and trim. Early cars used a basic Blue&Me-style radio; from around 2016 most 595s carry the touchscreen Uconnect 5″ — often the Uconnect 5″ HD with built-in TomTom navigation — and the top trims the Uconnect 7″ HD Nav with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. A freeze on the touchscreen units is a software lock-up, not a dead screen, and a forced reboot clears it.

Soft reset (reboot) the Uconnect

Do this parked with the ignition on so the radio keeps its power. There are two reliable methods depending on your unit.

1. Knob method: press and hold the volume knob and the tuner/seek knob together for 10–20 seconds until the screen flashes the logo and goes dark, then release.
2. Button method (Nav units): press and hold the MUTE and NAV buttons together for about 10 seconds until the screen blanks.
3. When the screen goes dark, let go; the logo reappears as the unit reinitialises.
4. Wait up to a minute for the home screen to reload — radio, Bluetooth, TomTom and settings come back on their own.

Will this erase anything? No

The reboot is completely safe. It does not wipe your radio presets, paired phones, navigation favourites or audio settings — it just restarts the radio’s software, like restarting a phone. Use it whenever the Uconnect plays up.

If the screen stays frozen

• Hold longer. If 15 seconds did nothing, repeat and keep the knobs (or MUTE + NAV) pressed a full 20 seconds before the screen darkens.
• Let it sleep. Switch off, lock the car, walk away five minutes so the radio fully powers down, then restart.
• Reinstall the firmware. A persistent freeze or reboot loop often clears by re-flashing the matching Uconnect update from DriveUconnect via USB — even reinstalling the same version helps.
• Battery disconnect (last resort, and the only option on early Blue&Me cars). Disconnect the 12V battery for about 30 minutes; on reconnection the body computer and radio re-exchange their security codes. Keep your radio code to hand if your car uses one.

Factory reset (erases data — rarely needed)

A factory reset is separate from the reboot and only worth doing if you are selling the car or chasing a deep, persistent glitch. On the Uconnect touchscreen go to Settings and scroll to Restore factory defaults (or Reset). It erases presets, paired phones, navigation favourites and audio preferences, so only do it deliberately.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the quickest way to reboot the 595 Uconnect?

On a Nav-equipped unit, hold MUTE + NAV together for about 10 seconds until the screen blanks. On other touchscreen units, hold the volume + tuner knobs together for 10–20 seconds. Both force a clean restart without losing settings.

Will the reboot delete my TomTom favourites or radio presets?

No. The reboot keeps every preset, Bluetooth pairing and saved TomTom destination. Only a menu-driven factory reset clears them.

My 595 is stuck on the logo and keeps looping — what now?

A unit that keeps restarting usually has corrupted firmware. Reinstall the matching radio update from DriveUconnect via USB — reinstalling even the same version normally clears the loop.

My early 595 has a basic radio with no touchscreen — can I reset it?

The early Blue&Me radios have no reboot button combo. The reliable reset is a brief 12V battery disconnect; keep your anti-theft radio code handy in case the unit asks for it on power-up.

Is it safe to drive with the Uconnect frozen?

Yes. The radio is separate from the engine and driving systems — you only lose audio, navigation and Bluetooth. Reboot once you are safely parked.

If a warning light or fault message stays on the dash after the reboot, it may have stored a diagnostic trouble code — you can look it up on autodtcs.com.