How can I reset BetterDisplay if my settings cause a black screen or other problems?

Reset BetterDisplay’s app preferences to test whether saved settings are causing the problem. This removes your app configuration, so save a copy first if you want to recover it. An app reset does not remove previously installed custom display configurations from macOS.

Try Safe Mode first

If a saved virtual screen or startup adjustment makes the desktop unusable, quit BetterDisplay and hold ⇧ Shift while launching it again. Safe Mode Activated confirms that automatic virtual-screen connections, restoration of brightness and other adjustments, and automatic custom EDID application were skipped for startup.

You can then remove the particular virtual screen without deleting all preferences: open Settings > Displays, select that virtual screen, choose Discard…, and confirm Discard Virtual Screen. Safe Mode does not itself delete the saved screen or permanently disable the setting that caused the problem.

When you can open Settings

Open Settings > Application > Advanced Settings & Privacy… > Manage App Settings. Use Export… to save your preferences, then choose Reset… and confirm Reset. BetterDisplay restores its defaults and restarts.

Test the problem before restoring preferences. Importing the entire old configuration can also restore the setting that caused the problem. Reapply the features you need manually, in small steps. See preference export, import and reset for the complete procedure.

To remove installed display overrides and macOS display configuration instead, the separate Settings > Displays > Overview > Advanced Display Settings… > Reset All Display System Settings… action removes system display configuration, generated factory profiles and installed overrides, forgets saved displays, and requests a reboot. Read its scope and confirmation first. An artifact isolated to one application is not proof that these system settings are damaged. A reset may leave that application’s rendering issue unchanged.

When the screen goes black as the app starts

If quitting BetterDisplay restores the picture, keep it quit while resetting its preferences. For the standard BetterDisplay installation, you can reset its preferences with this Terminal command:

defaults delete pro.betterdisplay.BetterDisplay

Run it in the affected macOS user account, then reopen BetterDisplay. The command deletes that account’s entire BetterDisplay configuration, rather than just a single image adjustment. If you want a backup, export the preferences before running the delete command, while the app is quit:

defaults export pro.betterdisplay.BetterDisplay "$HOME/Desktop/BetterDisplay-settings-backup.plist"

If the problem persists with default preferences, it needs further diagnosis. Record the display, connection, macOS and app version, and whether the picture recovers when BetterDisplay quits. A black screen alone does not establish a color-profile problem or justify repeatedly resetting unrelated system settings.