diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/setup/reset.cc b/selfdrive/ui/qt/setup/reset.cc
index 7999dd640b..c9e0525784 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/setup/reset.cc
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/setup/reset.cc
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ Reset::Reset(ResetMode mode, QWidget *parent) : QWidget(parent) {
 
   main_layout->addSpacing(60);
 
-  body = new QLabel(tr("Press confirm to erase all content and settings. Press cancel to resume boot."));
+  body = new QLabel(tr("System reset triggered. Press confirm to erase all content and settings. Press cancel to resume boot."));
   body->setWordWrap(true);
   body->setStyleSheet("font-size: 80px; font-weight: light;");
   main_layout->addWidget(body, 1, Qt::AlignTop | Qt::AlignLeft);
@@ -97,11 +97,6 @@ Reset::Reset(ResetMode mode, QWidget *parent) : QWidget(parent) {
     body->setText(tr("Unable to mount data partition. Partition may be corrupted. Press confirm to erase and reset your device."));
   }
 
-  // automatically start if we're just finishing up an ABL reset
-  if (mode == ResetMode::FORMAT) {
-    startReset();
-  }
-
   setStyleSheet(R"(
     * {
       font-family: Inter;
@@ -129,8 +124,6 @@ int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
   if (argc > 1) {
     if (strcmp(argv[1], "--recover") == 0) {
       mode = ResetMode::RECOVER;
-    } else if (strcmp(argv[1], "--format") == 0) {
-      mode = ResetMode::FORMAT;
     }
   }
 
diff --git a/selfdrive/ui/qt/setup/reset.h b/selfdrive/ui/qt/setup/reset.h
index 04a191d829..8bf368e3e8 100644
--- a/selfdrive/ui/qt/setup/reset.h
+++ b/selfdrive/ui/qt/setup/reset.h
@@ -5,7 +5,6 @@
 enum ResetMode {
   USER_RESET, // user initiated a factory reset from openpilot
   RECOVER,    // userdata is corrupt for some reason, give a chance to recover
-  FORMAT,     // finish up an ABL factory reset
 };
 
 class Reset : public QWidget {