How to soft reset APC Power Distribution Servers

How to soft reset APC Power Distribution Unit

Neil O'Mahony 4 Feb 2026

When is this required?

When you try to log into the Web interface of an APC networked PDU, you may find a message:

Notice
Someone is currently logged into the APC Management Web Server.
Please try again later.

If you cannot identify the user who is logged in (which can be difficult) and get them to log out, you are going to need to Reset the PDU.
A hard reset is very disruptive, but here is a softer procedure that will not affect any parameters like the IP or affect the output voltages.

Reboot Management Interface.

from any linux prompt within ING local network, type:
```
 telnet masspdu 
```
(or the network name of another APC device)
login using the usual credentials
Enter 4 to see Tools menu
Enter 1 to Reboot Management Interface
Enter YES to confirm

If necessary, press [ESC] until you reach Main menu and Enter 4 to logout.

Very Important: do not leave this session connected, otehrwise you will also prevent login at the Web interface!

This reboot will make the interface unavailable for a minute, but after that you can log in again.