Exit TI-Nspire Press-to-Test mode

You can't end Press-to-Test mode on the calculator alone. You need either a computer with Chrome and a USB cable, or a second TI-Nspire. That's on purpose, not a fault.

Using a computer

This is the way that works at home. All you need is your calculator, a USB cable and a computer.

Open nspireconnect.ti.com/nsc in Google Chrome. Other browsers won't work, because the site uses an interface that only Chrome has. Connect your TI-Nspire CX II CAS to the computer with the cable and click “Connect to calculator”. The browser asks which device to use. Pick your calculator. Then click “Exit Press-to-Test”. The calculator restarts, and the mode is gone.

The whole thing takes less than two minutes if the cable is a real data cable. That's where it fails most often. Many cables that come with headphones or power banks only carry power, not data. You can't tell from the outside.

Using a second calculator

At school this is often quicker, because a classmate is sitting right next to you. Connect the two calculators with the short calculator-to-calculator cable that came in the box.

On the calculator that's in Press-to-Test mode, open a document. Press doc and choose 9: Press-to-Test, then 1: Exit Press-to-Test. Confirm with enter. The calculator restarts and is back in normal mode. This only works while both calculators are connected by the cable and switched on. On one calculator alone, nothing happens.

Why there's no shortcut

Press-to-Test mode has exactly one job. It stops anyone from walking into a test with prepared notes, their own programs or saved solutions. If there were a key combination to switch it off during the test, the whole mode would be worthless.

That's why Texas Instruments built it so you need a second device. So you haven't missed anything, and there's no trick someone on a forum could tell you. While the mode is on, an LED on the top of the case blinks, even when the calculator is switched off. That's how teachers can tell from across the room that a calculator is set up for the test.

Your saved documents aren't lost. When you switch to Press-to-Test mode, they're only set aside for a while, and they come back once you exit. The Scratchpad is different: anything you calculated there is gone.

If it doesn't work

The calculator has to be switched on, or the computer won't detect it. CX II Connect also only works with the CX II series. That includes your TI-Nspire CX II CAS, but not the older CX. And if the browser doesn't offer any device to choose from, it's almost always the cable.