Inappropriate operation could make a memristive device “dead” and cause the loss of resistive switching performance. In this study, the revival of “dead” devices was investigated in the case of WO_3−x-based memristive devices. It is believed that inappropriate operation with a high-voltage pulse creates an ordered structure of oxygen vacancies and such an ordered structure makes the normal reset process fail. By precisely controlled voltage sweeping at certain compliance currents, a “dead” device can be revived. The revival operation disrupts the ordered structure by Joule heating and recovers Schottky-like barrier modulation-based switching.