In this paper, a single ZnO nanowire ultraviolet detector was firstly fabricated by a single ZnO nanowire and silver paint, which can be free-recovered from a Schottky contact to an Ohmic contact. Key effect factors such as the illumination and bias voltage of the free-recovered performance were also investigated. Meanwhile, the reason for the recoverable contact was further confirmed in detail. This result is beneficial for developing the highly sensitive ZnO based ultraviolet detector. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.