How to factory reset an Android phone? How to hard reset an Android phone?
There are several reasons why you may need to factory reset your phone. Some very common points are here:
- Software Update: Sometimes, after updating your phone’s software, it might not function as smoothly as expected. In such cases, a factory reset could resolve any glitches or compatibility issues that arose during the update process.
- Performance Issues: If your phone is sluggish and struggling to keep up with your tasks, it could be burdened by excess data or applications. A factory reset clears out unnecessary clutter, giving your phone a fresh start and potentially improving its performance.
- Preparing for Sale: When selling your phone, it’s crucial to ensure that none of your personal data remains accessible to the next user. Performing a factory reset wipes the device clean, safeguarding your privacy and preventing any potential misuse of your information.
Note: You should do it when selling your phone.
How to prepare your phone?
It is common practice to list all critical apps in other locations, such as a notepad or notebook so that you can discover all of them on the Play Store using that list. As creators, we save various critical files and applications.
Also, list all of your contacts or transfer them to another service; often, we use Gmail, which saves all of these automatically. Again, you should take care of all other files and remove the SD card before factory resetting your phone.
I am here using HTC phone, so the steps might differ for you. But it is almost the same for other phones.
How to factory reset your phone from settings?
It is a simple and easy way to do a factory reset. You need to go to your phone settings menu and then find the option there to reset the phone. In some cases, it is a little hard to find and in some phones, you will see it under the settings menu.
HTC phone
- Goto settings
- Tap Backup & reset
- Tap Reset phone
- If you want to delete media, documents, and other data from the phone storage, select Erase all data.
To also delete media and other data from your storage card, select Erase SD card - Tap OK
In other phones, there might be one more option under “settings” that asks for your PIN number while doing so. You must know it before reset phone. You can find the default PIN number (usually 0000) in your guidebook.
Factory reset hardware button
This way differs from device to device. Here some work with Volume Down and Power button and some with Volume Up and Power button. For a hard reset, you should follow your phone’s model guide.