How To Factory Reset Android Phone (Safely & Securely)
In this guide, we’ll show you EXACTLY how to factory reset an Android phone – this method works on ALL Android phones too…
Your phone might be getting slow, and you are trying to explore ways to make it go back to its best by doing a factory reset.
Factory reset takes your phone system back to how it was when you unboxed it, all apps and functionality go back to how it was originally set by the manufacturer.
RELATED: How To Wipe, Reset & Restore iPhone
None of your data or apps will remain on the phone. A factory reset, therefore, is a total and complete wipe of the phone and its contents.
You might want to wipe your phone clean of your data and other personal information by doing a factory reset because you want to dispose of it by gifting or selling it.
We are going to show you different ways you can do a factory reset of your phone for whatever purpose you need to do it for.
When Can You Do A Factory Reset?
If Your Phone Is No Longer Functioning Well
When you notice your phone is getting slow and its delivery is not as it used to be, and you probably have tried all other options available to you, your best option might be to do a factory reset of your phone.
Factory reset in this case clears the whole data and apps on your phone and brings back the functionalities that your phone came with from the manufacturer.
When You Want to Dispose Of It
You might have purchased a new device and you want to either sell or gift the old one away. Either way, it is important to wipe your phone clean of your data and personal information through a factory reset.
After you have deleted data from your device, it is not completely removed and it can be retrieved by anybody with technical ability. Retrieval of these data by criminals will put your security at risk when they decide to use it.
A factory reset in this case wipes all your data and all sensitive information which makes it near impossible for criminals to gain access and extort or endanger you.
What To Do Before Android Phone Factory Reset?
- Backup
This cannot be stressed enough, as a factory reset of your device wipes all of your data, and it is gone forever if you do not have them backed up.
There are various ways you can back up your data. You can back it up on the cloud, or an external hard drive or PC. You can read How To Back Up Android Phone to know various methods that you can use before initiating a factory reset on your phone.
- Seek Alternatives
If the reason you want to do a factory reset of your phone is as a result of its functionality, then you should explore other alternatives to restore your phone.
The process of factory reset is something you can not undo once it is initiated and it most definitely will lead to a loss of data if not sufficiently backed up. But if you have exhausted all other alternatives and the problem won’t go away, the methods outlined below will show you how to restore your phone to factory settings.
- Sign Out Of All Accounts
If the device is going to be sold or gifted out, you must sign out of all registered accounts on the device. Failure to do this might make the reset process incomplete and your accounts might be accessible to the new user of the device.
- Charge Your Device
The factory reset process might take a while, and you don’t want your phone going off in the middle of it.
How To Factory Reset Android Phone
Method 1: Buttons Combination
This method makes use of the volume and power button. The steps below highlight how to do it.
- Power off your phone
- Hold down the volume up and down button and the power button
- After few seconds, a test screen will appear with factory reset among the menu
- Use the volume up and down button to navigate to factory reset on the screen
- Use the power button to press enter, factory reset of the device will begin.
Method 2: Phone Settings
If your phone is still accessible and you can operate it, you can initiate a factory reset from the settings of your phone. here is how to go about it:
- Go to Settings on your phone and tap to launch it
- Scroll to System, tap on it, and then tap on Reset Options
- Select Erase Everything
- Scroll down and tap on Reset Phone
- Input the pin of your device and then tap on Continue to continue the process
- Tap on erase everything
Your phone will reset to factory settings once you follow through with the above instructions.
Other Methods That Deserve A Mention
Android Device Manager: This allows you to do a factory reset of your phone remotely. This is possible if the device was initially registered and the device has access to Wi-Fi.
Third-party Apps: Google Play Store has a good number of apps that you can use to perform a factory reset on your phone. Phone Factory Reset is an example of such an app, just download and follow the instructions to use the service.
Check out how long Samsung Android phones last here! And here’s how to factory reset an iPhone without the password!
Richard Goodwin
Richard Goodwin has been working as a tech journalist for over 10 years. He is the editor and owner of KnowYourMobile.Comments are closed.