Reset everything to factory. Factory reset on Android - different ways

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After a few months of active use of a mobile computer on the Android platform, various unpleasant phenomena usually begin to occur. Applications noticeably slow down with the launch, sites freeze, the keyboard desperately does not want to print either a letter or a number. Touches and even persistent knocking on the touch screen do not find any response.

It gets to the point where you can't even turn off your favorite Android smartphone or tablet. What would all this mean? Who is to blame and what to do?

Why reset settings? Causes.

There are two most likely reasons why your Android device is not working properly:

Virus infection.
Severe clogging of the system.

Virus infection most often occurs if you forgot to install any of the good antivirus programs on your device.

Doctor Web
Kaspersky Anti-Virus
Advanced Mobile Care

The risk of virus infection increases if the user recklessly clicks on links from e-mails that came from nowhere, when downloading and installing applications from third-party sources, when visiting suspicious sites frequently.

Cardinal littering of the Android operating system usually occurs in hyperactive users. Who simply love to download all the new programs (fortunately, most are free) and explore them. All these are very useful things that will help you find the really necessary applications in the endless list of the Google Play store. But, a fact is a fact, such scientific activity inevitably leads to a deterioration in the performance of a mobile computer on the Android platform.

In the end, doing anything on your gadget will become absolutely impossible. In such a situation, one remedy remains - reset the operating system to factory settings.

Great option. In older versions of Windows, in case of a serious deterioration in the operation of the computer, it was necessary to reinstall the system, boot it again from the distribution disk. But on Android, you don’t even need any disks and external installers - the distribution kit is wired inside the system.

If this is the first time you have encountered the problem of resetting the system, most likely you do not know about another very useful Android option - backup and restore.

The idea is this. After returning all Android settings to the factory state, absolutely all user data, files, documents, contacts and accounts will be deleted from your device. It's like you just brought your tablet from the store - only pre-installed applications from the Google services complex and affiliates.

You will have to re-search, download and install all the applications and games necessary for work and entertainment, communication in social networks. And you don’t even remember the names of all these programs right away. There is hard and long work ahead.

Well, Android has a useful option to back up your Google Play account. All your favorite and not so favorite applications are registered in Google Play and you can get it all back on your device without manual search and installation.

Provided that you have set the data backup option in the settings.

Go to Settings.
Locate the Recovery and Reset tab. There will be an item Backup data.
Put a tick in the checkbox. Now your data will be saved in the Google cloud service.
Please enter your Google account for the reservation below.
Even lower is written auto-recovery. Check the box here too.
Now your data will be restored automatically after a system reset to factory settings.

Note. For automatic recovery, download and installation of all your applications from Google Play, when registering a device after a factory reset, you must specify exactly your Google account, which is used to register on Google Play.

How to reset Android settings

If your Android device is slow, but you can still somehow manage applications, go to Settings and open the Backup and reset tab.

Select Reset Settings. There will be a warning that all data from the internal memory will be deleted. This is a reminder that if you have some important files or documents in your internal memory and you don’t want to lose them, you need to copy all this data to an external memory card or cloud storage. In the same Google Drive, for example. Below is the “red button” Reset mobile computer.

In the process of resetting the system, the device must be connected to the charger and plugged into the electrical network. In order for applications to be restored, you need to leave the SIM card in the device so that the Internet works immediately after restoring Android.

The process has begun, and then everything will happen by itself. After resetting and reinstalling the system, you will be prompted to log in to Google services. Take a piece of paper that contains the email address and password of the same account that you have registered on Google Play and log in.

After verifying the login and password, the automatic download and installation of all those applications from Google Play that you had on your tablet before resetting Android settings will begin. Depending on your internet speed, the app installation process will take a long or short time. Wi-Fi is fast, with a SIM card - a long time.

If the system is so sick that it practically does not respond to touch touches and the mobile computer actually freezes forever, what then to do? In such cases, a physical launch of the Android reset process is provided.

Depending on the specific device, there may be options, check the instructions or on the website of the computer manufacturer.

Microscopic hole near the power button. There you need to press a thin pin.
Another option is to turn off your smartphone and simultaneously press the power button and one of the volume buttons (usually “Down”). You may need to hold down the power button for a long time, but still need to press and release the volume button. Next, in the menu that appears, select “wipe data factory reset” and the item “yes - delete all user data”
Well, never forget about resetting settings through Settings \ Restore and reset \ Reset settings.

Android devices are prone to slowing down and becoming a file bin over time. The causes of problems can be very different, and such a way as resetting the settings on android to factory settings is an excellent solution to many problems with speed and firmware. Hard Reset on Android is performed using the Recovery menu built into any device.

The instruction is suitable for all models and brands: iPhone, Alcatel, Asus, Lenovo, Phillips, Prestigio, Sony Xperia, HTC, Samsung, Xiaomi, Umidigi, Leagoo, Dexp, Oppo, Doogie, Huawei, HomTom, etc.

Hard Reset is a complete reset of the phone settings to default values, deleting all applications, files and accounts from the device's memory. The procedure literally returns the gadget to the “from the factory” state and significantly improves system performance by cleaning up the garbage accumulated during operation.

A hard reset using recovery also allows you to unlock your gadget if you forgot your password and there is no Internet access. Here's how to factory reset your Android phone.

Reset settings through Recovery

To enter the Recovery menu on each device, a certain combination of buttons is provided. Turn off your smartphone and try different login methods.

Samsung - hold down the hardware button "Home", increase the volume and lock the screen at the same time. When the Android OS logo appears on the display, release the "Volume Up" and wait for Recovery to load.
HTC - hold down the "Volume down" and the power key.
Sony - turn off the device, then press the power button. When the Android symbol appears on the screen, click on it or hold down the "Volume down".

In Recovery, navigation is carried out using the volume rockers, and use the lock button to confirm.

Important! Any actions in the Recovery menu cannot be rolled back.

Performing a Hard Reset through the smartphone settings

You can set the default values for all settings, as well as clear the internal storage, from the Android system options menu. This method is suitable if the phone works without interruption, and the need to make a Hard Reset is not caused by a “rally” of the firmware.

Open your smartphone settings.
Go to the "Backup and Reset" tab.
Click on "Hard reset and clear internal memory". Review the data to be deleted and confirm the action.

Important! On Samsung devices with an encrypted SD card, access to the information on it will be impossible after returning to the default settings.

The device will reboot. You will be prompted to sign in to an existing Google account or create a new one. In general, the procedure is no different from the first inclusion after purchase.

Return to factory settings with service codes

The latter method only works on smartphones and tablets with a SIM card, as it will require you to enter special codes in the call menu. For different models, the codes may differ, the most common are:

*2767*3855#
*#*#7780#*#*
*#*#7378423#*#*

The call button does not need to be pressed if the code is entered correctly - the system will ask for confirmation of the reset, otherwise an execution error will be shown.

What is a Hard Reset for?

Using a Hard Reset is a responsible decision, and you need to understand why you are doing such a procedure on your device. Before starting, be sure to move the files that are important to you to a PC or memory card, after making sure that the SD card is not encrypted.

There are the following reasons for using Hard Reset:

Slow down your phone with a lot of cumbersome apps and games.
Infection with virus software that turned the gadget into a "brick" or installed a huge amount of advertising. Some Chinese gadgets immediately after purchase have pre-installed applications and ads “embedded” in the firmware, which antiviruses will not help get rid of.
If the smartphone has been working without flashing for more than a year, it makes sense to reset the parameters to the default values. This will help to significantly speed up the operation of the OS and completely clean up memory from junk files.
Forgotten graphic code, PIN or password. If the gadget is not connected to the network or you cannot remember the password for your Google account, Hard Reset will help return the device to a working state. Of course, all your files and applications will be lost beyond recovery.
Settings on Android are not reset - cleaning through Recovery solves the problem. That is why a hard reset is recommended to be done in case of a “bricking” of the gadget as a result of incorrect actions during the firmware. Despite the idle OS, access to the Recovery menu is usually retained.

Recovery is a universal and always working way for Hard Reset. For all versions of the Android OS, this menu is practically the same. How to perform the cleaning procedure from Recovery is described below.

Information backup

Before a hard reset, be sure to back up important information - documents, application data and contact book. It is advisable to sync with the Google Drive cloud before cleaning.

The information on the memory card will not be affected during a hard reset, but it is better to pull it out of the device for the duration of the procedure.

If you have obtained ROOT rights on your tablet or smartphone, download the Titanium Backup utility for a full backup. You can transfer data to a computer using a USB cable.

Conclusion

Hard Reset allows you to solve most problems with faulty firmware, virus infection and gadget slowdown. However, such a procedure will completely clear the internal memory and delete account data. Before starting a reset, always sync your data to the cloud, and transfer important files to a computer or SD card.

Video

A hard reset of an Android phone or tablet, otherwise known as a "hard reset" or sometimes a "wipe", is an operation that mobile device users usually resort to infrequently. But in some situations, this operation can be very useful. For example, you have one of the following cases:

- You have decided to sell your phone or tablet, and before that you want to restore it to its original form, so that some of your personal information does not accidentally get to the new owner;

- You need to return your device under warranty, but you have performed some actions with the operating system that the official service center may regard as unauthorized interference with the software;

-Your phone or tablet has begun to constantly freeze, "fail" and behave inappropriately. and you suspect that this is the fault of some software you have installed, but you cannot figure out the reasons;

-or even you simply forgot your device password or screen lock code.

In all these cases, hard reset, or resetting Android settings to factory settings, will help you. The developers have provided several ways to reset the settings for the user of this operating system. In this short article, we will tell you how you can return to the original Android OS settings using various methods, from the simplest to the more complex.

Dear readers, please note: resetting Android settings (hard reset) will destroy all your data, including contacts, messages, Google accounts, installed software on your phone or tablet.

Your smartphone or tablet will return to the way it left the factory. Only the information stored on the SD flash card will remain unaffected. Therefore, before doing a complete memory wipe on your mobile pet, do not forget to back up everything that you may need in the future. How to make a backup - read on our portal.

How to reset android settings through the device settings menu

The easiest way to hard reset your mobile is to run the appropriate command from the main settings menu. This method is suitable for those users whose devices remain normal (at least you can boot the operating system and perform some actions with it).

In order to reset Android settings in this way, perform the following sequence of actions (in some versions of Android firmware, the name of the menu items may vary slightly):

1. Go to the "Settings" of your phone or tablet;

2. Select the "Restore and Reset" menu item there;

3. Click on the "Reset settings" item and confirm your choice by agreeing to start a hard reset in response to the system's question.

Your Android device will be reset to factory settings, and after the reboot you will see the OS as during the first launch.

How to reset android settings using a service code

You may have already heard that in the Android operating system there are various service codes that you need to enter from the phone keypad. These codes allow you to receive various information about your machine. In addition, knowing the correct code, you can also reset all Android OS settings, that is, make a hard reset.

To perform this operation, go to the program for dialing a phone number and enter *2767*3855# there. Your phone or tablet will be reset to factory settings. Be careful, this is done right away, without the need for any additional confirmation from you!

On devices from different manufacturers, these codes may differ. If the first option did not work, try entering the codes:

One of them should help you.

How to reset Android settings using the Recovery menu

Let's imagine that the worst thing happened, and your Android phone or tablet stopped loading or responding to user actions. Or maybe you forgot the pattern to enter the system and could not restore it using any of the methods intended for this. In this case, your only hope to bring your mobile friend back to life is the same hard reset, but with the help of more complex methods.

reset android settings

The Android operating system has a bootloader mode, the so-called Recovery Mode. This is a system mode that, among other things, allows the user to factory reset Android if the device refuses to boot. To get to the Recovery menu, you need to turn off your phone or tablet, and then, with the device turned off, press one of the combinations of hardware keys on it: volume control, turn on the device, etc. Depending on the manufacturer of your mobile gadget, this combination may differ. Usually, to get into Recovery Mode, you need to simultaneously hold down the "Power", "Home" and "Volume Down" keys for a few seconds.

Also, depending on the model, the following key combinations can serve as a way to get into Recovery Mode:

- "Turn on" and "Volume down";

- "Turn on" and "Increase the volume";

-"Power on", "Volume up" and "Volume down".

In order not to go through all the combinations in a row, it would be most logical to ask Google before starting the operation how you can get into Recovery Mode specifically for your phone or tablet model in order to make a Hard reset android.

After your mobile device boots up in this mode, you will see a menu item with a list of actions that the user can perform. It can also be slightly different from device to device and allow you to perform different operations, but in the context of this article, we are interested in one item - "wipe data / factory reset" (sometimes it can be just the "wipe" item). After booting into Recovery Mode, you need to do the following:

Using the hardware volume up or down keys, we move to the "wipe data / factory reset" menu item we need and confirm our desire to make a hard reset with the hardware power button (or, on some devices, "Home");

We confirm our choice again by pressing the menu item "Yes - wipe all user data";

We go back to the previous menu and select the item "reboot system now". The system will reboot and you will see the virgin Android that the user sees when the OS is first loaded.

After resetting the operating system, you can restore your contacts, data, programs, etc. Be careful with batch restoring custom applications (those you installed yourself). After all, if this one of them "killed" your system and forced you to resort to a hard reset, after such a recovery you will get back the same problems as before. It seems to us that it would still be wiser to restore only the most necessary from backups, such as contacts and messages, and secondary applications can be installed manually one at a time. Moreover, resetting to factory settings does not affect the data on the SD memory card, so you can save everything that you might need after resetting the settings, including *.apk application files, so that you can immediately access them after booting the device.

As you can see, dear readers, there is nothing complicated in resetting all settings on a phone or tablet (Hard reset android) with the Android operating system. The user can do this at any time, even if his mobile device does not want to boot in normal mode. Do not forget to regularly backup important data, take care of your mobile friend, and everything will be fine for you. Good luck!

Every Android smartphone has a recovery mode that allows you to erase all data from the internal memory of the smartphone and restore the factory settings. However, this method is not always effective.

If you were unable to perform a hard reset (aka factory reset) through Recovery mode, Google has provided a special Android Debug Bridge command line utility to access your mobile device and execute certain commands through the computer. Thus, you can do a factory reset through a computer.

We want to draw your attention to the fact that ADB commands for resetting settings through a computer are intended for advanced users. But, if you carefully read our instructions, you should not have any problems.

Instructions: How to reset the settings through a computer?

Step 1

Go to the Android Developers website and download the Android System Development Kit. Right-click on the ZIP archive and select "Extract All". Click the Browse button and select the C:\Program Files directory.

Step 2

Navigate to the folder where the files were extracted and press "F2" to rename it. Give the folder a simple name, such as "AndroidADT".

Step 3

Right click on "My Computer" and select "Properties". Click on the “Advanced system settings” option and in the “Advanced” window, click on the “Environment Variables” button.

Step 4

In the "System Variables" window, select the "Path" option and click the "Edit" button. When the window for editing system variables opens, scroll to the very end of the line and write the path to the archive that you unpacked earlier (";C:\Program Files\AndroidADT\sdk\platform-tools\") (without quotes). Make sure you add a semicolon at the beginning of the path. Click "OK" to save your changes.

Step 5

Hover over the top right corner of the screen and click the "Search" button. Type "cmd" in the search field and click on the program icon in the search results to launch a command prompt window.

Step 6

Turn on your smartphone and connect it to the computer's USB port. Type "adb shell" and press "Enter". When ADB connects to the mobile device, write "--wipe_data" and press "Enter". Your phone will reboot into recovery mode and automatically reset to factory settings.

Now you know how to do a factory reset through a computer.

Giving your phone a new life is easy! To do this, sometimes it is enough to reset Android settings to factory settings. After clearing your smartphone of personal data, you can give it to someone or start using it as a new one.

Why factory reset on Android

More recently, the smartphone was only from the store shelf, so clean, untouched. A few days passed, and it was filled with familiar applications, music, old and new photos. You connected your Google account, and all calendars, contacts, notebooks, even search history and favorite places on the maps returned to you. But all this generates errors. The phone is rapidly running out of space (and large memory cards do not save). Sometimes there are software failures that are not so easy to fix.

There is only one way out: return Android to factory settings. Often this helps to restore your smartphone after a critical failure or eliminates lags and delays in work. There are other reasons to reset: you want to sell or donate your smartphone. Then it is important that no personal data is left on it. The best way to clear it is a hard reset.

How to reset settings

This can be intimidating for people who are just getting started with Android. In fact, there are two fairly simple ways to return the phone to a clean state after use:

From within the system. This option is considered less rigid, as it may leave some "tails", but it is much easier to do this. This is done by a combination of keys on the case or through a special menu item.
From outside the system(via recovery mode). Requires confidence. But in fact, all you need to do is read the instructions and follow them correctly.

What to do before factory reset

Are you sure you want to reset settings on Android? But don't rush into irreversible decisions. Before deleting all personal data from your smartphone, make sure that:

Do you remember your Google account details?. Otherwise, you will not be able to return to your mail and return other data to a new smartphone.
You have made a backup of all the necessary data. At a minimum, go to Settings > General > Backup & Reset and turn on the Data Backup option there. Then your basic data will be saved in the Google cloud. If you turn on the "Auto-recovery" option, then after activating your account on a new smartphone, Google will prompt you to completely reinstall your set of applications with all their data and return to the previous user experience.
You removed the memory card(if installed). Usually, after resetting the settings, the memory card remains intact, but failures are not excluded.

If you made a backup before resetting your Android to factory settings, then the restore will be successful.

How settings are reset

soft reset

So, for Android, there are several ways to reset to factory settings. The easiest of them is reset through the menu.

In general, what needs to be done for this:

go to the "Settings" menu on your smartphone;
enter the "General" section;
select the “Backup and Reset” subsection in it (it is closer to the end of the list);
find the item "Reset settings" (usually it is at the very end of the subsection);
click on the "Reset phone settings" button and confirm the choice.
after that, your phone will reboot one or more times;
when it boots up again and prompts you to set up your device from scratch, you've cleared it.

This method is great if your task is to completely delete contacts, call history and other personal data. You can already give or sell such a smartphone. However, after such a reset, “traces” of applications that slow down the operation of the device, or malicious applications, may remain in the system.

Watch video instruction:

Hard reset, or hard reset

If you want to make a truly hard reset and return the system to its original state without garbage and tails, then it would be wiser to do a hard reset (hard restart) through the Recovery menu.

See how to do it in the video:

IN It is accepted that to enter the recovery menu to reset to factory settings, you need to simultaneously press two buttons on the case. As a rule, this is the power button plus volume up. However, for some smartphones, you may also need the Home key, Volume Down, or Volume Up and Down key at the same time. What and how to do with your smartphone - better check in the instructions.

If you hold down these keys while booting, then the smartphone will offer you a rather peculiar menu, reminiscent of MS-DOS (see picture on the right).

In some recovery options, the touch screen is disabled. Then you need to navigate through the menu items with the volume buttons (louder - up, quieter - down), and confirm the selection with the power button.

To restore the device to its original state, you must select Clear Data / Factory Reset (Data Reset / Restore Android to Factory Settings). This menu item will completely overwrite the copy of Android on your device and replace it with a clean one. To confirm the deletion, you need to select Yes - delete all user data in the list that opens after selecting the item.

It takes time to restore the system. Therefore, before starting, make sure that the smartphone is charged / charging, and that the contact with the charger is reliable. When the process is over, you will need to return to the main recovery menu and select Reboot (reboot).

Sometimes enthusiasts use a full flashing to clean up a smartphone, which not only removes all past settings, but also allows you to update the version of Android. We believe that flashing should be considered separately.

Reset via service codes

There is also a way to reset the settings through service codes. The process of dialing such a code resembles a set of ordinary USSD codes for checking an account, replenishing or ordering services.

To perform a factory reset on Android using a service code, you will need to clarify which code is needed for your Android model and version. However, with this method, the smartphone will restore factory settings from within the system, which means that this actually duplicates the reset through the menu.

Therefore, we would advise you to choose only between the first two methods.

What to do after a factory reset

If you plan to transfer the cleaned device to another person, then you do not need to do anything: let the new owner do the setup himself.

If you continue to use your smartphone, then the first step is to enter your Google account. On the first boot after the reset, the smartphone will prompt you to enter your Google mail and password from it. Connect it to Wi-Fi during the setup process, and the smartphone itself will download all the necessary data: contacts, correspondence, calendar.

If you turned on “AutoRecovery” before deleting data (as we showed above), then the system will prompt you to restore all or some of the applications from the previous set. Do it or not - it's up to you.

If you removed the memory card from the device, you can insert it back. Although we would recommend that you first open it on your computer and delete the “Android” folder: a lot of garbage could accumulate in it. And the system will return all the necessary files there during recovery.

Finally

There is nothing complicated or scary about resetting the settings. The main thing is to save the necessary files. Therefore, pay maximum attention to creating backups.

In the process, you should not have any misunderstandings. Even if the view of the recovery menu differs from that shown in our figure, be guided by the meaning of the inscriptions. Knowledge of English is highly desirable (usually the recovery menu is available only in English), but in case of difficulties, you can use an online translator.

Now that you know how to reset Android to factory settings, you can do the task yourself.