Is your Android phone slow, frozen, unresponsive, or responding wrongly, or have you forgotten the password? You’ve come to the right place! The device can still be hard reset, sometimes known as an alternative reset, which is a very powerful option.
If you can’t find your factory data reset choices in the settings, you can still execute a factory reset on your Android smartphone, which this article will explain to you how to do. If you’re experiencing trouble with your touch screen or can’t navigate your phone properly, this is the right solution. It’s also a viable alternative if you can’t get your phone to turn on all the way or if it won’t turn on at all.
If you’re looking to reset your Android phone, you’re probably aware of how beneficial a reset can be in resolving difficulties. I’ll go over a few other ways to reset your phone without needing to use the touch screen in this article. In most cases, your phone doesn’t even have to be turned on to accomplish this!
Make Sure Your Device Is Turned Off
The majority of these hard resets necessitate that your phone is entirely shut off, not merely locked. If your phone isn’t responding and you can’t turn it off with the power button, you may need to pull the battery out, count to 10, and then put it back in. If you need to replace the battery, don’t turn the phone back on. Keep the gadget turned off at all times.
Make sure your phone isn’t plugged into a charger as well. The reset will not operate if the phone is hooked into a charger or if the device is not fully shut off.
Hard Reset Procedures May Differ
Alternate resets normally entail a sequence of key combinations, which we’ll go through in a moment. The key combination you must use is very dependent on the phone’s unique make and model, as well as the version of Android OS (Operating System) it is running. For example, if your phone is running the 2.2 (Froyo) OS, you may be able to execute a reset one way, but when you upgrade to the 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS, the method no longer works, forcing you to use another approach (I have an example of this in method 6 and 7 below). You may need to utilize a different technique and key combination to conduct the same alternate reset after upgrading to the 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS. So be on the lookout for this.
It’s possible that you’ll have to try the reset a few times before it works.
Please keep in mind that a reset is permanent and cannot be reversed. It will delete all personal data and downloaded content from the phone; however, it will not alter or delete anything on the memory card or your SIM card. This covers content like photographs, ringtones, SMS, apps, and more, as well as software malfunctions, bugs, and infections. If at all feasible, back up your data beforehand. Usually, you won’t be able to do a backup if you need to perform an alternative reset on your phone.
Difference Of Reset and Reboot
The distinction between reset and reboot is the first thing I’d like to discuss. For the most part, those terms are interchangeable. Those phrases, however, have a completely different meaning in “Android” jargon. Please don’t get it mixed up.
Rebooting your phone is as simple as that. To eradicate bugs, a reset wipes all data. So, if your phone is stuck and experiencing slight lags, like mine, you’ll need to perform an Android reset.
Difference Of Soft and Hard Reset
Yes, there is more jargon for you to learn. Despite their amusing tone, the names “Soft” and “Hard” reset have logical reasoning behind them. We’re talking about a soft reset if you’re using your phone’s software to reset it. On the other hand, if we’re talking about a hardware component like a battery, we’re talking about a “hard reset.”
When your phone’s software isn’t working or responding, you’ll need to perform a hard reset. Typically, it would be best to try a soft reset first, as this is something your phone is “accustomed to” and is a common procedure. If it doesn’t work, you may always perform a hard reset.
Preparations Before Doing A Hard Reset
Just a quick comment on a standard alternate reset, so you know what to anticipate. You’ll turn the phone off, hold a precise set of key combinations (seen below), navigate to a fastboot/testing/recovery/etc. screen, pick reset, and the phone will power off and on by itself. This may take a few minutes, and some phones may take up to 15 minutes to restart (pretty uncommon though, the average phone probably takes 3-5 min). After it reboots, the phone will appear to be brand new and fresh off the shelf. So, just like when you initially got it, go ahead and set it up again.
Unfortunately, if you own a Pantech Android smartphone, you will not be able to do an alternate reset on your device. Pantech smartphones do not currently have a hard reset capability; the only way to reset a Pantech phone is through the settings menu.
Hard Reset Procedures
A hard reset, as previously stated, entails the use of physical components. This is fairly simple on earlier Android phones. Remove the battery from your phone, wait a minute, then replace it. And that’s all for the reset.
This option is not available on new Android devices. You can’t even access the battery because it’s built-in. As a result, we’ve developed a more complicated method: press and hold the Volume Up and Power buttons simultaneously for 20 seconds, and your phone should automatically reset. It will appear to be turned off, but it will turn back on within 10-15 seconds with all issues resolved.
Reset To Factory Settings
Make sure your device’s battery is at least 75% charged before performing a reset. It’s smart to keep a charger on hand just in case. Android phones make it simple to revert to factory settings. Go to Settings > Backup & reset > Factory data reset to do so.
You’ll need to reset your device in Recovery mode if you can’t access your settings for some reason.
To enter recovery mode, make sure the device is turned off and then follow these steps:
- Hold down the Volume Up and Power buttons at the same time.
- Keep pressing the buttons until you see the Android logo.
- Scroll to “Recovery” with the volume buttons and push the Power button to choose it.
- If “No Command” appears, hold down the Power button while pressing the Volume Up button once.
- To select “wipe data/factory reset,” use Volume Down to scroll down and tap the Power button.
- Select Yes, and then click the Power button to wipe all user data.
Follow these procedures if your device has a physical Home button:
- At the same time, press and hold the Volume Up, Home, and Power buttons.
- Release the Power button when you detect a vibration.
- Your device will vibrate once more, and the Menu will appear.
- Release all of the buttons and follow the instructions in the previous section to navigate.
Follow these procedures if your phone doesn’t have a Home button or a separate Power button:
- Simultaneously press the Volume Up and Side buttons.
- You’ll notice a vibration, and the logo will show on your screen.
- Release the buttons and continue navigating as described.
If you see something else on your device, we recommend looking up device-specific instructions on your manufacturer’s support site.
