How to reset settings (Hard Reset) on Android

What is Android Hard Reset?

With careful use of the device, the Android operating system can live for quite a long time without failures and system problems, which can arise for several reasons.

1. Frequent installation of applications from unknown sources that begin to harm the OS and system files.
2. Cluttering of the mobile device’s memory with temporary files, cache and other garbage that remains after using applications, browsers and games.
3. Having received superadmin rights (root rights), the user unknowingly deletes data that is important for Android.
4. OS components are blocked or removed by a virus. A very common virus is one that blocks the phone and demands that money be transferred to an account, threatening that otherwise criminal liability will follow. Don't be scared, this is pure scam.

But whatever the reason, Android Hard Reset will help solve the problem. This is a special feature of the mobile device that resets all data to factory settings. As a result, the user has a completely clean gadget, just like immediately after purchase.

Executing Wipe from Recovery on Xiaomi

The Xiaomi engineering menu is loaded by holding down the power key and Volume “+”. It comes in several languages ​​- to switch from Chinese to English, click: change language xiaomi recovery menu.

1. Select “Recovery”

2. Click “OK” if you are going to enter Recovery mode.

3. Click "Wipe data". Here the sensor does not work, press the Power and Volume keys to select and move.

4. Next “Wipe All Data”.

5. Confirm by clicking "Confirm".

6. The mobile gadget will notify you that Wipe has been successfully completed. Open the main menu.

7. To reboot the device, select “Reboot”.

8. Then “Reboot to System”.

The first system boot after resetting the settings may take several minutes.

Without preparation you can't go anywhere

Before you do a Hard Reset Android, some preparations are required in order to save important data (phone book, accounts, passwords, etc.). This is done in different ways:

• synchronize with your Google account via mobile Internet or Wi-Fi;
• we connect to the PC via USB, after which we save all the data on the device using a special program (it can be either from the manufacturer or from unofficial developers);
• You can also save contacts from the phone book by importing them to a memory card.

In addition to the internal data of the mobile device, it is advisable to copy files from the memory card to the computer. The fact is that Android Hard Reset erases not only all personal data, but also information about the location of files on the SD card. Therefore, on a full memory card inserted into the gadget after the reset, the new file system will be displayed on top of the old one (the files on the flash drive will physically remain, but will not be displayed).

Now that all important information is saved, you can do an Android Hard Reset. It is done in three ways:

1. Programmatically, i.e. from the system settings.
2. In Recovery mode.
3. Using a PC.

Let's sum it up

You can reset Android to factory settings in five standard ways. The simplest of them is to select the appropriate option in the “Settings” of your phone or tablet. Other options are using special commands, a hard reset, using the Adb Run app, or clearing your Google profile data.

Very often in questions regarding Android settings the phrase “How to reset Android to factory settings?” is heard, or so to speak abstrusely - Hard Reset

, in order to solve some problems.
But you need to remember that such a procedure will delete everything that was on the device, from contacts to personal data. But the memory card, called an “ external drive
,” will not be reset.

ATTENTION! Before collecting, make sure that all important data is saved on a separate drive; during the reset process, all other data will be deleted!

Below we will look at how this whole procedure occurs.

Settings are always reset to factory settings, that is, the smartphone is rolled back to its original state

. But most often the Android version remains the same after the update. Absolutely everything will disappear from the device, from downloaded applications to the phone book, photos, all passwords, etc.

Why do you need a factory reset?

This reset method (Hard Reset) is used if:

• the device is being prepared for sale;
• you need to return to the “ as when buying
  ” state, and this is the most convenient option. The need for this arises when it is used for a long time, something is removed or installed. As a result, hidden debris appears on the device, which slows down the system. Often resetting the settings helps solve the Google Play Market problem.
• In order to unlock your smartphone if you do not remember the screen unlock key
  . But in this case, there is no need to rush and it would not hurt to first find out more detailed information on how to fix everything.

Preparing your smartphone for a factory reset

1. All important information, photos, videos, documents, contacts need to be moved somewhere, a PC will do. You can simply create a copy (backup).
2. Check the battery level and make sure it is charged. There are models in which it will not be possible to reset the settings until the device is charged; it itself will not allow it. And there are also models that will begin the reset process and turn off due to a low battery at the very peak of the reset. This may damage the device.
3. On Android 5.1, you will need to delete your Google account before resetting the settings. This is due to the new privacy policy rules. In this case, after resetting to factory settings, the device will ask you to enter data. Without them, it will simply be impossible to log into the device, well, at least not easily.

Reset from settings

A reset using this method is done if the device starts and works normally, since it is done from the settings.

Open “Settings”, look for “Personal data” (on different versions of Android this item may be called “Backup and reset” and “Accounts”). We go to where you will need to click “Reset data to Reset devices”, after “Delete everything”).

Saving data

If you are not going to sell the gadget, but only want to clean it, you should first save its contents. How?

• Go to “Settings”, and then to the “Backup and reset” tab (in some gadgets it is called “Privacy” or “Backup and reset”).
• Install o.
• Below, indicate the Google account to which you need to perform this action.
• Place another tick in the “Auto recovery” checkbox.

Now you are not afraid of losing data, since it will return to its original place after cleaning the system.

Through Recovery mode

Factory settings can be restored via System Recovery. It helps when the device does not turn on due to a failure or is constantly rebooting, so you cannot get into the settings. To enter Recovery mode, you need to turn off the phone and hold down several buttons. This combination is different for each manufacturer.

Hard Reset Android Samsung is done as follows. You need to hold down three keys that are located on the phone body: power, menu and volume up. When a black screen with a list appears, use the volume keys to select wipe data/factory reset, Yes and Reboot now.

ASUS. Press and hold volume down and power for three seconds. From the list, select Enter recovery mode. Further the same as in Samsung.

Alcatel. Power and volume up. Then we look at the instructions for Samsung.

We perform a hardware reset of Android (Recovery Android)

There are times when the phone does not boot and there is no way to enter the menu. In this case, you need to start the phone or tablet in recovery mode. You can enter this mode by turning on the phone while holding down the button combination. But the problem is that the combinations differ depending on the company or even the phone model, so we will give instructions in a general form, and then links to specific device models.

1. Turn off your phone.
2. Simultaneously hold down the volume down (or volume up) button, the Home button (usually the large button in the center below the screen) if your device has one, and the Power button.
3. Once downloading begins, release the buttons.
4. In the menu that appears, using the volume buttons, select Wipe data/factory reset and confirm the selection with the Home button (or the Power button).

5. In the next menu, select Yes - delete all user data, after which the reset will be performed and the first menu will be displayed. In a similar way, select reboot system now and after a few minutes the phone will turn on.

Via PC

There are times when the phone does not turn on, and the Recovery mode in the mobile device is simply not provided (rarely, but it happens). In this case, you can do a Hard Reset Android via your computer. True, this will require specialized programs.

Almost every manufacturer has provided specialized programs for their gadgets that can update the system, backup data, flash the firmware, and also restore the device by doing an Android Hard Reset.

The first thing you need to do is download this utility. You can download it from the official website of the developer, as well as on other sites and blogs. There you can also read how to reset the device through this utility. In principle, all these programs should be intuitive, so this should not be a problem.

Next, you will need to download drivers for the desired Android device, if they are not in the service utility database. Then we connect the gadget to the PC via USB and begin the reset process.

Every Android smartphone has a recovery mode that allows you to erase all data from the internal memory of the smartphone and return it to 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 command line utility, Android Debug Bridge, to access your mobile device and execute certain commands through your computer. So you can do a factory reset via your computer.

We would like to point out that ADB commands to reset settings via computer are intended for advanced users. But, if you read our instructions carefully, you should not have any problems.

Using service codes

For each Android smartphone there is a specific code, by entering which you can reset the data on your device.

You just need to go to the dialing menu, write the required code there and the system will perform the recovery. Please note that these combinations may change over time, and one or another code may be suitable for different models. Which one is required for your model can be found on the Internet.

But there are still the most common combinations:

• *#*#7780#*# and call button;
• *#*#7378423#*# - call;
• *2767*3855# - press “call”.

Instructions: How to reset settings via 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

Go 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 and write the path to the archive that you unpacked earlier (“;C:Program FilesAndroidADTsdkplatform-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. Write "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 reset settings via a computer.

Dear reader! If suddenly the method described in the article did not help you, please help others - write how you dealt with the problem or ask a question. By the way, the answer to your question may already be in the comments.

What to do if the password is not reset

If you reset your device in order to remove a password from it that you forgot, and after finishing the procedure the system still asks you to enter it, then there are two ways out of this situation. The first is to enter the wrong password five times, a message will appear on the screen stating that the device is locked for 30 seconds, as well as a “Forgot your password?” button. Click on the button that appears, you will be asked to log in to your Google account, which was previously linked to this phone or tablet. If you log into the correct account, you will have the opportunity to reset your existing password.

Recovering the device password via Google account

Reset password via ADB

The second option is to reset your password using ADB. How to install this program is described above in the “Via a computer” subsection. When you are done with the installation, launch a Command Prompt as an administrator and run the following options:

• adb shell
• cd /data/data/com.android.providers.settings/databases
• sqlite3 settings.db
• update system set value=0 where name='lock_pattern_autolock';
• update system set value=0 where name='lockscreen.lockedoutpermanently';
• .quit

If these commands do not help, then use the command adb shellrm /data/system/gesture.key or adb shell rm /data/system/gesture.key.

Why do you need to do a Hard Reset of Android?

A hard reset means deleting all user information on the phone, except for preinstalled system programs, ringtones, pictures and starting settings of the Android OS. After a successful “hard reboot”, there will be no trace of its use left on the smartphone.

Resetting Android to factory settings helps solve many problems that arise when working with your phone. Namely:

• remove malware, especially annoying advertising (often the user downloads it along with the application on his device);
• speed up the operation of your gadget;
• delete unnecessary files that take up space in the device’s memory;
• eliminate errors in the Android OS that appear as a result of failures or incorrect updating of Google services applications and much more.

This troubleshooting method can also be used in cases where the device suddenly turns off and does not turn on. Such situations are not uncommon, and a common cause is an erroneous application update or a malfunction of one of them.

What is it for

In what cases is it necessary to restart the system and roll it back to its factory state?

This is usually necessary to resolve system errors, as well as:

• before selling the device;
• with constant system freezes and numerous failures;
• immediately after the software update.

If you cannot reset the settings yourself, then it is best to contact a service center for help. Because you can inadvertently delete important system files and thereby harm the operation of the device.

• Hard reset to texet. How to reset your tablet to factory settings

07/30/2017 Dmitry Vassiyarov's blog. Category:Portable platforms

Hi all.

What do you get when you return to factory settings? It's like a device you just bought. That is, your personal data, applications that you have downloaded are erased, RAM and clipboard are cleared. This may be needed if:

• You are going to resell your phone or tablet, and you do not want a stranger to have access to your confidential information.
• Your gadget has started to slow down and glitch. On Android, this often happens when the system becomes clogged due to multitasking, frequent downloading, installing and deleting applications.
• The device has caught a virus and you cannot get rid of it any other way.

What you need to do before formatting

Formatting internal memory on Android does not take much time (5-10 minutes). Saving personal data takes much more time from users, because after a hard reboot, contacts, photos, videos, and programs (except pre-installed ones) will be deleted on the phone.

Accounts entered on the smartphone will also be lost. Therefore, it is advisable to remember or write down logins and passwords for them before formatting.

Attention: it is important to remember the registration data from your Google account, because after formatting (when you turn on the device for the first time), the user will need to be authorized.

You can save information in any of the following ways: use backup programs, a cloud storage service, or transfer photos, documents and videos “manually” to your computer through Explorer.

On Android 8.0 Oreo and higher

The Settings menu has undergone major changes. Now the “Reset to factory settings” function is located in the “System” → “Reset” section.

See also: How to Record Video from Android Screen?

On Meizu

In Flyme OS, the path to the function is different from stock Android: go to “Settings” → “About phone” → “Memory” → “Reset settings”.

Next “Delete data” and click “Restore”.

What are the ways to reset settings on Android?

There are several ways to format the gadget's memory on Android. The most popular of them:

1. Formatting using the “Restore and Reset” section on the phone;
2. Hard reboot via the Recovery Mode menu;
3. Clearing internal memory via a computer using the Android Debug Bridge application;
4. Delete all information on your phone using your Google account.

When restoring a device to factory settings, the user may encounter problems. For example, the physical buttons on the smartphone may be faulty, or the sensor may not respond to pressure. If performing a hard reset in one way did not work, you must choose another.

How to format data TWRP?

Formatting procedure:

1. Load recovery menu.
2. Select menu item: Wipe.
3. Press the button: Format Data
   .
4. Type the word: yes on the keyboard and press the button: Go.
5. Once the process is complete, you can return to the main menu by pressing the button: Home.
6. To reboot the device into normal mode, select: Reboot - Reboot System.

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Resetting your smartphone to factory settings via “Settings”

The easiest way, which does not require the owner of the gadget to install additional software and connect to a computer, is to format it directly on the “problem” smartphone.

To do this you need to take the following simple steps:

• open “Settings” on the device;

• go to the “Restore and reset” section;

• click on the item “Reset settings”;

• click “Reset phone settings”;

• confirm the action by clicking “Erase everything”.

If your phone has a security lock installed, you will be asked to authenticate before resetting.

You can clear the gadget's memory in this way only if you have access to the settings. If the phone is locked, the screen is damaged, or for some other reason it is impossible to get into “Settings,” then you can use Recovery.

Method 3: Reset using digital combination

Another option for a simple factory reset is to use digital combinations.

1. Open the Phone app.

2. Enter one of the code options:

If necessary, press the call key.

3. The smartphone will reboot, after which the reset process will begin.

If your phone suddenly starts working slowly, constantly freezes, or some programs refuse to start, then you need to reset your Android settings to factory settings.

Hard reset via Recovery menu

To reset to factory settings through recovery, the gadget does not need to be loaded until it appears on the desktop screen. This solution to the problem is suitable even if the phone does not turn on.

The main condition is a charged phone and working physical buttons on it. It is with the help of the power and volume buttons that you can enter Recovery and perform formatting.

The combination of buttons that must be pressed may differ depending on the device manufacturer. On some phones (for example, HTC), you need to hold down the volume down, volume up, and power buttons at the same time.

Flashing

Finally, you can reflash the tablet, not only deleting all data, but also installing an alternative version of the shell. To do this, you will need to install software from the tablet manufacturer on your computer, which is used to synchronize your mobile device with your PC. Next, proceed according to the specified scenario:

• Connect your tablet to your PC.
• Launch specialized software.
• Go to the “Advanced Features” section and then “Recovery”.
• Select the "Restore Android version" option.

Then the settings will be automatically reset followed by installation of the latest version of Android. After this, you can turn off the tablet and start it.

Formatting a smartphone via PC

There is an option to reset Android to factory settings, which involves installing an additional utility on a PC and using the command line.

This Android formatting option is more complex than formatting through recovery, and is mainly intended for experienced users.

Most of the time will be spent installing the ADB utility itself. After downloading the archive with the application to your computer, you will need to unpack it and make sure that there is an executable file named adb in the “platform-tools” folder. If there is no file in this folder, you need to launch the SDK Manager, which is located in the “Android-sdk-windows” folder and download Android SDK Tools and Android SDK Platform-tools to your computer.

After installing Android Debug Bridge, you can begin deleting all data on your phone. To do this we do the following:

1. Launch the command line using the cmd command.
2. We connect the phone to the computer (first enable the “USB Debugging” option on the gadget in the “For Developers” section). To make sure that the phone is connected to the PC, you should use the “adb devices” command.
3. Go to the ADB directory by entering the “cd” command. To do this, you need to put a space after “cd” and indicate the path to the directory.
4. Enter the command “adb reboot recovery” in the command line (without quotes) and wait until the phone starts in recovery mode.
5. Using the physical buttons on the phone, first select the “wipe data/factory reset” option, and then “Reboot system now”.

Using this utility is important when the device is blocked or faulty (for example, the sensor does not work).

Using hardware keys

Does your gadget freeze when loading? Can't navigate the menu? Forgot your password? Perform a full clean through Recovery mode. How to activate it? First you need to turn off the device, and then hold down a certain combination of buttons. It differs from one manufacturer to another:

Asus, Acer:

— volume down + power button.

Huawei

— Offers a couple of options for different models:

— Press and hold the volume up and power keys for at least 10 seconds;

- The same thing, only the first one needs to be pressed in the middle. Wait for the logo to appear and release only Power. When you see an Android robot with gears, slide your finger on the volume up and press until the green loading bar appears.

Lenovo. There are also several combinations:

— Volume “+ and -” together with the power key;

— Hold the last button until vibration, and then increase the volume;

— Volume up and start button at the same time.

— Power + volume down. When you see the logo, release the buttons for a second and press them again until the recovery mode turns on.

Prestigio:

— Volume “up” or “down” and “Power”.

Samsung:

— “Home” + volume up + power or the latter and volume down.

— Volume up + power;

— Connect the gadget to the network. When the charging indicator appears, press the Reset button using a paper clip. As soon as the display lights up, hold down the “Power” button for a couple of seconds.

Xiaomi, Meizu:

— Turn on + increase volume. When you see the picture, release only the first one.

What to do when you enter the Recovery menu?

• Navigate to the Wipe data/factory reset section.

• Agree that the information will be erased.
• When the reset is complete, click on Reboot System to restart the device.

If the sensor refuses to work, navigate through the menu using the volume keys and select an action using the power button.

How to clear all data on your phone remotely

There is an Android formatting option that does not require “direct” contact with the phone - using a Google account.

In order to do a complete reset on Android in this way, you can use absolutely any device that has access to the Internet.

To be able to delete all information from your phone in the future, you need to configure your device correctly. To do this, do the following:

• go to the “Security” section, which is located in the device settings;

• click on “Device Administrators”;

• check the box next to the “Find device” option;

• enable mobile Internet and the “Transfer location data” option on your phone.

In addition to the above conditions, the Android device should not be turned off.

Note: in addition to formatting the device memory through the account, the user can remove the lock from the screen if he has forgotten the password, and, if lost, “see” the location of the phone on the map.

To perform a full factory reset on your phone using Google, you need to do the following:

1. Open a browser on your device and go to google.com.
2. In the right corner, click “Login”.

   There is another way to reset to factory settings - using a secret code.

   This method does not always help and is not suitable for all smartphones, so it is used less and less in practice.

   In order to reset Android using a secret code, you need to enter the combination *#*#7378423#*#* or *2767*3855# in the dialing menu.

   You can format Android in this way if your phone is locked. To do this, select “Emergency call” on the locked screen and enter one of the combinations.

   «>

Why reset?

Hard Reset - rolls back the operating system to default values. When you perform a reset, all files and third-party applications are deleted from the device's memory, and all settings return to factory settings. By resetting the system, you will receive a clean device, that is, it will be in the same form as it was in the store.

A reset may be useful in the following situations:

• the device began to freeze due to a large number of installed programs;
• the system began to freeze due to overloaded memory;
• there are a lot of files left in the file system from deleted applications that take up free space;
• the device is for sale, so you need to remove all personal information from it;
• I need to reset my password because it was forgotten.

As a result, it turns out that the reset must be performed when it is necessary to format the device.

How to delete data from a device using the Find Device service

Google has developed a special service called “Find Device”, with which you can not only track your device, but also reset its settings. To do this, the mobile gadget must be connected to the Internet.

1. Go to the site and log in.

2. Google will find devices linked to your account. Click Erase Data.

3. Select Erase Data again.

4. Confirm the choice - “Clear”.

As a result, the device’s internal file memory will be cleared.