Even though you aren’t using a Samsung phone, you will probably be reading this. But why? The truth is, you are currently or will use a Samsung phone anytime soon.
Samsung being the number one most popular smartphone brand in the world in 2020 and also the 2nd most used smartphone brand in the USA, it has the biggest line of devices in its portfolio and these super cool galaxy devices are used by a large number of Samsung fans like you.
If you use an Android powered smartphone like LG, Vivo, Lenovo, Huawei, Oppo, ZTE, Google, HTC or in this case a Samsung Galaxy phone, there would be a time when you will want to perform a factory reset on your phone.
For the sake of clarity,
What’s a factory reset or what does it mean to factory reset a smartphone?
A factory reset which is also known as a master reset or hard reset is the process of restoring the original software state of a smartphone by erasing all of the information stored by a user on the device and restoring it to the default system state as it was originally released by the manufacturer.
So, a factory reset deletes all the data on your Samsung phone and restores the device back to the default settings as it was out of the box.
But wait, why would anyone want to perform a factory reset on his or her Samsung phone?
Here’re some reasons why you might want to perform a factory reset on your Samsung Android phone.
- You can perform a factory reset on your Samsung phone if you’re sending your Samsung phone for repair
- You might want to factory reset/wipe your Samsung phone if you are giving it to a friend or family member
- If your Samsung device is freezing, hanging on the Samsung logo or having a boot-loop
- If your Samsung phone runs slowly, overheats or battery drains faster than normal
- If you have forgotten your password or security lock to unlock your phone
- If installed apps force close or show errors during usage
- You can factory reset your phone if your device refuses to boot after a firmware installation via Odin or another Samsung flashing tool
- Restore your device to its default factory state
- Or throw it away
You might have another reason why you want to factory reset your Samsung phone, but it’s very important to know what happens when you factory reset your Samsung galaxy phone.
To help you know what you are about to do and the right way to do it, we have put together a list of the most FAQs(Frequently Asked Questions) before the main objective of this post because it’s highly recommended you read it first, before proceeding.
FAQs on Samsung Factory Reset
What does a factory reset do on my Samsung phone or any other smartphone?
A factory reset will delete/erase your personal data(user-data) like pictures, musics, videos, documents, installed applications as well as their data.
In summary, a factory reset will remove everything that wasn’t on your device when you initially unboxed it. A factory reset will restore your phone to the default software state by the manufacturer.
Does a factory reset wipe my Google account data?
No, a factory reset does not remove the data or files stored on your Google account or any other account saved on your device
Is a factory reset safe?
The answer is Yes. A factory reset is very safe and it’s not bad to factory reset your smartphone because a factory reset actually makes your OS fresher.
Will I loose my contacts, pictures, music, videos and files after I factory reset my phone?
Yes, you’ll loose your personal data like contacts, photos, music, videos etc if you perform a factory reset on your smartphone.
Should I remove my SIM card/microSD card before I do a factory reset?
No, you can keep your SIM card and memory card inside your device. A factory reset does not delete data on your SIM card or memory card.
Can I backup my data before I perform a factory reset?
Yes, you can and should backup your data to your Google account or manually copy it to your PC before you perform a factory reset.
Does a factory reset delete everything on phone?
A factory reset does not actually delete every single thing on your smartphone because even after a factory reset, some softwares can still recover some of the so called deleted data on your smartphone.
Those are very important questions with answers that will help you know exactly what you’re about to do.
But, there’s something I will hate myself if I don’t whisper it to you.
Here are what you need to do before you perform a factory reset on your Samsung galaxy device.
- Make sure you know the login email/username and passwords to your Google Account, Samsung account and every other account saved on your Samsung Android phone. This is very important should incase you’re locked out due to Factory Reset Protection or you need to add the accounts back to your device.
- Backup your data like pictures and contacts to your Google account or any other online service. This will help you to restore them back to your device or any other Android device that you are signed into.
- Make sure your device battery is properly charged to avoid unnecessary shutdown during the factory reset
I feel this is the right time to let the cat out of the bag.
How to Perform A Factory Reset On A Samsung Galaxy Phone | The Right Way
Like we said earlier, a factory reset does not actually wipe every single thing on your smartphone because even after a factory reset, some special computer softwares can still recover some of the deleted data on your smartphone.
Isn’t that something to worry about? Yes, It’s, because you actually did the factory reset to completely remove everything from your Samsung Galaxy phone but it doesn’t always turn out like that if your device gets into a geek’s hand.
So, here’s how to properly factory reset your Samsung Galaxy phone to completely remove all the data and restore it to its factory state.
How to Perform A Factory Reset On Your Samsung Galaxy Phone
Total Time: 1 minute
Disable FRP(Factory Reset Protection) on your Samsung phone manually
To properly perform a factory reset on your Samsung galaxy device as well as other Android phones running on Android 5.0 Lollipop and above, you should first of all disable FRP by manually removing your Google Account/Samsung account that’s signed in on your device before you perform a factory reset.
FRP was introduced by Google on from Android 5.0 Lollipop. It’s an extra layer of security that prevents you from setting up an Android phone after resetting it unless you manually enter the Google account email and password that was signed into the device before the factory reset.
If you don’t have those details, you will be locked out and this wouldn’t be a a good experience to the second party if you want to sell your phone or give it away.
Here’s how to safely un-link or remove your Google account or Samsung account from your Samsung phone :-
First of all, turn off your Samsung device screen lock by following these steps:
Go to your apps drawer.
Tap on Settings.
Scroll down and tap on Lock screen.
Tap on Screen lock type.
Enter your password, PIN or pattern as requested.
Touch Continue.
Select None.
The screen lock is now turned off.
To un-link or remove your Google/Samsung account from your Samsung phone, follow the steps below :-
Go to your apps drawer.
Tap on Settings.
Scroll down and tap on Clouds and accounts.
Tap on Accounts.
Tap on the Google Account that you want to remove.
Tap on More at the top or Remove Account and confirm it, based on Samsung galaxy device and Android version.
You can also remove your Samsung account from step 3.
The next step is necessary if you want to completely wipe your Samsung or other Android smartphone completely.
Encrypt your phone’s data.
By encrypting your phone’s data, it will by default request for a password every time you restart it so the data can be decrypted and the phone will boot up normally. This will also prevent unauthorised access to your device or its data. If your smartphone comes with Android 6.0 Marshmallow from the manufacturer/out of the box, it should be encrypted by default.
To encrypt your Samsung or any other Android phone, generally, the steps to follow are:
Go to your apps drawer.
Tap on Settings.
From the Personal section, tap Security.
From the Encryption section, tap Encrypt phone to enable or disable. A password must be set up to encrypt the phone.
Now, let’s move to the most important step.
Perform a factory reset
Factory resetting your Samsung phone will wipe everything on the phone apart from the SD card and SIM card. You are advised to backup all your important data to your Google account or a computer so you can easily restore later.
To perform a factory reset on your Samsung phone, follow the steps below :-
Go to your apps drawer.
Tap on Settings.
Search for and select Factory data reset.
Tap on Factory data reset again, and then review the information.
When you’re ready, swipe to and tap Reset.
To delete all information and downloaded apps, tap Delete all.
Alternatively,
Turn off your Samsung Galaxy device. If your device is in a bootloop, just remove and reinsert the battery or just press and hold the Power button until it turns off(non-removable battery).
Note
If you are having a bootloop, you can try wiping the cache only from recovery. Just select ‘wipe cache partition’ option and confirm your choice. If wiping the cache does not help, you can try the factory reset option.
Press and hold the Volume UP + Home + Power keys simultaneously until the screen turns up. On newer Samsung Galaxy flagships with no Home or center button, you need to hold the Volume Up + Bixby + Power keys. If your Samsung device that does not have the home (center) button or Bixby as well, you can try the Volume Up + Power key combo instead.
As soon as the screen shows the Samsung logo with your device name (and model number), release the Power button but keep holding the Volume Up and Home keys pressed until you see the recovery screen.
Use the Volume Up and Down keys to navigate and press the Power button to select the option.
Navigate to Wipe data/factory reset option and select it using the Power key.
Select Yes on the confirmation screen.
Wait for the reset to be done.
Finally, select Reboot system now to boot into the Android system.
And that’s all you need to do to effectively factory reset your Samsung phone as well as other Android powered devices. If you really want to take things further to make sure your cleared data are wiped completely, you can add a few big files to your phone’s storage and then a factory reset as described in step 3.
Nothing else is needed. With these steps, you have effectively done a complete factory data reset and your personal data would be gone for good.
Thank you for coming all the way to the end of this tutorial. Hope we get a share !