Monday, June 2, 2025

Reset Android Phone Easily with Simple Steps

Reset Android Phone Easily with Simple Steps

Resetting an Android phone means returning it to its factory settings, to the same state it was in when the manufacturer gave it to us when we bought it. It is a task that we will have to do when we have operational problems that we cannot solve with other tasks or when we are going to change it for another one and before selling/delivering it to third parties.

As with a Windows PC, the mere passage of time through the use of the mobile device ends up degrading its performance, stability, or security due to the installation/uninstallation of applications and drivers, failures in an update of the system itself, or the introduction of some type of malware.

These malfunctions are noticeable quite clearly in the event of random or chronic malfunctions, slowdowns, connection failures, or the like. There are users, such as the undersigned, who use it regularly from time to time as a maintenance task in an always healthy option.

How to reset an Android phone

A factory reset returns your device to its initial state, erasing your photos, files, apps, and personal information from your internal storage drive. (Not the microSD if you use one). Be careful with it. First of all, back up everything you don’t want to lose.

There is no common method to reset an Android phone through the different interfaces of each brand, although it usually varies little, and most manufacturers have the option in the same place. Let’s take a Samsung Galaxy S smartphone with Android 13 as an example. (The method works the same way for an Android tablet.) It’s very simple:

  • Go to the Settings section > General Administration.
  • Select ‘Reset.’
  • You’ll see several options for reset, settings, network, or accessibility, and the most comprehensive one, Factory Reset.
  • The system will give you the appropriate warnings of the deletion of the data.

If you are clear, go ahead. The system will reboot, and in a few minutes you will have it available in its initial state.

What if Android won’t boot?

There are situations where the failures are so serious that they prevent the phone from booting, and we cannot use the previous option. If the problems correspond to the software, they have a solution. To do this, you have to use the ‘recovery mode.’ Here too, access is not the same for all manufacturers, and you have to use a combination of keys. Here are some of the main ones:

  • Samsung Galaxy: Power + Volume Up Buttons
  • Google Pixel : Power + Volume Down
  • OnePlus : Power + Volume Down
  • Motorola : Power + Volume Down

Continuing with the Galaxy S21 tested, it is also simple as follows:

  • Press the power button and the volume up button at the same time.
  • You will access Android Recovery.
  • Tap on ‘Wipe data/factory reset’ using the volume buttons to browse the list of functions and using the power button to confirm.
  • Use the buttons again to click on ‘Factory data reset.’
  • Tap on restart.

The terminal will begin the same process we saw in the previous step by returning it to its factory settings.