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 cannot be solved by other tasks or when we exchange it for another and before selling/supplying to third parties.

Just like on a Windows PC, the mere passage of time due to the use of a mobile device ends up reducing its performance, stability or securitybefore installing/uninstalling apps, drivers, failing any update of the same system or introducing any type of malware.

These malfunctions are quite clearly visible in the case of random or chronic failures, slowdowns, connection failures, and the like. There are users like the one who subscribed who regularly use it from time to time as a maintenance task in the always healthy option.

How to reset an Android phone

A factory reset will return your device to its original state and erase your photos, files, apps, and personal data from the internal storage drive. (Not from microSD if you use it). Be careful with it. First, back up anything you don’t want to lose.

There is no common method to reset an Android phone through each brand’s different interfaces, although they usually vary little and most manufacturers have the option on the same website. Let’s take a Samsung Galaxy S smartphone running Android 13 as an example. (The method works the same way for an Android tablet.) It is really easy:

• Go to Settings > General Administration.
• Select ‘Reset’.

• You will see several reset options, settings, network or accessibility, and the most comprehensive one is Factory reset.

• The system will notify you about data deletion.

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

What if Android won’t boot?

There are situations when the malfunctions are so serious that they prevent the mobile from booting and the previous option cannot be used. If the problems correspond to the software, they have a solution. For this you need to use ‘Recovery Mode’. Even here, the approach is not the same for all manufacturers and you have to use a combination of keys. We leave you with some of the main ones:

• Samsung Galaxy: Power + Volume Up
• Google Pixel: Power off + volume down
• OnePlus: Power + Volume Down
• Motorola: Power + volume down

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

• Press the power button and the volume up button at the same time.
• You will get access to Android system recovery.
• Click on ‘Wipe data/factory reset’ using the volume buttons to scroll through the list of features and confirm using the power button.

• Use the buttons again and click on ‘Factory data reset’.

• Click restart.

The terminal will start the same process we saw in the previous step and reset it to factory settings.