5
If your Android smartphone is causing problems, you can reset it to factory settings. However, this will delete all internal data.
Resetting your Android smartphone to factory settings – here’s how
Before you reset your smartphone, you should always try restarting it first. This often solves various minor problems in the system. If this does not help, you can reset the phone. Please note that this will delete all your data, so you should back it up beforehand.
- The exact path to the required option may vary slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer. In any case, you must first go to your phone’s settings.
- Older Android versions: Go to Settings and tap on the menu item “Backup & reset.”
- Newer Android versions: In Settings, tap on “General management” > “Backup and restore.” Since Android 5.1, there has been a security feature called Factory Reset Protection, which prevents the device from being used after a factory reset without first entering the Google account password.
- Select “Factory data reset.” In the new window, you will see everything that will be affected by the reset. Some devices offer additional options when resetting, such as resetting network settings or deleting SD cards.
- Tap “Reset phone” and confirm. The device will then be reset and restarted.
Before resetting your Android smartphone: Back up your data
Before you reset your Android smartphone to factory settings, it is essential to perform a full data backup. This ensures that no important data is lost.
- Cloud backup: Back up photos, contacts, and documents to a cloud service such as Google Drive or Dropbox.
- Local backup: Transfer files to a computer or external storage device.
- Back up chat histories: For messaging apps such as WhatsApp, you should use the chat backup feature.
- Backing up app data: Many apps offer their own backup function or automatically synchronize data with your account.
