WARNING! When you factory reset a smartphone, all personal data stored on the phone’s internal memory will be deleted. This includes contacts, media files, apps, ringtones, downloaded content etc. Furthermore, all settings will be restored to factory values.

NOTE: Data stored on the SD and SIM cards will not be affected by the reset. For instructions on how to back up and restore personal data on the local storage, visit this thread.

Factory Reset via Settings:

  1. Tap “Apps” on the home screen
  2. Open “Settings”
  3. Under “Personal”, tap “Backup and reset”
  4. Optionally, enable or disable “Back up my data” and “Restore”
  5. Tap “Factory data reset” > “Reset device”
  6. In case your device is protected by a lock screen option, enter your password / PIN to proceed and tap “Continue”
  7. Tap “Delete all”

Factory Reset via Recovery (Hardware Keys):

NOTE: In case your phone crashes, freezes, is unresponsive or otherwise doesn’t allow you to reset it via Settings, you can try resetting the device from the Android System Recovery menu, which can be accessed by performing a combination of button presses.

  1. Turn off the phone if necessary
  2. Press and hold “Power”, “Home”, and “Volume Up” simultaneously
  3. At the “Samsung” logo, release “Power”
  4. When the “Android” log appears, release “Volume Up” and “Home” too
  5. Wait for the Recovery menu to appear (this may take up to 1-2 minutes)
  6. In the Android System Recovery menu, press “Volume down” repeatedly to navigate to and highlight “Wipe data / factory reset”
  7. Press “Power” to select the highlighted option
  8. Press “Volume down” to highlight “Yes – delete all user data”
  9. Press “Power” to select the option
  10. Once the phone completes the reset, “Reboot system now” will be highlighted
  11. Press “Power” one last time to reboot your device

Check for OS Updates:

NOTE: After you have factory reset your device, it’s recommended to verify if new software updates are available for download. To do this:

  1. Open the apps drawer
  2. Go to “Settings”
  3. Scroll to and tap “About device”
  4. Check if a new software update is available and if necessary, follow the on-screen steps to download and apply the update


› See More: Samsung Galaxy S7 Active: Factory Reset via Settings / Recovery; Check for OS Updates