How to Hard Reset an Android Phone

Is your Android Smartphone slow, freezing, not responsive, responding incorrectly, or you can’t remember the phones password? You’re in luck! There is still a pretty powerful option available, and that is to perform a hard reset, also known as an alternate reset, on the device.

Before we begin… If you are still able to access the setting on your device and navigate the phone then you might be more interested in reading How to backup and reset an Android phone, which goes through the process of doing a full backup and then performing a Factory Data Reset through the phones settings.

If you’re having problems accessing your factory data reset options through the settings then you can still perform a factory reset on your Android Smartphone and this article will show you how to do it. This is the perfect solution if you’re having problems with your touch screen, or you can’t navigate correctly on your phone. It’s also an option if you can’t get your device to power on all the way or when your phone won’t power on at all.

If you’re seeking to do a reset on your Android Smartphone then you most likely know how effective a reset can be at solving issues on phones. Through this article I am going to go over multiple ways to perform resets on your phone without actually having to navigate through the touch screen. Your phone doesn’t even need to be on in order to do it in most instances!

Make sure the device is powered off

Most of these hard resets require that your phone is completely powered off, so make sure that your phone is powered off all the way not just locked. If you’re phone isn’t responding and you can’t power off the phone with the power button, then you might need to pull the battery out, count to ten, and then put the battery back in. Just don’t power the phone back on if you have to reinsert the battery. Keep the device powered off.

Also make sure that your phone is not plugged into a charger. If the phone is plugged into a charger or if the device is not fully powered off, the reset is not going to work.

Hard reset methods and procedures may differ

Alternate resets also usually involve performing a series of key combinations which we’ll get to in a minute. The key combination you have to perform will highly depend on the specific make and model of the phone and what version of Android OS (Operating System) is currently running on the device. For example you might be able to perform a reset on a phone one way if it’s running the 2.2 (Froyo) OS, then you upgrade your phone to the 2.3 (Gingerbread) OS and the method no longer works, causing you to use a different method (I have an example of this in method 6 and 7 below). When you upgrade again to the 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) OS you might have to use a different method and different key combination to perform the same alternate reset. So just beware of this.

You might also need to attempt the reset a couple times for it to go through correctly.

Disclaimer: Remember that a reset is permanent and cannot be undone. It will erase all personal data and downloaded content on the phone, don’t worry it will not affect or erase your memory card or anything saved on your SIM card. This includes content such as pictures, ringtones, texts, apps, etc. and will usually fix software glitches, bugs, viruses, etc as well. Try if at all possible, to perform a backup first. Usually when you need to perform an alternate reset on your mobile phone you might not be able to do a backup.

Preparation for a hard reset on an Android phone

Just a minor side note, on a typical alternate reset so that you know what to expect. You’re going to power the phone off, hold a specific set of key combinations (shown below), access a fastboot/testing/recovery/etc screen, select reset, and then the phone is going to power itself off, all by itself, then it’s going to power itself back on, all by itself. This can take a few minutes, some phones can take up to 15 min to reboot (pretty uncommon though, the average phone probably takes 3-5 min). Once it reboots the phone is going to think its brand new right off the shelf. So go ahead and set it up again like you did when you first got it.

If you own an Android Smartphone manufactured by Pantech then unfortunately you cannot perform an alternative reset on your device. Pantech Smartphones currently do not have a hard reset feature; the only reset available on Pantech phones is through the settings.

Let’s start with the most common Hard Reset methods and go from there:

Note: the different types of methods are numbered, method 1, method 2, method 3, etc.

1. When the phone is powered off, press and hold the Volume Up and the Volume Down keys both at the same time, then press and hold the Power key until a test screen that shows some available options appears, usually takes about 15-20 seconds. When that screen pops up you can let go of the keys.

Press the Volume Down key to navigate down through the options until it highlights FACTORY RESET then press the Power key to select it.

2. Power the phone off all the way, press and hold the Volume Down key and press than release the Power key, still holding the volume down key for about 10-15 seconds. When you see some additional options pop up on the screen you can let go of the keys.

Press the Volume Down key to navigate down through the options until it highlights the reset option; it usually says FACTORY RESET, then press the Power key to make the selection.

3. While powered off, press and hold the Home key, while continuing to hold the home key power the device on by pressing the Power key.

Once the Android Recovery screen appears release the Home key, then while on the Android Recovery screen, press the Volume Up and Volume Down keys both at the same time.

If/when you’re on the Android System Recovery screen release all the keys, and then use the Volume down key to navigate down to the “wipe date/factory reset” option. Once it’s highlighted press the Power key to select it.

Once you see the “Confirm wipe of all user data?” Press the Volume down key to highlight “Yes—delete all user data”, then press the Power key to select it.

4. Power the device off, then press and hold the Home key and press and release the Power key (while still holding the Home key).

From the Android Recovery screen, press the Search key.

Tap to select wipe data/factory reset then select Ok (located in the lower left of the screen). Note: if screen is not responsive use the Volume keys to scroll and the Camera key to select.

Select Yes – delete all user data, and then select OK (again lower left).

Select “reboot system now” and press OK.

5. This is becoming a common hard reset method and can be used to factory reset Samsung’s more recent Galaxy smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S III, the Samsung Galaxy S4, the S5, the Samsung Galaxy Note the Note II and Note 3, etc.

With the device powered off press and hold the Volume Up key the Home key and the Power key all at the same time.

When the phone vibrates (or you see the GALAXY Logo) release the Power key but continue to hold the Volume Up and Home key.

Continue holding the Volume up and Home key until the “Android system recovery” screen appears.

Use the Volume buttons to scroll to and highlight the “wipe data/factory reset” option, and then use the Power key to make the selection.

Once the factory reset is finished you may use the Volume and Power keys to highlight and select the “Reboot system now” option and the hard reset will be complete and your cell phone will be nice and squeaky clean.

6. Here is an alternate reset for a Motorola Atrix still running on the 2.2 Android OS…

While the phones power is off, press and hold the Volume down button and press and release the power button (note: if it doesn’t work after all the steps listed try holding down the power button along with the volume down button in this first step).

A “Fastboot” screen should pop up, press the Volume down key to cycle through the choices until you get to “Android Recovery”, then press the Volume up key.

Wait for the “triangle!/Android”. Once it pops up you’ll need to tap on the bottom right corner of the screen (note: it may take a few attempts). A menu should pop up.

Tap on “wipe data/factory reset”, and then tap OK. Another confirmation screen will appear. Tap Yes and then OK.

After the data is cleared the “reboot system now” option should appear and is highlighted by Default. Tap OK.

Note: this type of reset is common on the 2.2 (Froyo) before the tech geeks wised up and removed the need to use the touch screen.

7. This reset is for the same phone, the Motorola Atrix, but one that’s running on the 2.3 OS.

Power off the phone, press and hold the Volume down button and Power button simultaneously while powering on the unit.

The “Fastboot” screen should pop up. When it does press the Volume down key to cycle through the choices until you get to “Android Recovery”, and then press the Volume up key to boot in this mode.

Wait for the “triangle!/Android” screen to pop up. Once it does press both the Volume up and Volume down keys simultaneously. A Recovery Menu should pop up.

Tap on the Volume down key until “wipe data/factory reset” is highlighted, and then tap the Power button. Another Confirmation screen will come up. Tap on the Volume down key until it highlights “Yes” and then tap the Power button to make the selection.

After it’s done make sure “reboot system now” is highlighted and then tap the Power button.

In this method you don’t have to use the touch screen any more. So let’s say your touch screen isn’t responding therefore you can’t navigate the phone or go into your settings and do a regular factory data reset. Well now on the 2.3 there is hope. Just power off the phone and perform these steps and the reset should go through.

8. Here is a hard reset for a Sharp Android Smartphone.

While the device is off, hold the Sym button (it’s located on the keyboard) and the Power button simultaneously.

Once the Android boot screen appears highlight the Wipe data/factory reset option by using the volume buttons. Then use the Return key (on the keyboard) to actually make the selection.

Scroll down to Yes – delete all user data and then press the Power key to confirm.

Once it is done select reboot system now and press the Power key to confirm and reboot your handset.

Important Note: On some Sharp models (such as the Sharp FX Plus ADS1) if holding the Sym button and Power key simultaneously doesn’t take you directly to the Android system recovery screen you might have to do one additional step. If using this hard reset key combination takes you to a screen which shows an exclamation mark within a triangle, then press the Home key (while on that exclamation mark screen) and this should take you to your Sharps Android system recovery options.

9. Here is a common method used to hard reset an LG Android smartphone. So if you need to hard reset an LG Optimus this is the hard reset key combination to try first.

After the LG phone has been powered off, press and hold the Volume Down button. While holding the Volume Down button, press and hold the Home button. While holding both the Volume Down button and Home button, press and hold the Power button.

Continue holding these three keys down simultaneously until the LG logo appears.

Once the LG Logo appears release all of the keys. This will complete the reset on many LG phones; you will be given the option to “Select your language” and can proceed with setting up your device as if you were setting up the phone for the first time.

If however, you are taken to a fastboot screen or a screen with additional options then use the Volume Down key to scroll to and highlight the wipe data/factory reset option and then press the Menu key to make the selection.

The phone might give you a confirmation screen in which you can use the Volume Down key to scroll to and highlight Yes — delete all user data and then press the Menu key to make the selection.

If you get an option to reboot system now then select that option with the Menu key. The phone will reboot, which can take a couple of minutes, and the hard reset will be complete.

10. A less common method to hard reset an Android smartphone, but the following key combination can be used to reset some cell phones including the Samsung Gio (GT-S5660).

Power the phone off, by using the power button or by removing and then reinserting the battery (when possible).

While the phone is off press and hold the Home button and the Power key at the same time (the Home key is typically the big button on the bottom center of the phone under the display/touch screen).

When the phone starts to power on and you see the phones logo you can release the power button but keep pressing the Home button until the Android system recover screen appears. Once it pops up you can release the Key(s).

Use the Volume keys to highlight the “wipe data/factory reset” option, and then use the Home key to make the selection. Scroll down using the Volume keys again until the “Yes—delete all user data” option is highlighted and then press the Home key to select that as well.

The system recover screen should pop back up and when it does make sure that “reboot system now” is highlighted and press the Home key to make the selection. The phone will restart and the hard reset will be done.

11. Another uncommon hard reset technique but similar to the one used in method #2. This process can be used to hard reset T-mobiles Prism and Prism II as well as AT&Ts Huawei Fusion (U8652).

Turn off the phone and then press and hold the Volume Up key and Power key simultaneously until the Android system recover screen appears.

Use the Volume Down key to highlight the “wipe data/factory reset” option and then use the Power button to make the selection.

Use the Volume Down key to highlight “Yes — delete all user data” and use the power key to proceed with the reset.

Once the reset is complete the phone may return to the Android system recover screen. If it does then use the Volume Down button to highlight “reboot system now” and press the Power key to confirm the action.

The phone will restart and the hard reset will be complete.

Now you know how to hard reset an Android Smartphone and the next time your touch screen stops responding, your phone freezes, your phones power cycling, you forget your password, or pretty much any reason you wouldn’t be able to perform a reset through the settings, you’ll be set.

If I have forgotten any key combos that you know of, leave the method in the comments below so that I can add it to the list. Don’t forget to check out some of our many other popular posts and don’t forget to power your phone off every couple of days and watch what applications you choose to download onto your device that way you can keep your phone healthy and efficient. Hope you enjoyed the article, have a fantastic day, and enjoy your phone.

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486 thoughts on “How to Hard Reset an Android Phone”

    1. Thank you for your help
      Thank you for your help. I am also able to reset my smartphone using this technique.

  1. My Fix for Android Phone Not Ringing
    My phone quit ringing. It would vibrate but no ring. I was preparing to do a hard reset. You have to power down your phone to do that……so I pressed the power button until the menu came up to shut down. I noticed that the sound setting was set to off.
    WAH? I have no idea how that happened….but I pressed it to turn it on. Powered off/on and the phone rings. No hard reset needed. Check that setting on your way to shutting down…..you may save yourself some effort. Good Luck

    1. Hi Angela. Do this…

      Hi Angela,

      Sorry that none of these hard reset methods worked on your LG Android. I tried to cover the most common types of hard resets for Android phones in the article BUT there are a lot of different ways to reset a phone and it depends on many factors. Sometimes there are multiple ways to reset the same phone simply running on a different version of Android.

      Try the methods mentioned on the article one more time. Sometimes phones can be stubborn and even if you’re doing it correctly the reset won’t go through on the first attempt. If you try these methods again a few more times and STILL cannot get it to go through then let me know what kind of LG Android phone you have and what Operating System or Android version that it is currently running on and ill see if I can’t find out the correct way for your specific phone.

      Don’t forget that if you can navigate your device you can perform a factory data reset through your Androids settings as well. If your phone is NOT responding and you cannot get a hard reset to go through check out I can’t fix my phone now what can I do? You can also contact LG directly. Their Technical Support and Customer Service telephone number is 1-800-793-8896 and they should be able to pull up the specific instructions in a matter of seconds.

      In any case, let me know either way. If you have any more questions don’t hesitate to ask and don’t forget to leave your type of LG phone and what its current Android Version is if you want me to try and track the reset instructions down. If LG lets you know how to hard reset and their instructions are NOT listed in the article above then come back and let us know your type of LG and the hard reset instructions and I will add it to the article.

      Thanks Angela I look forward to hearing from you.

        1. Hum… What phone do you have?

          Hi Cristin,

          I would be more than happy to help you find the right method to hard reset your cell phone. What make and model is your phone? Is it an LG phone like Angela’s (comment above)? Do you happen to know what your phones Android version is? The key combination to hard reset your cell phone might be different depending on the phones software. Did you try ALL the reset methods in the article above, making sure that the phone was off and unplugged?

          Make sure to try the hard reset on your phone a few times as sometimes phones can be a little stubborn. If your phone is an LG phone then definitely try hard reset method number “8”. 8 is a common key combo for LG Android smartphones.

          If you still have issues then let me know what kind of phone you have and I will try to track down what hard reset combination to use on your phone.

          I look forward to hearing from you.

          1. How to Hard Reset the LG L34C

            Hi Raymount,

            To hard reset the LG L34C you will need to…

            1. Turn off the phone completely.
            2. Press and hold the Power button and the Volume Down Key.
            3. When you see the LG logo release the Power key, but keep pressing and holding the Volume down button until the factory data reset screen appears.
            4. Once you see the reset screen release all of the keys.
            5. Then proceed as you would with other hard resets by using the Volume Down key to highlight the proper option and the Power key to make the selection.

            I hope that helps Raymount, if you have any other questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

          2. I also have an lgl34c…
            I also have an lgl34c but this combination does not seem to work. Instead it puts the phone into safe mode. Are there any other button combinations I can use?

          3. Can not reset my lgl34c tracfone
            Holding the volume down and power does not seem to reset my lgl34c tracfone. Is there something special I have to do for this one?

          4. LG L34C with No Screen
            The screen on my L34C isn’t working. Any way to do a hard reset without being able to see the reset screen?

    1. FTM = Field Test Mode

      The FTM (Field Test Mode) can pop up sometimes when trying to Hard Reset an Android phone.

      Don’t worry though if the FTM screen does pop up it simply means that you held the wrong key combination down when trying to perform a hard reset on the device. I don’t recommend that you mess with the FTM to much on purpose though it’s not really meant for phone users and the average person really doesn’t have any need to access this part of their phone.

      To exit out of the FTM screen you should be able to simply power the phone off, count to 30, and then power the phone back on like you normally would. If power cycling the phone doesn’t work then perform a Soft Reset by removing the battery (when possible), counting to 30, putting the battery back into the phone, putting the phone back together and then powering the phone up like normal.

      If your phone is STUCK on the FTM screen and powering the phone off and on doesn’t fix it (which it should) then check to make sure that none of the keys are stuck in the pushed in position, especially the volume keys. If you have a key that’s stuck, then the phone thinks that you are pressing that key in, and it thinks that you are trying to access this mode and of course it will not boot up normally but will boot to the FTM screen. You can push on the keys a few times just make sure that none of them are stuck in and causing problems. If you’re phone is or was having problems with its volume keys or controls and this issue started occurring then you can pretty much narrow it down to your keys being the culprit of this issue.

      I hope that helps. Thanks again for reading and if you have any more questions or would just like to leave a friendly remark then don’t hesitate to do so.

  2. android smart mobile
    pls help me i forgot my phone password and i cant Access my gmail account to recover it what should i do

    1. Forgetting a phones password is not fun

      Hi Ruben,

      Not a very fun situation to be in. Not fun at all. I cover this exact problem in “How to unlock an Android phone when its password has been forgotten” feel free to give that article a quick glance BUT as far as what you can do to access your phone again this article is where you need to be.

      Passwords exist for a reason. If there was a way to circumvent the password and get to the information on your phone then there wouldn’t be any purpose in having a password. Performing a Hard Reset on the phone might seem extreme because it causes everything to be cleared and erased from the unit but a hard reset also erases/resets the password and will allow you to at least get into the phone to use it again.

      As far as trying to recover your Gmail account I suggest you go to gmail.com tap on “Can’t access your account?” and go through the recovery process. Gmail even has an “I don’t know my username” option as well. You’ll have nothing to lose and a lot to gain if you can somehow access your original Gmail account. Don’t forget that you can try to access your Gmail through a computer before trying to access it on your phone.

      Sometimes when store representatives help a customer setup their phone for the first time they will write the Gmail account and password that they used to setup the phone on the original sales receipt, if you didn’t setup the Gmail account yourself and remember a store representative helping you then this might present a slim ray of hope. If you can find that receipt anyways, and they don’t always write that information down. It’s got to be a good sales representative. If you used an alternate email address when setting up the Gmail account check it for a confirmation message with your Gmail account info as well.

      It sounds like you already know that you can use Gmail to backup your Android smartphone and that your Gmail account can and usually does sync your contacts calendar and other information automatically and that if you hard reset and wipe your phone you can log back into your Gmail account and allow it to sync all your contacts back to your phone for you. Your Gmail account can be a real time saver when upgrading to a different phone or setting up a phone after a hard reset. In any case, if you need to setup a new Gmail account make sure to write the account and password down and put it in a safe place should you ever need it again. It can make your life so much easier.

      Thanks for reading Ruben. Have a wonderful day.

      1. lg factory reset
        thanks a million for these reset combos, I was starting to think i would have to go out and buy a new smartphone (and they ain’t cheap) but i tied number 8 and was like magic to me. thank you, thank you thank you. lol, have a great day.

  3. When I do what you said,on my
    When I do what you said,on my phone’s screen appears “Emergency Mode!!”
    What to do?

    1. Emergency Mode!! Can pop up sometimes, here is why.

      Hi Dragos

      Certain key combinations will activate the “Emergency Mode” on an Android smartphone. I’m not quite sure what type of Android phone you have but if it was a phone like the LG Optimus T (P509) and you held the Back button + Volume up key + Power button then your phones screen would turn yellow and “Emergency Mode!!” would show in the center of the screen.

      Don’t worry though this is just like the FTM (Field Test Mode) Screen that can pop up, it simply means that you tried a key combination that is meant to bring up the Emergency Mode and not the Hard Reset screen.

      The solution is the same too; you can scroll up to the FTM comment above for more information, but to exit out of Emergency Mode!! Simply power off the phone for 30 sec and then power the phone back on.

      I hope that helps Dragos, if you hit any more snags or have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask. Just make sure to provide as much information about the problem as you can and include what type of phone you have and if possible what version of the Android OS it is running on. This will help me to help you solve your issues as quickly as possible. Thanks for reading and have a great day my friend.

      1. hi when i try to hard set my
        hi when i try to hard set my mobile it says emergency mode my mobile is a lg optimus i have tryed all them things u said it still brings up the blue emergency mode screen

        1. Thank you for pointing that out.

          I updated the article and added a common hard reset method for LG Android phones.

          There are many types of LG Optimus phones but a common hard reset method seems to be performed by holding the volume down key + home key + the power key. For more information on how to accomplish a hard reset on an LG Android phone there are now more detailed instructions in the article above. Enjoy.

  4. i m using galaxy ace..2.3
    i m using galaxy ace..2.3 android…….my phone is struct on samgung loading….i tried to reset but failes…….first i clicked on wipe up data an then pressed yes…then a roboot now option comes…when i press on that its show……E failed to mount……and it restart again …….plz help…my phone is not in warrenty now…if i take it to samsung store how much will they charge….??

    1. That can be a hard issue to fix. Try removing your SD card.

      Hi Alonso

      Where you doing anything in particular when this issue started? Did you just go to use your phone and it was stuck on the Samsung logo or were you upgrading or downloading or playing on an application when it first happened?

      Sometimes getting stuck on the boot up screen can be a hard thing to fix but try all the steps mentioned at How to fix an Android phone if it is stuck on the Samsung loading screen and it should get you started in the right direction.

      Typically you will have to try this hard reset though, maybe even a few times in order to try to get this issue resolved, and unfortunately I have seen where a hard reset can fix this issue and I have seen where a hard reset will not fix this issue. The situations in which a hard reset didn’t resolve the problem than those devices usually had to be replaced.

      Good luck Alonso, Keep trying to do the Hard Reset, sometimes it will fix that issue and sometimes it won’t.

      Oh yeah, and when you are trying the reset, remove the memory card from the phone. You don’t typically see an “E failed to mount” message but your External Memory card might be what is causing the problem in this situation and not allowing the reset to finish properly.

    2. My Galaxy
      My galaxy is stuck on the green cricket screen and I am trying to reset it but it just wont work what can I do?

  5. xperia j
    i did an update with my Xperia j and i cant seem to open it up now… before it was just showing up Sony and don’t have anything on the screen and tried to do the update again and nothing was appearing… i tried to do the hard reset steps you’ve provided my phone still isn’t working… i really need help

    1. Hum… Try this.

      Hi Wena

      I might need more information to help you solve your issue… you were doing an update, and after the phone restarted from the update it loaded to a Sony screen and wouldn’t go past that point, so you tried to update the phone again with no success and now the phone doesn’t boot up at all or it is still showing the Sony logo?

      It might still be updating, and you might just have to wait patiently for a while (maybe even an hour or two) to finish what it needs to do. Sometimes Sony Xperia phones can get confused and have a hard time remembering how to turn on properly as well.

      Try the steps listed at how to fix a Sony Xperia that’s frozen or will not power on it will explain how to do a simulated battery pull, which is much like the hard reset, only it won’t erase anything from the phone. It simply forces the Xperia to power off and then back on.

      If the instructions on that page don’t seem to help, and I am hopeful that they will, then come back and let me know exactly what the phone is doing, how long it has been doing it and what troubleshooting you have already done to try and fix it (other than trying a hard reset).

    2. Sony Phones and Tablets
      Hard reset could work with vol up + power button until it powers up then leave buttons and it will go to the reset page for android, sometimes it take more than 2 or 3 times to go through.

  6. my phone won’t turn on
    my mobile can’t be turned on after I connected it to my pc. is it bcs of a virus from the laptop? then how can I fix it when the mobile itself can’t be turned on? my mobile have no memory card and the brand is CSL star neo mi363.

    1. There is Hope, Try this…

      Hi Dihaa,

      The good news is that it is highly unlikely that your phone got a virus simply by connecting it to a PC. The bad news is that when a phone wont power on the options available when it comes to troubleshooting become very limited and a Hard Reset might be your best hope in solving your problem.

      For the CSL Switch Star Neo Mi363 I believe the hard reset can be done by unplugging the phone from the charger, pressing and holding the Home button and while holding the home button press the Power button. Once the screen says “Upgrading… Please Wait…” release (stop holding) the Home button. The Recover Utility screen should pop up. When this screen appears then use the volume keys to cycle through your choices until you have the Factory Reset/Wipe Data option highlighted. I’m not sure if the volume down (-) button actually makes the selection or if it’s the power key that makes the selection so you might have to try them both to find out. Another screen will pop up asking you to confirm the reset for which you want to highlight and select YES to confirm the reset. The device should power off and once it turns itself back on your phone should be up and running once again in like new condition.

  7. back up sms/contacts when phone stuck in loop
    Hi, Thank you for the info above. My Google Nexus 1 is stuck in a start-up logo loop, and it will not reboot/recover even when wiped cache partition, have taken out SD, and taken battery out/in more times than can count. I’m starting to think after hours of surfing online that there’s no way to save all the texts and contacts before a hard reset, but I am concerned to lose all that data. My phone is no longer recognized by my Mac with a USB, or maybe I could have been able to find a way there to transfer. Do you know a way to download a program to my Mac that will be able to capture the data with wireless somehow? If you have any suggestions for saving SMS and contacts when in this jam, SO very grateful.

    1. There is hope

      Hi Colleen,

      That’s a real pickle you’re in. I know exactly what issue you are referring to; the phone will start to turn on but never actually gets past the phones logo. This issue can be difficult to fix as the phone never completely turns on so troubleshooting options are limited. I see you found the best way to try resolving the issue though which is to perform a hard reset on your device.

      Here is where the rock meets the hard place. Your Nexus won’t turn on so chances are a computer isn’t going to be able to communicate with the phone properly and you won’t be able to transfer files from your phone to your computer this includes your contacts and messages. It won’t matter if it’s a Mac or Windows computer I don’t see how the phone would be able to connect properly with this issue as the phone won’t turn on completely.

      Since you cannot access the phones settings or actually get into the phone all the way you won’t be able to backup your Androids messages through the standard methods either.

      So don’t kill the messenger here but unless you had already saved a backup copy of your messages to your SD card then you might not be able to recover them. I believe the Nexus One comes with a 4GB memory card and about 512MB of Internal memory, which isn’t all that great. In fact if you were getting memory full error messages before this issue started then low memory could be the cause of this issue.

      When it comes to phones I typically don’t recommend anything less than a 16GB external memory card, and when choosing a memory card you should also consider the SD cards class/speed, warranty, durability, etc. If you have not updated your SD card since you bought it then check out How to choose the best memory card for an Android Smartphone for some tips and features to look for when choosing the right memory card for your phone.

      Speaking of memory cards, have you tried powering your phone off, removing/replacing the memory card and then turning the phone back on? If the memory card is the culprit then this might allow the phone to boot up properly and allow you to backup the information saved on your Nexus properly.

      You can also try your memory card in another device to see if any important information is saved to it… but unless you manually saved a copy of your contacts or messages to your SD card previously then the odds of there being a copy on your memory card is slim to none.

      So as far as messages the odds of being able to save them is slim.

      Your contacts on the other hand are another story. Your Primary Gmail account often backs up your contacts online automatically. So if you hard reset your Nexus and log back into your Gmail account again your contacts should sync back to the phone automatically. Once you get your phone up and running again don’t forget to make periodic backups of your contacts, messages, pictures, music or any type of important information to your SD card (just in case something like this happens unexpectedly, you won’t have to panic about losing anything).

      I hope this helps Colleen.

      Oh and to hard reset the Nexus One all you have to do is press and hold the volume down button and while holding the volume down button press and hold the power button as well. A screen will pop up with a few options available when it does release the two keys. Use the volume down button to scroll down and highlight “Clear storage” and then use the power button to make the selection. Then confirm the reset with the volume up button. Wait patiently for the phone to reboot, re-setup the phone (remember to log into your Gmail account) and Enjoy your phone.

      Thank you for visiting the site and don’t forget to get a good memory card if you haven’t already and to periodically save your phones information to it. Phones don’t last forever unfortunately and this will keep your information safe and will also make it easier when upgrading to another phone as well. You’ll be able to simply take your memory card out of your old phone put it in your new phone, sync a few things and be ready to go.

      1. Thank you so much, James. Yes
        Thank you so much, James. Yes, phone memory and force-closing has been an issue. It was really slow starting up after I turned it off for a trip, and when it force-closed on Fri, I just turned off since seems to be only way to clear it. I can’t believe how attached I am to the one sms thread. It is like the whole 6 month relationship was mostly via text, and it is similar to letters in that way, which is why I care about it. Otherwise, as much as I need the contacts, I feel secure that they are replaceable. On many occasions I tried to move everything to the SD card, but it only allows certain things with this phone if you don’t partition it when you first format (so I hear). I am SO glad I had transferred all my photos and vids just a couple weeks ago via dropbox. That would have truly sucked. I wish I had done the messages as I would not be in this pickle. Apparently I have to let go. I did try taking the SD card in and out with no luck. I do have an app that’s supposed to help you find the phone if it is ever lost. Or saves things that way (forgetting what it’s called now). No idea if it is saving any of my data long term.

        I really appreciate your thoughtful response. Today may I get the courage to erase the past:)

        1. Your Welcome

          Your welcome Colleen,

          Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave another comment. I am glad that you had recently backed up your photos and videos, many people don’t keep backups and when their phone malfunctions they lose their information which is never a fun situation.

          In any case, thank you for visiting. I hope you recover most of your information and don’t forget that there are many applications that can backup your text messages to your SD card once you get your phone up and running again. Check out SMS Backup and Restore its one of the best applications available and its Free!

          1. James,
            James,

            So, I cleared it out yesterday. And think I should do what you suggested about a new 16GB SD card.

            All my settings, the way the clock was, the home page, getting mail… nothing is how I had set it; weird how I had come to think that is how it came to me. But very happy it works again and will slowly figure out how to configure it to be most useful now.

            When I put the old SD card back in (where most of my apps are stored), it says “no apps.” I cleared storage and reset with the SD card out. Wonder if that has anything to do with it? Or if a way to get phone to recognize all the data on it.

            There is no longer Google Play Store on my phone, only the Google factory “market” icon, so if you do have any thoughts on getting the SD card to be recognized, thanks. Otherwise, I will play with it and start to rebuild. As well as get SMS Backup and Restore for FREEE!

            Gracias,
            Colleen

          2. Hi again Colleen! Welcome back.

            Hey Colleen!

            Yeah its interesting how much we like to customize our phones isn’t it? I bet you have gone to do something instinctively and it isn’t there or it’s in a different location so you have to pause to think about it. As you said, it might take a few days to get everything how you like it but shouldn’t be that big of a deal.

            As for your Market yeah that will happen too. Just access the “Market” and it should update it back to the Play store.

            As per the SD card, 16GB should suite the average person very well. I myself prefer a 32GB as I like to store a lot of information to it and intend to use my SD card in multiple phones in the years to come.

            Just make sure to follow the suggestions in Picking the best SD card for an Android smartphone as it will help you pick the best card for your phone; but I digress.

            As far as the information on your SD card you might need to re-download the application that you had back onto your phone in order to retrieve that applications information.

            For example: if you had a game on your phone and the information for that game was stored on your memory card (which is common) then after performing a hard reset there would be little to no traces of that game on your phone any more. But if you were to access the Play Store, re-download that game, then the game might re-access the memory card, find the levels, coins, characters, etc that you had earned by playing that game and can often restore all of the games information and it will be like it was before performing the hard reset.

            The SMS Backup and Restore application is the same way. This is perfect when buying or upgrading to a new phone because you can put your memory card into that new phone, download the application again from the Play Store, import the information if you need to (many apps do it automatically) from the SD card onto the phone, and your good to go. So if you wanted to transfer your Messages from one phone to another that is how you could do it.

            Chances are the information from many of your applications are still stored on your SD card, you will just need to download the apps again from the Play Store.

            I am glad that your phone is up and running again Colleen. Just remember to watch what apps you download, watch your available storage, update your phones OS (Operating System) when possible, and make sure to Enjoy your working Google Nexus One Android smartphone.  

            I am glad I could help, thanks for taking the time to come back, yet again, and leave another comment and if you have any questions about your Android phone don’t hesitate to come back and ask. I’m always more than happy to help awesome individuals like yourself.

          3. Wow, is this the most
            Wow, is this the most thoughtful and intelligent help site out there? it is. Thanks again, James. So helpful about the apps. I also read somewhere there’s a way to partition the SD card (hack it) so it allows a lot more info to transfer over that won’t normally transfer. That is one of my problems: seeing so much memory available on my 4G sim and yet, the phone would not allow transfer. I had very few apps. Had to delete WhatsApp, Shazam, and a few other simple basics since, as you said, the phone has only like 512 MB (crazy low!) and was always telling me I was low on phone memory.

            If I get a new larger sim, but all the apps are on this one, how will I keep them once I switch? I mean, if I get the Play Store running now and it does recognize the apps I have, will they go away again once I pop in a 16 or 32G? If this is answered in the “picking an SD card for your Android,” feel free to let me know to do my homework. Have not yet given time to visit that site.

            Thanks for the awesome, generous help. I’m almost in the clear:)

          4. Be very careful if you choose to root your phone

            Thank you so much Colleen for taking the time to come back and leave such a kind comment. Yes you can Partition an SD Card for an Android phone when its low on space but I believe you will have to root the phone as well if you want it to be able to save apps to the SD card instead of the phone, meaning that you will have to sort of hack both the memory card and the phone. Be very careful and exercise caution when rooting your phone and partitioning your drive, if it is not properly it can really mess things up. Just do a lot of research about the process before actually trying it because it can break your phone and sometimes even void a phones warranty.

            I myself have yet to root a phone, as I have never seen/had the need to.  Also remember that a SIM cards main purpose is to allow your phone to communicate with your Wireless Service Provider. SIM cards can hold a limited amount of information but it’s usually restricted to the phones contacts, and most SIMs can only hold around 250 contacts. Your SIM won’t be used to save information to; it’s an SD card that you can save your data to. A 4G SIM card is different than your 4GB memory card. A 4G SIM doesn’t mean 4GB (gigabytes) of storage space, that’s a common misunderstanding, 4G is a fourth generation mobile phone communications technology standard. 4G basically represents the speed that the SIM can communicate with a wireless network.

            So you don’t want to “get a new larger SIM” you want to get a new larger SD card, and that article will guide you as to some things to look for when choosing a good SD/memory card. As far as partitioning and saving apps to an SD card, it would get a little fuzzy because if your apps were saved to your current SD card and you got a new SD card then you might be able transfer the information from one card to another through a computer. As long as you had a micro SD card reader on the computer… you might even be able to connect your phone with the SD card inside of it up to a computer using the USB connection to copy your info that way… I’m not sure. For that you might be on your own, as it would probably be mostly hit and miss.

            Just remember to be careful if you choose to root/hack your phone because if it’s not done properly then it can break the phone and you won’t be able to use it at all.

            Thanks again for the kind remarks Colleen I hope you have a Happy Halloween!

          5. Thanks again, James.
            Thanks again, James. It was a great Halloween:) I messed up with my terms. When typed 4G Sim I meant 4GSD. Right now I am just wondering why even with LookOut Mobile supposedly backing up all my contacts within the last 6 months, it seems to be missing many phone #’s from over a year ago. So many completely random emails synced up that I will over time keep deleting, but most of my people I care about, lost those #’s.

            I am not that into all the hassles of phone tech, so I’m going to guess that hacking is less likely than imagining hacking it, especially with hearing what you have to say here.
            Cheers!

            Colleen

  8. sony xperia android phone
    My daughter put my phone in a glass of water, I put it in rice and let it dry but now my touch screen doesn’t work but the other buttons do, so I can’t unlock it and it will turn on all the way if it’s on the charger. When it’s not on the charger it won’t boot past the sony logo. Will my phone benefit to try the hard reset? And will it delete anything from my phone? I really don’t want to mess up my phone or delete anything, I have important info on there.

    1. Water damage isn’t very fun, but there is hope.

      Hi Dee,

      Sorry to hear about your Xperia, things like that do happen. At least it wasn’t dropped into the toilet believe it or not that’s a pretty common cause of water damage as well. Good job with the rice. Rice is amazing at absorbing moisture. After a person’s phone is exposed to water many people instinctively want to power their phone on and use it to make sure that it’s still working this however often shorts out the phone and can cause even more damage to the phone. So if it ever happens again make sure that you follow all the steps at How to save a phone dropped in water as it can help prevent damage and decrease the likely hood of malfunctions once the phone dries. But I digress.

      Here is what you can do… since all this happened after the phone was dropped in water this is a physical/hardware issue so standard troubleshooting like performing a hard reset probably isn’t going to fix it. A hard reset is one of the best fixes for software issues but hardware problems are a whole different animal. As a hard reset does erase everything from the phone save it as a LAST resort especially if you have any “important info” on the phone that you don’t want to lose.

      You can try a simulated battery pull to see if you can get lucky, as it is a good software troubleshooting tool and can often let you fix a frozen Xperia that’s stuck on the Sony logo. Just make sure to unplug your phone from the charger first. The simulated battery pull doesn’t cause any loss of data and simply tells your Xperia to reboot.

      Once you try the simulated battery pull, if it works plug your phone into a computer and see if you can backup your phones information. Many phones will connect automatically and you won’t need your touch screen to navigate the phones files through a computer and copy what you need from your phone and then paste it onto the computer. This could help you save a lot of data from your phone.

      After you have done the simulated battery pull if your phone is still having issues (like a non responsive touch screen, or problems charging) then I recommend reading How to fix a water damaged phone. There is a chance that you can get everything up and running properly again.

      If you cannot boot up the phone all the way or navigate on the phone then there isn’t much use for it. So try those suggestions first and as a last resort you can try a hard reset, just remember that a hard reset is the last thing to try as it will erase everything from the phone.

      Good luck Dee. If you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to come back and ask.

  9. Cherry Mobile Snap
    Have you encountered this phone? Can you help me on how to do a hard reset or factory reset. The problem is too many pattern attempts then now no wifi on and no enable usb debugging. Hope you can help me a lot. Thank you in advance.

    1. Oh Snap, not yet…

      Hi Mr. J,

      Nope, I had never encountered a Cherry Mobile Snap. Truth be told, I had never even heard of Cherry Mobile before much less its Snap phone. I like that name though… Apple, BlackBerry, and Cherry Mobile. Fruit is Mother Nature’s candy and as such is awesome but when is a manufacturer going to name their company after a noble vegetable. The name of the company can be Cucumber and they can create a phone named the Slice.

      The Cucumber Slice, the advertising practically writes itself. “Want a phone that’s as cool as a Cucumber? Come get a Slice.”

      But I digress. As far as performing a hard reset on the Cherry Mobile Snap I do not believe that an alternate reset or key combination is available for that phone, at least not yet anyways. Cherry Mobile might be able to release a firmware update which will allow a hard reset outside of the phones settings eventually but after a lot of research into the Snap I couldn’t find any documentation that a key combination existed for that device.

      I do want to take a second to admit however that since the Cherry Mobile Snap is a phone released in the Philippines that it is a tad out of my expertise. I know the Android OS pretty well (which is an amazing OS) but as far as specific phones, well… the tech industry moves so fast it can be hard to keep up with it here in the States (USA) much less globally.

      I did try to locate a solution though, and stumbled on a few articles that mentioned that it might be possible to perform a hard reset through a computer for the Snap using a Cherry Mobile USB driver. I myself couldn’t verify the instructions or software needed to perform a hard reset this way but I thought that I would mention it should you have better luck searching locally.

      As usual I recommend that you use caution when downloading software, especially to your computer and when possible try to get it from a verified source not just a random website.

      Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Remember that if you are able to access the Settings on the phone you should still be able to hard reset the phone with a factory data reset which can be accessed through those settings as opposed to a series of key combinations.

    1. Yes, you can do a Hard Reset even with a broken screen

      Hard Resets or Alternate Resets can often be done to a phone even if the phone has a broken display or a malfunctioning touch screen. As long as the required keys are functioning properly then you will be good to go.

      This is yet another thing that makes the Hard Reset such a powerful tool when troubleshooting an Android cell phone.

      Let’s say the touch screen on your Samsung Galaxy S4 just stopped responding for no reason at all. Well since it’s not responsive you won’t be able to access your Apps > Settings > Accounts > Backup and reset > Factory data reset to do a hard reset that way… BUT you could perform a hard reset with the key combo mentioned in this article (I’ll list the specific S4 hard reset combo in a second because of your tuff situation).

      Now if your screen went out and it’s just a black/blue/white or a shattered screen and you can’t see anything on the display it is still possible to reset your cell phone but you will have to know each step involved in order for the hard reset to be done properly.

      Before I give you the reset instructions I want to mention AGAIN that a hard reset will erase all user data from your Samsung Galaxy S4 so if its merely a problem with your display you should try to connect your Samsung to a computer through its USB cord first to try and backup as much information as you can before the reset, as a computer shouldn’t require the use of your screen. You won’t be able to backup everything but quite a bit, so keep that in mind as it could save you allot of time later.

      If you simply want to reset your phone so that your information is off the phone when you send it in for a replacement or repair then that’s never a bad idea either.

      How to hard reset the Samsung Galaxy S4 with a broken screen.

      I suggest that you read these instructions at least once before doing the reset so you are more prepared when actually doing the hard reset.

      • Pull out the battery for 30 seconds – I am going to assume that you cannot see the screen to know if the phone is powered off or not, so remove the battery from the phone is a good way to know it will be completely off.
      • Unplug it from the charger if you have not done so already.
      • Plug the battery back in and put the phone back together.
      • Press and hold the Volume Up button and the Home button (the big button on the bottom center of the phone under the phones display).
      • While pressing the Volume Up and Home button press and hold the Power button.
      • Hold these three keys until you feel the phone vibrate and then release just the power key but keep holding the Volume Up and Home key for 15 seconds (count to 15 out loud)
      • After 15 seconds release all the keys.
      • Press the Volume Down button 3 (THREE) times – Your phone would be displaying options on the screen at this point but I’m assuming that you cannot see anything on your screen so be careful to press the volume keys the correct amount of times (3) or you might highlight the incorrect option and it won’t hard reset the phone. Just keep that in mind. If you accidently press the volume down key too many times you can press the volume up key to return, so if you accidently pressed the Volume Down key 4 (Four) times instead of 3 (Three) times you can press the Volume up button once to be on the correct choice on the screen. If you mess up just pull the battery and start over. It shouldn’t be too much of a big deal.
      • Press the Power key 1 (ONE) time.
      • Press the Volume Down button 7 (Seven) times – this will highlight the “Yes – delete all user data” option.
      • Press the power key 1 (One) time.
      • Done

      The phone will re-boot and the information that was on the phone will be cleared. Easy as pie and didn’t require the use of your screen at all.

      Enjoy

  10. huawei ascend g600
    hey if i could please get some help with my huawei? while on facebook my phone froze then turned off by itself. when i went to turn it on it wouldnt reboot, it gets to the huawei logo and sits on it for about 40sec, then vibrates and goes to a black screen and continues to flash between the logo and the black screen until the battery is removed… charging produces the same results. ‘Hard reset’ takes me to a pink screen. Would appreciate any help thanks.

    1. The dreaded boot loop

      The dreaded boot loop, I hate that issue. Not only is it extremely annoying but it’s one of those issues that has very few ways to try and troubleshoot. You managed to find your best bet though, the hard reset.

      I don’t have too much experience with Huawei phones so I cannot say for sure but I believe that the Pink screen on a Huawei Android cell phone indicates that the key combo you used on your Huawei Ascend G600 told the phone to search the SD card for update files and when booting up, the cell phone couldn’t locate/load the file properly so it stayed on the pink screen.

      Straying slightly from the topic of trying to hard reset your Android phone… If you needed to manually update your Huawei you could go to the manufactures website, download the update onto your SD card, insert the SD card back into your cell phone, press the key combo required (the one that opened the pink screen), the phone would search the SD card for the “dload” directory which would contain the “update.app” file which the phone would use to update or root the phone. Which you were not trying to do so the phone kind of just hung.

      It sounds like you might have accessed the wrong screen by holding a key combination that was intended to access the update part of your phone and not the Android system recovery.

      Were you able to access the Android system recovery utility and select the “wipe data/factory reset” option? If yes then remove your SD card from the phone (if you have one) and try to reboot the phone normally. If unsuccessful try another hard reset without the SD card.

      Like I said I’m not too familiar with Huawei phones or the Ascend G600 but it sounds like you might need to try some different key combinations to access the factory reset option.

      I did some searching for the specific hard reset combo for the Huawei Ascend G600 and I believe that it’s done by holding the Volume Up and Power key until the Huawei logo appears and then you release the power key but keep holding the Volume Up button until the Android logo appears and then let go of the volume button. When the Android system recovery screen pops up use the volume keys to highlight “wipe data/factory reset” and use the Power Key to make the selection. Then select “Yes – delete all user data” and then “reboot system now”.

      When it reboots hopefully it will restart properly and will no longer be stuck in a boot loop. If the hard reset doesn’t work or if you have problems accessing the hard reset option at all then I recommend contacting your wireless service provider or even Huawei themselves as your phone might need to be replaced.

      I hope that helps. If you have any more questions Sam, don’t hesitate to ask and I will do my best to assist you.

      1. Hey can you please help me with my Huawei?
        Hey can you help me please? I have a really messed up problem with my Huawei Prism 2. One day I turned off my WiFi on this phone and in the night when I come home to use my home internet it’s not responding to wifi connection. Its saying “turning wifi on” and it freeze there, I turned off my phone and put it back on, I try to reset my phone but it still have this problem about turning WiFi on,……I need help could u help me please?

        1. That sounds like a possible software bug…

          Hi Akeem,

          I have heard of that issue before. The Wi-Fi getting stuck at “turning on” or “turning Wi-Fi on” etc but the Wi-Fi never actually turns on like it should. This problem can happen on any type of Android phone and like other Wi-Fi problems can be very annoying.

          This is often a software bug on your phone and can usually be fixed by performing a factory data reset (or a hard reset) on the phone. I know that you mentioned that you have powered your phone off and on already, which is good as that can sometimes fix minor software bugs. You also mentioned that you tried to “reset” your phone but it’s still having issues.

          What I recommend you do is to backup and reset your phone and use the phone without any third party applications from the Play Store. Use the phone as a CLEAN install for a couple days after resetting it to rule out any serous software issues that might not be fixable and would warrant an exchange. I truly believe that a factory data reset will fix the issue though as resetting an Android phone will often fix annoying software bugs like the one you are experiencing on your Huawei Prism 2 cell phone.

          If you reset the phone and try it without any applications and it’s still getting stuck and not allowing you to connect to your home Wi-Fi then check for Software updates for your phone, and if available download and install those updates. If the phone is still having problems turning on its Wi-Fi then you might want to contact Huawei directly and let them know as this issue should be very fixable. If you cannot seem to get your Wi-Fi working properly again then you might want to look into your replacement options.

          Good luck my friend. If you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

          **UPDATE 04/24/2014** I wrote a separate article on how to troubleshoot a cell phone when its Wi-Fi refuses to turn on properly. If you are having similar issues with your cell phone then I suggest reading How to Fix an Android phone when its Wi-Fi won’t turn on for some tips and suggestions for that particular Wi-Fi issue.

      2. Pink Screen
        Thanks James, from the tips i already reset my Huawei Ascend y300. Before this i try your tips but it will appear pink color. Thanks again to post this method to reset Huawei phone.
        It is useful.

      3. cell master reboot
        Just read your posts on the Huawei cellphones. My experience with these phones, a two year experience has driven me to conclude that they are the worse phones in the market. Problems from the phones dialing random numbers at will, even internationally as it happened to us today while the phones was sitting idle on a table. Consumer cellular staff is the worse I have ever encountered, they seriously need training, not one of them ever has a near idea, their best answer is ” change the phone number”. These Huawei phones are certainly not for me. I have already had to pay a high fee for the darn thing connecting to wi-fi in the middle of the night, and worse, in the middle of no-where with no wifi closer than 30 miles.

    1. It should work…

      It should work… try the hard reset again and make sure that your MyPhone A818 Slim Duo is NOT plugged into a charger when you’re trying to reset it. The MyPhone A818 Slim Duo isn’t a very common phone here (in the USA) so I cannot say for sure but I believe that the hard reset combo for this phone is performed by making sure the cell phone is not plugged into a charger, then powering the phone off completely (if you can then remove the battery to power it off), then holding the Volume Up and Volume Down buttons and while holding both of the volume buttons you press and hold the power key. When some options pop up then let go of all the keys, navigate to the option to factory reset the phone I think it’s still going to be “wipe data/factory reset” and then make the selection with the menu key. You might not have to use the Volume Up button to hard reset this phone it might just be the Volume Down button and the power key. Like I said that’s not a very common cell phone here so I cannot say for sure.

      Oh and if you come across an option to go into a Recovery mode then do it because that is where the reset option is going to be.

      Hope that helps.

  11. xperia t wont power on.
    Xperia t wont power on. I think it is stuck in cycle mode. When connected to charger red light blinks n Sony logo appears for a sec then blank screen. Again n again. Pressing vol up n power button phone buzz n then again 2 times. No power up from phone. Pressing vol down button shows green light. Please help and thanks.

    1. You should be able to hard reset the Alcatel OT-990

      Hi Michael,

      You should be able to hard reset your Alcatel OT-990 Android smartphone with the methods above. To hard reset the Alcatel OT-990 you should be able to hold the Volume Up button and Power key while the phone is powered off and unplugged.

      If the phone is not powering on then charge the phone for a while (12-24 hours) and then try starting it normally. If there is still no response then try the hard reset again.

      If the phone is completely dead and you cannot get it to respond at all then it may have malfunctioned and you might need to look into your replacement options.

      Good luck Michael and if you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

  12. hard reset
    I am using sony xperia neo v. I upgraded ma phone 4.0 after few days my phone got hanged.I tried all the combination to hard reset my phone & nothing seems to work. could you tell me the correct method to hard reset my phone?

    1. Hum…

      Hi Sridar,

      Sorry to hear that your phone is giving you problems. Let me make sure I understand your issue properly… You upgraded your Sony Xperia Neo V to Android version 4.0 the Ice Cream Sandwich and it worked fine for a few days but then it “hanged” and I am assuming that your Xperia wont power on properly?

      First I recommend that you read how to fix a Sony Xperia that’s frozen or will not power on as you might be able to avoid the hard reset and avoid losing your phones information. Sometimes Sony Xperia phones can have issues and a simple simulated battery pull can solve those issues. So read that article first and see if a simulated battery pull mentioned in that article solves your problem.

      If you’re still having issues after reading that guide then I recommend you review How to fix an Android phone that doesn’t work right after upgrading for some advice on possible causes to your issue and of course some suggestions that can help you fix it.

      As far as a hard reset for the Sony Xperia Neo V…

      I know that there is an option to perform a factory data reset, which is a type of hard reset, through the phones settings but I do not believe that the Sony Xperia Neo V has a key combination that can be used to perform a hard reset. You might have to try Sony’s PC Companion or Sony’s Update Service to try to get your phone working properly again. If you have little success with these tools then contact Sony direct and see what they say.

      Don’t forget to come back and let me know how you ended up resolving this issue as you have peeked my interests and got me curious.

    1. Some advice for fixing a phone that’s stuck at the Samsung Logo

      Hi Eddie,

      That doesn’t usually happen. Was it stuck on the Samsung logo before you attempted the hard reset? Is that why you performed the hard reset in the first place, to try and get past the Samsung screen? Was your phone having any issues before?

      Sometimes Android phones can get stuck on their boot up screens, which is extremely annoying as you cannot use the phone because it won’t turn on all the way. The best thing to do would be to power the phone off count to 30 and then power the phone back on. If it gets stuck again then while its stuck at the Samsung screen pull out the battery, count to 30 and put the battery back in and then try to turn it on again. If it gets stuck at the Samsung logo again then let it sit for 5-15 minutes if possible to see if it can power itself on. If it’s still stuck after waiting then try another hard reset like you did before. See if an additional hard reset will knock it out of that boot loop.

      If at first you do not succeed, try, and try again. Getting stuck at the startup logo can be a tuff issue to get past so you might have to try a couple more hard resets in an attempt to fix it.

      If your cell phone wasn’t getting stuck before then it was probably just a hiccup and a second hard reset should fix it. If getting stuck at the Samsung screen was the reason why you did a hard reset in the first place and you have tried multiple hard resets in an attempt to get past that screen then plug the phone in and leave the phone on all night. If it’s still stuck then you might need to look into your exchange or replacement options as your phones boot up software might be corrupt and the phones software might need to be re-flashed to fix your problem.

      What kind of Samsung do you have and who is your wireless carrier?

      If you have tried multiple hard resets and your phone is still under warranty then you can look into filing a warranty claim as this is a software issue and would be covered. If your phone is no longer under warranty for whatever reason then you MIGHT be able to root/flash your phone yourself to get it working again. Rooting a phone is a whole other animal though, so that would be one of my last choices in trying to fix this issue. Basically it involves installing custom software onto the phone. Just be aware that rooting is typically for tech savvy and advanced smartphone users so make sure to do a lot of research before trying to root a phone as you’re modifying the phones operating system and if it isn’t done correctly it can cause some serious problems.

  13. dominic szewczyk

    Hi, when I get to the menu

    Hi, when I get to the menu pop up, there is no wipe data/ factory reset option to choose from

    1. You might need to try a different method

      Hi Dominic,

      What phone are you trying to hard reset and what does the screen that pops up actually say, if anything? It is likely that you just need to try a different hard reset key combination for your cell phone.

      Let me know if you are still having trouble and I will see what I can do to try and help.

  14. Hard reset cubot c7 android phone
    I am having trouble trying to do a hard reset on cubot c7 phone which is installed with android 2.3.9. I have tried the methods you suggest and have had no success. How ever if I hold the power button and volume down from switched off eventually I get a triangle with a exclamation mark in it and a icon like a small mobile next to it. This is displayed for about a minute and I have tried pressing all the different combinations of buttons I can think of but nothing happens until the screen flashes white and then the phone boots up to a screen asking for my pass word and username because of too many pattern attempts. Unfortunately I do not have the wifi enabled nor debugging enabled and so cannot get a connection off my PC. The only thing is to do a hard reset. Can you please help? John Patterson

  15. Phone Issues
    I have an AT&T cell phone model:z990 zte avail…. My problem is I cannot get it to turn on all the way. It will turn on to the rethink possible screen & will not go any further.. It will just keep display the screen over & over until I take the battery out to shut it off… None of these methods work for my phone & got the FTM screen on two of these… Can someone please help?!…

    1. How to hard reset the ZTE Avail (Z999)

      Hi Tiffany,

      Your phone is caught in a boot loop! I hate that issue, as it’s very annoying and can sometimes be difficult to fix. You’re in the right place though because a hard reset is going to be your best bet in fixing your phone.

      I have not done a reset on that type of phone in a while BUT I believe that the key combination to hard reset an AT&T Z990 ZTE Avail is the Volume Up button, the Menu button, and the power button. Hold these three keys until the Android recovery screen pops up and then you can let go of all the keys. Use the Volume Down button to highlight the Wipe data/factory reset option, and make the selection with your back key. Use the Volume Down key to scroll down to Yes and then press the back arrow key to make the selection. Your ZTE Avail Z999 should reboot and hopefully be back up and running properly again.

      Sometimes it can take a few minutes to reboot so be patient, and enjoy your working phone.

      1. Omeegee! Ima cry it worked :
        Omeegee! Ima cry it worked :)Your freaking awesome I would so kiss you right now lol Thanks so much!!

        1. You’re welcome

          Your welcome Tiffany, I’m glad I could help. Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment, I’ll take that instead of a kiss lol. Enjoy your ZTE Avail my friend.

  16. zte racer2
    I was backing up some apks to my laptop when my phone turned off. I unplugged it, but the charging battery pic wouldn’t go away and I couldn’t turn it back on. I pulled the battery and turned it on. this time I got stuck at the android logo. I tried vol- + home + start then vol- and vol+ together nothing happened, I tried vol- + start then vol- and vol+ together and nothing happened either. I checked for stuck keys and have tried about 10 times to restart it and nothing. your help would be sincerely appreciated.
    I’m running android 2.2.1 by the way.
    thanks in advance

  17. Factory reset does not do anything!
    I have a MMD Model K50 running Android 4.2.1 and I have tried doing a factory reset from the Settings menu. The phone goes thru the motions to “Erase Everything”. Only thing is: it doesn’t! Basically all the apps and data remain as before the Hard Reset!

    I don’t know how else to do this. The phone only has a On-Off button and a combine Volume Up-Down rocker button. The Home, Menu and Back buttons are touchscreen.

    I would appreciate your advice because somehow I am going crazy with several software apps popping up with irritating regularity asking if I want to install them which I DON’T!
    (Teebik’s trio of: Flashlight, File Manager and Compass … Aaargh!)

    1. Stubborn Apps!

      Hey Cornelius,

      Some apps can do that… the worst applications are the ones that won’t even let you manually uninstall them or give you the annoying Uninstall not successful error message.

      There are a few things that I recommend you can do.

      #1: Try manually uninstalling the application from the phone. You should be able to access your phones settings, find the Application manager, under the Downloaded tab tap on the App that you want to uninstall, and then tap Uninstall. This is the best way to get apps off your Android cell phone.

      #2: When resetting your phone if the applications are coming back then it’s probably because of your Google account trying to help you restore your information back to your phone. This is another good reason to manually uninstall applications when possible, as this is a nice feature of newer cell phones running on the latest versions of the Android OS and makes recovering from a hard reset a less painful process.

      When doing a hard reset though you can uncheck the option to “Automatic restore” and it should help as well.

      #3: I have seen factory data resets FAIL several times, where the reset was done properly but all user data remains on the phone. If you have tried to hard reset your phone and it doesn’t look like anything was erased then you might have to try to factory data reset your phone one or two more times through the phones settings. If you have no success when trying it through the settings then try an Alternative hard reset with one of the hard reset key combinations listed in the article above.

      If your applications are still on the phone after a hard reset then, reset the phone again but this time DO NOT sign into your Gmail account right away just to make sure that your apps are not syncing from your Google Account. If you skip the Gmail sign in and your phone doesn’t have any third party applications then you can narrow it down to Gmail and you can look into Gmail’s re-syncing options or maybe even create a new Gmail account all together.

  18. ZTE Racer 2
    I was backing up some apps on my laptop when my phone turned off. I didn’t think it was a problem until I noticed that the picture of the charging battery was frozen and the red light hadn’t turned on. even when I unplugged the usb cable the image of the charging battery didn’t go away. I took out the battery and restarted the phone but then it just got stuck at the android logo. I looked up the reset buttons and found two options and neither of them seems to be working. I’ve tried countless times and I’m about to give up. You’re my last hope

    1. ZTE Racer 2 stuck on logo after moving apps

      Hi Angeline,

      You’re not the first person to run into this issue. When I read your comment I was overcome with a sense of Déjà vu as another one of my readers had this exact same problem with their ZTE Racer 2 a few days ago. *(See Esther’s Comment)*

      The troubling part is that I got stumped too. I looked and looked to try and provide a solution to her issue (which I don’t usually have to do, I usually just know the solution) but I came up empty handed for that specific cell phone. I even tried to hunt down the hard reset key combination for the ZTE Racer 2 and had little success there as well.

      You do want to try to perform a hard reset if one is available but I am not sure as to the method that you would use to reset that specific phone.

      I’m not a big fan of calling and talking to a phones manufacturer but you have piqued my curiosity now that at least two of my readers are having the exact same issue. ZTE’s Service Hotline: 877-817-1759 is closed at the moment but I might just give them a call to see if they might be able to provide the instructions to hard reset their Racer 2. Or at least provide a solution to the issue short of sending the phone in for repair.

      For other brands of cell phones when a smartphone shows that it’s charging and it’s unplugged from a charger and not really charging, it can be either a software or hardware related problem. In your situation it sounds like a software problem so you certainly want to see if a hard reset or program though a PC can fix it.

      I’ll keep researching and maybe call the manufacture again to see if they can offer advice for resetting or fixing their phone. I’ll get back to you (and her) with an answer as soon as I can find one.

      As you have this phone available and are able to actually test reset combos and experiment with the phone, if you should find a solution in the meantime then come back and provide the answer. I’m sure many other people are having the same issue and would be very grateful for a working resolution to this problem.

  19. The Cherry S220 Thunder
    Got my new phone (Cherry S220 Thunder) its been two months since I bought it.
    and since then, I already format my phone twice because of too many pattern attempts,
    well, there’s no problem with that.
    what now is that I can’t use my phone now.
    last week.. it automatically shutdown and when I open it..
    it just stuck on the Logo of Thunder with a META MODE at the bottom of the screen.
    So there’s no way for hard reset ..
    I already try it so many times but not working.
    I can’t also turn it off..
    so the only way to turn it off is to remove the battery.
    thats what I always do every time I try to open my phone.

    I hope you help me. is there any application I can use for my computer
    so that when I connect my phone to computer
    it will help me to reset my phone?

  20. followed it but it doesnt work
    after i had clicked the yes delete all user this comes out
    —wiping data…
    Formatting /data…
    e:format_volume: rfs format failed on /dev/stl11
    Formatting /cache…
    Data wipe complete.

    i don’t know what this mean please help

    1. Hi Trish, try this…

      Hi Trish,

      It looks like the hard reset finished successfully for the most part, “Data wipe complete” is a good sign.

      Try power cycling your phone (powering off and then on) and see if it will boot up properly.

      If it doesn’t turn on properly then let me ask you a few questions…

      • What make and model is your phone?
      • Do you know what version of Android your phone is running on?
      • Does your phone have a removable memory card, and is it in the phone when you are resetting it? (Hard resetting a phone with an external memory is typically ok, but I am curious for this specific issue).
      • Most importantly, is your phone rooted or running on custom software by chance?

      If you are running on the software that came on the phone originally or updated your phone through the official software releases then your phone should reboot properly. If not, and you have installed custom software, than let me know as you might have to get your hands a little dirty with some more advanced software troubleshooting.

  21. cant access my sons phone as he’s forgotten the password
    Hi i have a Samsung gio GTS5660 and my son has forgotten the password and rather than throw it away I’d like to use it. I’ve tryed rebooting as above but nothing…help
    Many thanks

    1. How to hard reset the Samsung Gio (GT-S5660)

      Waste not want not is a great expression, especially when it comes to cell phones. Good job in not wanting to throw your sons phone away.

      The hard reset for the Samsung Gio is a little different compared to other reset methods for Android phones manufactured by Samsung but it is available for that make and model.

      To hard reset the Samsung Gio (GT-S5660) you’ll need to press and hold the Home button (big button on the bottom center of the phone under the display/touch screen) and the Power key (right side of phone towards the top). Like other hard resets make sure that the phone is completely off, using the power key when available or by removing and then reinserting the phones battery.

      Thanks for pointing out this phone; I am going to make sure to add this hard reset method to the list.

      Enjoy your working Samsung Gio.

      Oh and as a person who didn’t want to simply discard a perfectly good phone (awesome characteristic by the way) you might also be interested in some of these other uses for old cell phones, which include recycling, keeping the phone in your vehicle as an emergency phone, donating it to charity and much more.

      Thanks again Hayley, if you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

      1. Thankyou sooo much soo happy
        Thankyou sooo much soo happy as easy as that and i was going to discard it !!!! Thanks again one happy chappy x 😀

  22. Samsung galaxy S2 Tmobile , Auto restarting regularly
    I am using Samsung Galaxy s2 TMobile mobile from last one year, from last two weeks, it is automatically restarting , so I am unable to use it.. please advise a solution to overcome from this problem… thanks,

  23. xperia z
    Hi, i’ve tried all the above methods. The up vol. + power key doesnt get the phone to start at all. While the down power key starts it but no service menu. Its goes directly to the panel locked screen. I think up vol. Should be the one but it doesnt get the phone to start at all.

    1. Troubleshooting the Xperia Z

      Hey Jave,

      Unfortunately there is not a hard reset key combination available for the Xperia Z. If an Xperia Z gets frozen or will not power on then you can perform a Simulated Battery Pull which basically forces the phone to restart. It sounds like that is what you have been doing when attempting the hard reset. You might even be wiping the cache partition of your Xperia as well. It depends on how long you are holding the keys down.

      The Simulated battery pull is done by holding the Volume Up button and Power key for approximately 10 seconds. While holding the keys down your Xperia will vibrate a few times (one time, and then three times I believe). Once it finishes vibrating, you can release the Volume Up and Power keys and then press the Power key to turn the phone back on. It’s as easy as that.

      If you’re still having issues after trying a simulated battery pull then you can also look into giving Sony’s PC Companion a try.

      I hope this helps, if you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

    1. Cloudfone Thrill 430g stuck on its logo vs. wont power on at all

      Hi Reik,

      Does your Cloudfone Thrill 430g power on at all or is it totally dead with no signs of life? If it’s totally dead with no response at all then make sure to charge it over night and then try to power it on like you normally would. If you cannot get a response from the phone then the battery or phone itself might have malfunctioned and you might have to look into your replacement options.

      I am not sure what the key combination is to hard reset the Cloudfone Thrill 430g or even if the phone allows you to reset it outside of using the phones settings so you might have to try a few of the common methods listed in the article above and if you have no luck then you might have to go into a retail or service center location to have them take a look at your device.

  24. help me
    why does it take me to “download mode” when i press the volume and power keys at the same time.. I have an LG 4G by the way.

  25. Plz help
    HI
    My mobile is switched off now I cant on it.How to go to factory reset mode in Samsung GALAXY Grand GT-I9082. I tried you 1st four steps but no use.
    Thanks
    Chandrasekar

    1. How to hard reset the Samsung GALAXY Grand GT-I9082

      Hey Chandrasekar,

      To hard reset the Samsung GALAXY Grand GT-I9082 you hold the Volume Up button the Home key and the Power key all at the same time while the phone is completely off.

      When you see the phones logo you can let go of all the keys. The Android system recovery screen should pop up. Use the Volume Down button to highlight “wipe data/factory reset”, and then press the Power key to make the selection. You will need to confirm the hard reset on your Samsung GALAXY Grand by using the Volume Down button to highlight the “Yes – delete all user data” option and then make the selection with the phones Power button.

      The phone will reboot and the hard reset will be complete.

      Enjoy.

  26. Sony Xperia SP unlock
    Hello, I bought Sony xperia SP from O2 network, UK in Pay as you go scheme. I am not aware that even for Pay as you go mobiles have network unlock has to be done if I need to use it outside UK, and I am also not aware that I will have only limited options to unlock my mobile. Now all my chances to network unlock for my mobile are finished. Now if I do hard reset can I restore those chances number as well. Kindly please anyone help me how can I resolve this problem.

  27. Power button won’t work
    Hi, my phones power button stopped working today, it’s a Lenovo p700i. Power button won’t work and I accidentally dropped it so the battery fell out and it powered off. Now it won’t turn back on because the power button won’t work. I put it on charge and it shows it’s charging, but no way to turn it on. Please help!

  28. model..huawei U8220..
    model..huawei U8220..the phone only display android and it freezes.cant boot the menu of the cell..tried the hard reset but couldn’t work

  29. Samsung galaxy s3
    I was trying to set my galaxy s3 to factory settings and accidently pressed the reboot one and now my phone is on the Samsung logo flashing the letters blue? Is it frozen or is it just taking time to reboot?

    1. That can happen, try this to fix it

      Hi Victoria,

      It can take a few minutes for a smartphone to reboot after performing a hard reset but the process is usually pretty fast on the Galaxy S III. If you hit the wrong option and accidently chose the “reboot system now” all that option is supposed to do is force your phone to restart normally. So if it gets stuck on the Samsung logo for more than 5 minutes go ahead and pull out the battery for 30 seconds, put the battery back in, and while the phone is still off, try to perform the hard reset again.

      It should get you back up and running in no time.

      If you have any problems let me know, otherwise enjoy.

  30. Hi my phone won’t turn on.
    Hi, so when I was trying to reset my galaxy s3,i just went to the setting and put reset and it automatically started for me. But the problem is after that it just gets stuck on the page where it says Samsung and won’t start… It goes on for hours and hours if I don’t take out the battery to turn it off because the phone gets too hot afterwards. Is there any way to fix my phone? Thank you so much.

  31. Doesn’t work after triangle shows up
    When the android triangle pops up, it can’t do anything, I even tap the bottom right of my screen for so long but nothing happens 🙁 please help me,
    I have an HTM ANDROID

    1. How to Hard Reset an HTM Android phone

      Hi Emmanuel,

      Good question my friend. You’re the first person to ask me a question about an HTM phone. I am not sure what model of HTM you have but HTM phones are not very common here in the States, at least not yet, so documentation on them can be a little difficult to find. I can understand why your having problems locating the reset method for your phone as its hard to find much information about HTM phones at all much less something specific like hard reset instructions.

      If you were able to access that Android triangle screen that you mentioned then you might have a chance at finding the recovery mode (if your phone even has one). I am not sure what the reset method is on that phone but if you can get to that screen again then it might be a matter of holding a couple buttons down while on that screen instead of tapping on the display, much like the hard reset for the Motorola Atrix phone mentioned in the article above (methods numbers five and six).

      I hope that helps. If you do discover the proper hard reset method for your HTM smartphone then PLEASE let me know as I am sure that other people are looking for it as well. Good luck my friend, sorry I couldn’t be of more help but like I said HTM phones are still uncommon here and there is definitely a lack of information for those types of Android phones.

    1. You’re welcome

      You’re welcome Brecken, and thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I am glad that this guide was able to help you locate and perform a hard reset on your phone and I am even more pleased to hear that it was able to help you get your phone working properly again. Thanks again for taking the time to show your appreciation and enjoy your working smartphone.

  32. options dont show up when turning xperia z on
    when i did all of that then there was no option to factory reset or anything. it would only turn on and go to the lock screen

    1. How to hard reset the Sony Xperia Z

      Hi Stephanie Huynh,

      Another reader had difficulties with his Xperia Z as well. You can read his comment and my reply by clicking HERE.

      To sum it up though the Xperia Z doesn’t have the option to hard reset outside of the phones settings, but there is hope. Check out this article for some tips when trying to fix a Sony Xperia and make sure to read the comments as well. I’m not too sure what your exact issue is, as you mentioned that your phone is powering on and going to its lock screen, but you might have to connect your phone to a computer and use one of the programs from Sony’s website to wipe the phone completely.

  33. not switching on
    hi i have rooted my mobile n i open link2sd i freezed my home screen n also deleted now my mobile is not switching on plzzzzzz tell me wht to do n the volume key an power key is not working

    1. Rooted phones can be a little different…

      Hey Jagdish,

      Rooting and loading custom software onto a phone is a different situation all together and not really my area of expertise. When your messing with the actual OS (Operating System) of a smartphone many things can cause it not to function properly, which is why you should always use extra caution when flashing a phone yourself.

      I’ll send you some information that may help you with your problem or at least get you pointed in the right direction.

  34. Phone not working
    Sir,

    My phone is mts mtag401.
    I get a problem that on start up the options of boot menu system user data and all are coming but I’m not able to select any one and now its not opening just that page comes on start up 🙁

    Please help me.

    1. That sounds like a hardware issue

      Hi Pintu,

      It sounds like your volume key(s) are malfunctioning. Especially if the phone turns on and goes directly to that screen even though you’re not holding a hard reset key combination down. Check your volume button(s) and press them down a few times to see if they are sticking or seem to be responding incorrectly. By pressing the key(s) down a few times you might even get them into the proper place and they might start working correctly again. Then you can reboot your phone and make sure everything is working like it should. If it starts working then you won’t have to do a reset, if it’s not working but your volume keys start functioning then you will be able to select the factory reset option and hard reset your cell phone.

      It sounds like your phone thinks that you are holding the keys down and it thinks that you are trying to do the reset. If you can get your keys working like they should then you shouldn’t have any more problems.

      I hope that helps, if you cannot get them to respond or you might need to look into your repair or replacement options. Good luck Pintu, if you have any more problems or have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

  35. I performed a hard reset using method 8
    I performed a hard reset using method 8 because the touch screen on my LG T-mobile phone is not working and now the screen has come up to reset the language but I can’t do it because the touch screen still doesn’t work.

    Please can you help, What shall I do?

    1. Trying to fix a touch screen with a hard reset

      Well a hard reset can sometimes fix that issue when the problem is software related, unfortunately if you hard reset your phone and the screen is still unresponsive then it means that your touch screen itself has malfunctioned and will need to be repaired or replaced.

      50/50 chance, software or hardware, you just got unlucky my friend. Good job in trying the hard reset though, you had nothing to lose and now you know what the problem is and what needs to be done to fix it.

  36. Stuck on Screen
    When I entered in the volume down key with and tapped on the power button, the triangle android popped up and it reads underneath: Downloading, Do Not turn off target!!!!! I have done the clicking on the bottom right corner and pressed the volume up and down simultaneously but nothing has happened. It’s been at least an hr and phone still has the triangle android screen.

  37. hard reset on cherry mobile snap
    hi, I’ve been reading the thread and wasn’t able to find the answer on how to hard reset this phone. i tried to press volume and power button thing but its stuck with the warning sign, triangle with exclamation point sign and nothing happens, I just cannot see the wipe data screen. please help. phone is disabled because of too many pattern attempt.

    1. How to hard reset the Cherry Mobile Snap

      Hi Chkezel,

      You’re actually not the first person to ask me about how to hard reset a Cherry Mobile Snap. A few months ago another reader asked me about that phone as well. You can read the reply I posted for him by clicking HERE.

      To summarize my response to him though, I did some digging trying to locate a hard reset method for the Cherry Mobile Snap and was unsuccessful in finding one. I am not sure if a hard reset key combination even exists for that phone.

      Which key combination did you use to get to that “triangle with exclamation point sign”? If you can get to that screen again then while on that screen try holding the Volume Up button and Power key to see if the Android Recovery menu will pop up and allow you to recover or wipe data/factory reset your Cherry Mobile Snap.

      Hopefully that will allow you to hard reset your device. If it ends up working or if you do end up finding a hard reset method for that phone then please come back to the site and let others know each step that you used. You’re not the only one looking for instructions on how to hard reset the Cherry Mobile Snap.

      Good luck my friend, if there is anything else I can try to help you with then just let me know.

  38. Can’t find backup to gmail
    I downloaded a backup app on my LG Marquee Boost Mobile phone – It was supposed to save to my gmail account. Where can I find everything that was backed up like text messages, etc.

    Meanwhile – this phone is stuck in a hard reset menu – Was hoping not to have to do this before finding my backup file records.

    After I get this info from you – then I will need help because my phone is not working – soft touch not working – was able to get into a hard reset menu but that’s it – can’t get any of the hard keys to select options to perform a reset either – phone won’t turn off either – need to pull the battery. When I put the battery back in it goes right back to the hard reset menu.

    Thanks for your help!
    Brenda

    1. Backup and Reset the LG Marquee Boost Mobile phone

      Hi Brenda,

      Backup apps are interesting tools as they can be written to backup your information a number of ways. They can backup your information online (which might be the type of app you used as you mentioned that it may require your Gmail in order to retrieve your information), they can also backup to a memory card as well.

      Usually after a hard reset is performed you will need to log back into your Gmail account (which syncs some of your phones information for you by itself) then download the app that you originally used to backup your phone, which should allow you to access your information and allow it to restore to the phone. It probably doesn’t save your information to your Gmail account directly but it probably uses your Gmail as sort of a username/password to access your data for recovery.

      As far as finding where that app stored your information it will really depend on what app you used, if you have problems in this area then your best option will be to contact the app developer directly as they would be able to provide the best answer.

      Now for the important part – If you pull out the battery, wait for 30+ seconds, reinsert the battery, and the phone goes directly to that hard reset menu then chances are VERY high that the actual buttons on your phone are malfunctioning.

      The phone thinks that you are holding down your volume key even though you’re not. Try pressing your keys down a few times to get them to register properly and sort of get them unstuck. Pull the battery after a few minutes of messing with the keys, and see if the phone will turn on properly. If it will, then you can avoid a hard reset all together and be in great shape. So mess with your actual volume buttons and even the power key a bit to get them to respond correctly, it could save you a lot of time and trouble.

      Now if you can get your LG Marquee Boost to power on properly then I recommend backing your phone up manually so that you KNOW that your information is going to be safe if something ever happens to your device. You can read about how to backup your phone at How to backup and reset an Android phone. Just skip the reset part of course.

      Good luck Brenda and if you have any issues or any other questions then don’t hesitate to let me know and ill see what I can do to help.

  39. HTC C A320e
    Hi,I received a system update for my phone,I clicked yes to everything then when it was restarting it got stuck at the logo”quietly brilliant” making a vibrating sound like it is stuck in a loop. I have tried volume up,volume down key and power combinations getting nothing and it is frustrating. Used the combinations with my sim in and out. If I do the combinations I get a blank screen I hold no matter how long I wait when I release it goes back to the logo screen. I am at my wits end,what should I do and I am a student too. Big problem not having my phone. Thank you.

    1. You might not have to reset your HTC Desire C (A320e)

      Hi Ruvimbo,

      It sounds like it might just need more time to finish. I have seen HTC phones take hours to boot up again after choosing to update its software.

      It sounds like you have already tried a lot of the basics but you can check out How to fix an HTC phone when it’s stuck on the HTC logo for some additional tips and suggestions. A lot of things can cause an Android phone to get stuck on its startup logo but it seems to be a more common thing with HTCs when updating their software.

      If I was in your situation here is what I would do:

      • Keep the phone on.
      • If you are near a Wi-Fi that the phone remembers then try to keep the phone in range of that Wi-Fi connection (just in case your phone needs to download something it will have access to a fast internet connection).
      • Plug the phone into its charger (don’t let its battery die).
      • Wait as patiently as possible. It could take 24-48 hours for your phone to finish what it needs to do and start working correctly again.

      Good job in updating your phones software though, updates can provide much needed improvements for your device and can also provide a lot of nice features as well.

      Most Android phone updates are pretty smooth, it sounds like you just hit the unlucky lottery. Unlucky as far as updating anyways, it doesn’t sound like the phone has malfunctioned or anything too serious and I think that given a little time it should boot to its updated software and work, hopefully even better than before, and you’ll get to avoid a hard reset and also the aggravation that can come from trying to repair or replace the unit.

      Good luck, don’t forget to read that article I mentioned (especially if the phone doesn’t turn on properly after 48 hours, and if you have any more questions than just ask.

    1. Hum… is there any response at all?

      Hi Nihal Rajawat,

      Is there any response on your phone at all? When you plug your phone into a charger will it show you a charging light?

      If your phone is completely unresponsive and totally dead then it may have seriously malfunctioned and may need to be replaced.

      Here is what I would do… I would charge the phone overnight and then try to turn it on normally the next day. If there is no response I would try to get to the hard reset screen. To hard reset the Lava Iris try holding the Volume Down and the Power button until a screen with options appears. If you don’t see a reset option then look for an MMC option to select.

      If your Lava Iris just won’t respond then I recommend looking into your replacement options as the phone has likely malfunctioned.

  40. hard reset
    when I do the hard reset it say to hit the power button if I want to continue but if I don’t hit any other key so if I hit the power button to continue all that happens is a image that looks like a robot appears and nothing happens it goes through the motions but the phone is back where I started am I doing something wrong any suggestions

    1. I might need more information

      Hey David,

      I am not quite sure I understand… can you be more specific? First of all what phone are you trying to hard reset and what exactly is it doing. The more details you can provide the better I will be able to understand exactly what is happening and of course it will allow me to provide you with the best solution available.

      It sounds like you are able to get to the fastboot screen to do the hard reset (or does your cell phone only show you the robot?), is the screen after selecting the factory reset option asking you to press the power button to reboot your phone? Out of curiosity what prompted you to require a hard reset on your phone?

      Let me know David, and don’t hold back on the details. We’ll see what we can do to get your phone up and running again.

  41. how to fix my star neo mi363/s to switch it on
    what should i do with my phone mi 363/s.. After i reboot it,it doesn’t work anymore,. What to do.

    1. How to hard reset the Star Neo Mi363

      Hi Rona,

      Another reader asked about their Star Neo Mi363 a while back on this very article. Their question and my reply can be read by clicking HERE. Otherwise I might need more information about your phone and what it is doing to help you properly.

      What do you mean when you say that “it doesn’t work anymore”? Is it not responding? Not powering on all the way? No audio? Freezing? Rebooting? What exactly is the issue? Were you able to perform the hard reset and then have the phone reboot? Let me know as much information about your problem as you can so that I can better assist you.

      Thank you Rona, I look forward to your reply.

  42. Loading Screen Stuck on my android phone samsung galaxy y
    When i do the first step i wait for 30secs and nothing appear.

    1. How to Hard Reset the Samsung Galaxy Y (GT-S5360)

      Hi Mark,

      To hard reset the Samsung Galaxy Y you’ll need to press and hold the Volume Up, Home, and Power buttons all at the same time to get to the “Android system recovery” screen which will allow you to hard reset your Samsung Galaxy Y.

  43. how to make hard reset on Android CVXT-M329 phone
    Hello! I have a phone named Android from China. Version 2.3.9. Can you help me to make a hard reset on it? My doughter was using draw pattern screen lock and failed, and phone is asking about gmail account. I have a right user name and password but phone is still locked..

    1. How to Hard Reset the Cubot C7 (CVXT-M329) Android Smartphone

      Before I give you some suggestions as what you might be able to try in order to unlock your Chinavasion CVXT-M329 by Cubot I would like to point out that that Chinese device is a tad out of my expertise and the advice I am about to give you I give from an Android Operating System viewpoint and not on that specific make and model of smartphone. I would also like to state that that phone is one of the more low-cost Android smartphones available and when it comes to the electronic industry, as with many other things in life, you often get what you paid for.

      That being said here are some things that you can try when attempting to get past the pattern unlock screen on your Android Smartphone.

      Check your Google Account – I know that you have probably checked this multiple times already, but using your Google account will be the easiest and less stressful way to re-access your cell phone. Make sure that you can log into your Gmail account through a computer to verify that everything is correct, and you might even attempt to change the password for the account online through a computer, reboot the phone, and then try logging in with the updated password. Just give it a few minutes to register before trying the new password on your cell phone. If you have tried and tried with your Gmail already then the next point is where you were at when you first came to the site, trying to hard reset your cell phone.

      Hard reset – I am not sure what the hard reset key combination would be for this device or if it even has this feature so you might have to do some hit-and-miss troubleshooting in an attempt to find one that works. That being said your first goal is going to be to access a recovery/fastboot menu in order to get to a wipe data/factory reset option. On your phone I would try using the Volume Down key and the power key (make sure your phone is unplugged and powered off). This should bring up the red explanation point (just like in method 5 and method 6 in the article above).

      Once you get to this screen here is where the hit-and-miss troubleshooting comes in as it can vary from device to device or even depend on the versions of software installed on the phone (again as mentioned above). Try holding the Volume Up and Volume Down keys simultaneously, try using just the Volume Down or just the Volume Up keys, you may even have to tap on sections of the touch screen (very uncommon on newer phones, but on your particular make and model it’s hard to say). If you can get the Android Recovery menu to pop up then highlight and select the “wipe data/factory reset” option and if required the “reboot system now” option and the hard reset will be complete the phone will reboot and you will be ready to rock and roll, so enjoy your like new Cubot C7. If you cannot access a recover menu, as we are not sure if the phone even has one available, the next step would be a little more technical but would be one of the only options available, short of replacing the unit. Note: if your phone is still covered under the manufactures warranty then look into your warranty options first as this next step may void the warranty.

      Flash your phone – At this point you have exhausted all other options except one… Since your phone is still turning on you can flash your device and reload the original or a custom ROM (software) onto the phone. This will overwrite the existing OS (operating System) and allow your device to work properly again. It is a little technical so make sure that if you decide to root your phone (which may be your last hope in having a working phone, so you’ll have nothing to lose anyways) just make sure to read and understand what you are going to do before you actually do it. When you are playing with and changing how the phone actually operates you want to make sure to do things properly.

      I found a few guides online that can walk you through the process of loading the stock or custom ROM onto your device so you shouldn’t have too much trouble. Just access your favorite search engine and do a search for “How to load STOCK ROM on CUBOT C7”.

      Good luck Solvita, I hope this helps. If you do end up locating the Recovery menu and are able to perform the factory reset then PLEASE come back and post what steps you used to do so. I am sure that other people are looking for the hard reset method for this phone as well.

      This should get your phone up and running again one way or the other so enjoy your working smartphone and don’t forget to let us know how it turns out.

  44. Hard Reset
    THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I was so frustrated and having such a bad day trying to figure out how to get my phone out of FTM mode and your website was the answer. You saved me!

  45. prestigio 3540 duo hard reset
    hello. how do i make a hard reset on this phone: prestigio 3540 duo. i found a boot menu by pressing the volume up button and power button. the menu says: PCBA test. full test, UB test. KB test. item test. device calibration. test report. clear eMMC. reboot. I can navigate through this menu with the volume up and down keys but i cant select any of it. thanks

    1. How to hard reset the Prestigio MultiPhone 3540 Duo

      Hi Costin,

      It sounds like you are on the right track my friend.

      I have not had the opportunity to work with a Prestigio smartphone yet much less had a chance to perform a hard reset on one but MMC stands for Multi Media Card (often external storage) while eMMC stands for Embedded Multi Media Card which means that the memory card is embedded into the phone aka internal memory or internal phone storage. Usually Android phones don’t show a “Clear eMMC” option they show the “wipe data/factory reset”. In fact your Prestigio MultiPhone 3540 Duo is the first Android phone that I have run across that has that option, which is cool as I love discovering uncommon settings or features on Android devices. After doing some research it appears that Lenovo Android devices have similar options as well.

      Since eMMC is the internal memory on the phone I am fairly confident that selecting the “Clear eMMC” option will clear the phones internal storage on your Android smartphone and complete a hard reset.

      A quick word of caution though… before your post I had never come across that setting/option before and as such I am not sure as to how extensive the “clear” will be. If I was in your position I would consider removing the external memory card (if your phone has one) to help avoid any unwanted complications during and after the reset.

      I am not sure what issue(s) you are having with your cell phone but remember that if your smartphone powers on and if it allows you to navigate through the phones settings then performing the standard hard reset by selecting the Factory data reset option in the phones settings would likely be your best bet at resetting your phone.

      As far as actually selecting the “Clear eMMC” option I am not quite sure what button you’re going to need to press. Some common keys include the volume up/camera/menu/power key etc to make the selection.

      Thanks for leaving the comment Costin, I hope this advice helps point you in the right direction. Once you find out the key to use in order to make the selection please come back and let us know what it was, just in case someone else has the same problem. Good luck Costin and hope to hear back from you soon.

  46. I can’t reset my tablet
    Mr. James… I can’t hard reset my tablet brand: SUPER STAR model: GSSMID – 70025 made in china… power button and the volume keys doesn’t work… usb debug is not visible no wifi… and I cant remember my google account, not anymore… my tablet has ALL WINNER INSIDE… AL-A13Q8 Rev.5.0. PLEASE HELP ME…

    1. Sorry to hear about your Android

      Hello Rockfellsan,

      Sorry to hear about your tablet. If it is having issues with its hardware and the Volume and Power keys are no longer responsive and you can no longer access the device settings then your options are EXTREMELY limited. Short of taking your device into a local repair shop or sending your Android in to have it repaired you might need to consider your replacement options.

      Sorry I couldn’t give you better news it’s just I cannot think of very many options that would be possible with your current circumstances. You couldn’t hard reset with a key combo because your physical keys (power and volume keys) don’t work, it doesn’t sound like you can access the device settings to do a factory data reset so you wouldn’t be able to hard reset the device that way, and since you cannot get into the USB debugging or recovery mode rooting or flashing the device would probably be out of the question as well. I hate to say it but there might not be too much more that you can do on your end to try and fix it.

      If these issues are occurring because your tablet was exposed to moisture and has suffered water damage, which can cause the types of issues that you described in your comment, then there might be a slim ray of hope and I suggest reading How to fix a water damaged cell phone for some advice that might help with that particular situation.

      Good luck Rockfellsan, if there is anything else that I might be able to help you with just let me know.

  47. it takes too long
    Ive tried the different ways to reset the phone. What i notice is that it takes too long! Is it normal? If not, what should i do? Help me pls!!!!

    1. A hard reset is usually pretty quick

      Hi Lyka,

      It shouldn’t take an Android phone more than a few minutes to completely reset. The time it takes will vary from phone to phone depending on what make and model of phone it is and how much information is saved to the device but it shouldn’t take more than five minutes to complete a reset.

      If you can still access and navigate your phone and have tried to perform a factory data reset the good old fashion way (through the phones settings) and your cell phone seems to freeze up or doesn’t properly reset within a few minutes then I recommend you try to manually remove some of the information from the phone and try it again. There might be an application or program that’s causing it not to reset like it’s supposed to. Check your phones internal storage space as well, if it’s pretty full then that might be a contributing factor as well. Either way though manually clearing some of the content from your phone will probably allow you to reset it properly.

      Try this and if you still have any issues then leave a reply and let me know what phone you are trying to hard reset, what different methods you have used to try and hard reset, and any troubleshooting you have already tried to get it to go through properly as well as the version of Android your phone is currently running on (if possible), if its rooted or running on custom software, etc. the more information you provide the better.

      Try manually removing some applications and data from the device though as I think it might help, then make another attempt at the hard reset.

  48. Help
    I am not able to do it because there is no option to wipe out data or delete, it just list phone test and test result . What should i do?

  49. Galaxy S3 purple screen quick flicker?
    I pressed the power button (because my phone was locked) to unlock my Samsung Galaxy S3 and then a purple screen quickly appeared for like a second (it was so quick but noticeable). My S3 is running Android 4.3. I have had my S3 for 1 month and a half so far. But this rarely happens but just in case.

    Would taking the battery in and out and leaving it out for a minute fix this problem? I know it’s not too big of a deal but I get a bit worried.

    Thank you so much for your help.

    1. Trying to prevent issues on your Samsung Galaxy S3

      Hi Bobby,

      I get a little worried about that kind of stuff sometimes myself, and you’re doing the right thing as preventative maintenance is usually the one of the best solutions available for an electronic, especially when it comes to cell phones.

      The Galaxy S 3 is a good phone too; I like the Samsung Galaxy phones so much that I have convinced most of my immediate family to get them and not a single problem so far from the S3 or either of the S4s. I have the Samsung Galaxy S4 myself and I LOVE it. But that’s neither here or there, let’s talk about that interesting purple screen you saw flicker when unlocking your phone.

      As far as colored screens, especially displays that are solid colors with no warning signs or error messages, they are not too common and are not usually very fun to have as they can be hard to fix. Sometimes it can be a software problem with the phone but usually it’s the result of a hardware problem meaning that the display’s flex cable is lose or has come undone or that the display itself has become damaged or is malfunctioning which usually involves repairing or replacing the LCD screen. This is true for screens that “flicker” as well.

      If this has happened only ONE time then you shouldn’t panic yet but keep an eye out should it happen again and as always follow good phone care tips including getting into the habit of powering off your phone every once in a while (every couple of days at least, phones need their rest too), investing in a good memory card should the device ever malfunction or become damaged that way your information is safe on the SD card (just try to think if your phone malfunctioned right this second would your data be safe?), creating backups frequently, etc. Do these things and you should be just fine.

      As far as taking the battery out of the phone, aka a second level reset, that should be one of your first steps in troubleshooting for any problem that you might come across on your Android smartphone and can solve many of the common issues that your phone might experience. So it’s a good thing to know, glad to see you’re on the right track.

      Keep up the good work Bobby, I hope that helps answer your question and if you have any more questions or concerns about your Galaxy S3 then don’t hesitate to ask.

      1. Thank you for taking the time
        Thank you for taking the time to answer my question – much appreciated. I powered off my phone and took out the battery and I’ll give it a week or two to actually see if the problem has been solved. Yes, you’re right, I always turn off my phone every night – rest of my family think I am crazy for doing that.

        So does my S3’s screen need replacing, because it has happened twice? (Before I took out the battery – now that I have taken out the battery so far it hasn’t happened). Or should I give it time to see if the second-level reset has worked?

        Thank you once again!

      2. purple screen ‘flicker’ update
        It has been approx. 4 days since I did the second-level reset (taking out the battery and waiting a bit and then powering the phone again)and so far the purple screen ‘flicker’ hasn’t appeared. Do you think if the device’s wires were loose that the phone would ALWAYS flicker? Or am I just being paranoid that the phone’s cables are broken?

        Thank you, and sorry for the long reply – have a great day.

        1. Try not to worry

          Hi again Bobby,

          If it has not happened again then I would try not to worry about it. The only time you should really worry about those types of issues is when they seem to impact your use of the phone. If it goes to a purple screen and stays there and you cannot navigate or use your device then you have a problem. If the screen starts to “flicker” constantly when using the phone then you could start to worry as you don’t want your screen to go out permanently.

          Just invest in a good memory card and a good protective case (if you haven’t already done so), keep your information backed up periodically, and enjoy your phone to its full potential. If something serious does come along later on down the road then you can cross that bridge when you come to it. Otherwise enjoy it while it’s functioning properly and just be ready should something unexpected occur, then you won’t have to panic if and when it does.

          I hope that helps to put your mind a little more at ease and I hope you have a fantastic day my friend.

          1. Samsung GS3 Purple Screen (Update)

            Hello again. About a week or two ago I told you about the purple screen that appeared when pressing the power button (or menu button) to go to the lock screen so I can unlock my phone. I took out the battery and it has happened again.

            I am still under warranty but the thing is I don’t know if I should ask for a replacement because it is not a ‘big’ problem – most people wouldn’t have a problem with that, and I kind of don’t have a problem with it because it doesn’t have an effect on my S3’s performance or overall screen color, it just happens (sometimes) when I press the power button (or home button) to access the lock screen.

            What would you suggest I do? Do you personally think it is not too big of a deal? I have had my phone for about 2 months and nothing has gone wrong with it – nothing major. Just this, which I wouldn’t really call a problem but just a minor ‘error’, I don’t think it is a glitch because it has happened more than once.

            Should I just carry on using it like normal and not worry? I have taken your past advice to consideration “…When that time comes then you can cross that bridge but for now enjoy your phone to the fullest…” (Sorry if it is misquoted as I didn’t copy-paste it).

            Thank you so much for your advice. I really am grateful because to be honest I do admit it isn’t too big of a problem but I’m just ‘extra’ and like everything in perfect condition (which I do know will eventually come to an end).

            So, thank you so much again. And sorry because I know that this isn’t a serious problem. Have a great day ahead.

  50. Yellow screen and no options
    Hey, i tried to reset my andriod phone and it wouldnt come up with any options, just a yellow screen with the words “emergency mode!!” HELP WHAT DO I DO!!!!!

    1. Yellow screen that says Emergency Mode!!

      Hi Kavana,

      If your phone was stuck on the yellow “Emergency Mode!!” screen and you were not able to do anything with your device, even after powering it off and on (which usually fixes it) then I would refer you to How to fix a phone that’s stuck in emergency mode.

      Since you said that this happened after you tried to hard reset your phone though, you have nothing to panic about; it simply means that you pressed the wrong key combination when you tried to manually hard reset your cell phone. Simply powering the phone off, counting to 30, and then powering the phone back on should get it off of the “Emergency Mode!!” screen (you can also perform a second level reset by removing the battery for 30 seconds and then reinserting the battery as this should help fix it as well).

      Other readers posted similar comments if you would like to read their questions and my response to learn a little more about the “Emergency Mode!!” and also the FTM screen (Field Test Mode) which may also appear when trying to hard reset an Android phone then you can click HERE or HERE.

      I hope that helps, if you have any more issues or questions then don’t hesitate to check out some of the other comments and replies or feel free to ask. Just don’t forget to let me know what Android phone you are having problems with that way I can help you properly. Thanks for visiting the site Kavana I hope you have a fantastic day.

  51. Factory Reset Huawei P6?
    So, long story short, I couldn’t find my charger the other night and the phone was on 10%. When I woke in the morning, there was no power and so I found my charger and plugged it in. It flashed up with the battery sign and then, 20 minutes later, it was on the android logo (just the words) and it just glows. I had no idea what this meant but since then my phone won’t come on. It stays on this screen and I can’t do anything. I have tried a factory reset, but the phone just turns back on and straight back to the android logo. What does this mean and is there a different way to hard reset? Thanks!

    1. Trying to fix your Huawei Ascend P6

      Hi Becky,

      There can be a few things that can cause this to happen, one of the more unfortunate and serious causes would be that your smartphone has malfunctioned. Try not to let a lithium ion battery drain to zero, not only is it bad for the battery it can sometimes cause these types of issues, but I digress.

      How long ago did this happen? If a hard reset doesn’t fix a phone that’s getting stuck at its boot up logo then there are very few other options available that you can try to get your phone working properly again, especially if your cell phone doesn’t have a removable battery (like your Huawei Ascend P6).

      If you have tried charging it for over a day then you might want to look into some of your other options such as possible replacement and or repair options, as there won’t be to much more that you yourself can do to try and fix it. Short of trying to charge it for another day or two with your fingers crossed, trying a few more hard resets again with your fingers crossed, or I suppose since you can access the phones fastboot screen (you said you were able to try a hard reset) you could make an attempt at re-flashing your phones software yourself, which would probably fix it, but rooting or flashing a phone can be a tricky subject. If you’re not too tech savvy then warranty would most likely be your best option; if your phone is still covered of course.

  52. I have a U8652 that shows a pink screen
    I have a U8652 and when I try to use the steps a pink screen shows up than that’s it.

    1. Pink screen when trying to hard reset the Huawei U8652

      Hi Kimberly,

      Despite what many people might think, the display on an Android phone doesn’t often look pretty in pink. But don’t worry, this simply means that you tried an incorrect key combination when trying to hard reset your Huawei.

      Another reader had the same question when trying to reset their Huawei smartphone. If you would like to read his comment and my reply for more information about the pink screen that you are seeing you can read it by clicking HERE.

      If you still need to factory reset your cell phone the key combination is a little on the uncommon side but the steps used are mentioned in method #10 in the guide above.

      To basically sum up method #10 and perform a hard reset on your Huawei Fusion (U8652) you need to:

      • Power the device off.
      • Press and hold the Volume Up key and the Power key at the same time.
      • After the Huawei logo and Android Logo appear a blue setting screen should pop up on your phones display, when this happens release the Volume Up and Power keys
      • Scroll to “Wipe data/factory reset” with the Volume Down key and press the Power key to confirm the hard reset.
      • Scroll down again and highlight the “Yes – delete all user data” option and then press the Power key again to confirm the selection.
      • When its complete you may need to select the “Reboot system now” option to restart the phone and the hard reset will be complete.

       I hope that helps Kimberly, if you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

  53. Samsung galaxy q sgh-t589r
    I tried all the resets 2 or three times, the only one that did anything was the first option but it brings me to a pink screen wanting to download a custom OS volume up or cancel and restart volume down, the phone is running android 2.2.2, the touch screen wont work so I’m hoping your resets work so i dont have to buy a new phone, thanks in advance you’ve been extremely helpful to a lot of people it seems

    1. How to hard reset the Samsung Galaxy Q (SGH-t589)

      Hello Cam,

      You have a special phone my friend; it has its own unique hard reset key combination.

      Try this…

      • Turn the phone off.
      • Press and hold the letter “T” button on your phones slide out keyboard while also pressing and holding the Power key. This should let you access the phones recovery mode and from there the steps will be similar to the hard reset methods listed above.
      • Use the Volume Down key to highlight the “wipe data/factory reset” option.
      • Press the Home key to make the selection. The Home key is that big button on the bottom of your phone underneath the phones screen.
      • Use the Volume Down key to highlight the “Yes – delete all user data”.
      • Use the Home key to make the selection again.

      The phone may then take you back to that Android system recovery screen. If it does then make sure the “reboot system now” is highlighted and then press the Home key to select that option.

      Then cross your fingers and wait patiently why the phone reboots. This can take a few minutes so just let it do what it needs to in order to finish. Once it reboots, test the touch screen. Hopefully the hard reset will fix it and you will be able to use your phone again.

      Good luck Cam, I have my fingers crossed for you, and if a hard reset doesn’t seem to fix it and you love your phone and don’t want to replace it quite yet, then try taking it into a local repair shop. It may be quite affordable depending on the situation.

      Again good luck Cam, if you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

  54. When I get to the reboot screen…
    When I get to the reboot screen on my Samsung galaxy ace I cant scroll down with the volume or touch screen to select factory reset please help asap

    1. You’ll need a working volume key to hard reset this way

      You should be able to, unless your Volume Down button is malfunctioning or not responding properly. If that’s the case then try using the Volume Up button instead to highlight it. Your touch screen won’t let you highlight or select it so it has to be done with your volume controls. If your volume keys don’t work then it won’t be possible to perform a hard reset with your phones keys.

      I’m not sure what issue you are having on your Samsung Galaxy Ace but remember that if you can still turn on your phone and navigate through your phones settings then you can do a Factory Data Reset that way as well.

      Otherwise you may have to look into repairing or replacing the unit.

  55. Huawei U9200 P1
    my friend tried to guess my password 20 times and now my phone is locked, wifi and 3G are off. android debugging is disabled, i have tried all the reset combinations above twice. please help!

    1. Hard resetting the Huawei Ascend P1: Too many pattern attempts!

      Hi Jordan,

      Sorry to hear that your locked out of your own phone. Not a fun situation to be in at all.

      Often, on Android smartphones, if an unlock pattern/password is entered incorrectly five or more times an option will pop up on the bottom of the display that says “Forgot password?” or “Forgot pattern?” or something similar. This should allow the person to enter their Gmail or Google account information associated with their phone to create a new unlock pattern, just make sure to use the phones primary Gmail account first if you have multiple Gmail accounts on your phone. The primary Google account will typically be the first Gmail account setup on the phone.

      Sometimes this option isn’t available for multiple reasons though, so if you have already tried this or it’s not a viable option then you’re in the right place as a hard reset is usually your best bet.

      Huawie hard resets seem to vary from phone to phone and unfortunately I have not confirmed the exact method used to hard reset the Huawei Ascend P1 (U9200). Some common hard resets used on Huawei phones include the methods listed above, especially method #1 and method number #10.

      Is your phone rooted or running on a custom ROM? If so then the hard reset key combination might be different. If you have tried all of hard reset key combinations listed above (especially #1) and have been unsuccessful in accessing your Androids system recovery screen then I suppose you could look into using a tool like CWM (ClockworkMod Recovery).

      A simple Google search can help provide you with a better understanding of the ClockworkMod as it’s a very popular tool among Android enthusiasts, but in essence it can be used to replace your phones stock recovery which will allow you to hard reset your phone; as well as allow you to perform many other maintenance tasks on your cell phone.

  56. lg phone
    I have a virgin moble phone and its lg but when i press the power button it just shows the lg logo and then turns back off PLEASE HELP ASAP!!!!!

    1. Your LG phone is caught in the dreaded boot loop

      Hi Princess,

      What LG phone from Virgin Mobile are you having this problem on? This issue can happen on any Android smartphone but the reason as to why it is happening can vary depending on the situation.

      Usually a hard reset is one of the best places to start though so you’re in the right place. Which hard reset key combinations (listed above) have you tried in order to factory reset your LG phone? Were you able to access the Android system recovery screen? Did this happen to your phone while you were using it? Were you doing something specific when it happened? Did this happen after trying to update your phones software?

      The more information that you can provide the better, as more details should help to pinpoint the exact cause of the issue which will allow me to provide you with the best possible answer for your LG smartphone.

      If you would like you can also review some of the suggestions listed HERE and HERE on how to solve that issue on other brands of Android smartphones.

  57. my phone freezes with xolo logo while starting up
    hello, i have a xolo q1000s. the phone freezes when the logo of xolo appears and nothing works. i have done factory reset from the android recovery screen, but still it is the same as before. please help…….

  58. Joyce Richardson

    Phone won’t show home screen
    My android Lg won’t show anything but the highlighted “ANDROID” logo in lights. It won’t go off unless the battery is removed and i can’t get it to do anything at all. Help!

  59. phone wont select
    So, I’m at the part where I need to select the factory reset , & to select it, I’ve tried the power key & the home. But it won’t select it. When I hit the home key, it makes everything go away then it just shows the triangle with the yellow ! When I tap home again it appears. How can I select? I have an android.

    1. It depends on what Android phone you are trying to hard reset

      Hi Becca Shaffer,

      The method that you use to actually select the factory reset option will depend on the make and model of phone that you are trying to hard reset. Sometimes it’s the Volume Up key, sometimes it’s the Power key, sometimes it’s the Home key, sometimes you have to tap on the touch screen in a certain location (extremely uncommon) and sometimes it’s even a key on the keyboard (if your phone has a slide out keyboard that is), so without knowing the exact Android phone that you are trying to reset it’s impossible for me to say for sure…

      Some phones don’t even have an alternate reset method… On some phones the process changes depending on what version of Android the phone is operating on… If you are still looking for the answer let me know what make and model of phone that you are trying to reset (Example: Samsung Galaxy S4) and I will see what I can do to try and help.

  60. Sharp SH530u
    I forgot my pattern lock so i have to reset my android phone, how will i be able to reset it? Please help me… My phone is Sharp SH530u.

    Thank you very much…

    1. Did you try hard reset method number 7?

      Hello Gerald,

      What reset combination(s) have you tried already? Did you make sure to try hard reset method number 7 in the article above? Method number 7 is a common alternate reset used for many types of Android smartphones manufactured by Sharp and involves holding the Sym button and Power key to access the recovery screen.

      I hope that helps. If you still have issues then contact Sharp directly as the hard reset pattern may differ for the Sharp SH530u.

  61. I cannot get to the screen
    I cannot get to the screen that shows the options,when i press the buttons,I’m stuck on the sony logo

  62. Huawei U8800
    So i have my Huawei U800 but i had a custom rom for U800pro. I ended up not liking it and wanted to get rid of it. I had forgot to back up my Android 2,2 and all the hard resets didnt get rid of the custom rom. I want to get my old one back plz help me
    thank you, James

    1. Yeah that’s one of the few things a Hard Reset won’t resolve

      Hi Nader,

      A hard reset won’t touch an Androids OS (Operating System). For example if you purchased a phone that was running on Android 4.0 the Ice Cream Sandwich and upgraded your phones software to Android 4.2 Jelly Bean then needed to perform a hard reset, after the reset the phone would still be running on Android 4.2 and wouldn’t go back to the original Android 4.0.

      In your particular situation you will need to flash another custom ROM, even the original ROM if available, in order to remove the ROM that is currently installed on your phone.

  63. Huawei Ascend P2
    Power off.
    Press and hold power button until phone responds.
    Immediately press and hold volume up key until recovery menu appears.
    Navigate with vol up/down. Power key to enter.

    1. Hard Reset method for the Huawei Ascend P2

      Thank you for taking the time to let us know the hard reset combination used for the Huawei Ascend P2. By confirming the hard reset method you can certainly save someone else a lot of guesswork, so thanks again. Keep up the good work my friend.

  64. Samsung Salaxy S3
    Hi James,

    It seems like you’ve been able to help so many people with your great advice. I’m hopeful that you will know a solution to my problem as well.

    So I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 from T-Mobile that started turning off after an update. One day it turned off and I was never able to turn in on again. When I press the power button, it vibrates, the Samsung logo appears, but then the screen becomes black and nothing else happens. I already got a replacement phone, and I’m about to send this broken one back to T-Mobile, but I would like to wipe it before sending it. I tried all of our factory reset methods. I got to a point where the Samsung logo comes up for a second, but then the phone just shuts off.

    Any advice?
    Thanks!

    1. How to hard reset T-Mobiles Samsung Galaxy S 3

      Hi Staci,

      To hard reset T-Mobiles Samsung Galaxy S 3 you can use the Volume Up key the Home key and the Power key.

      I just noticed that I don’t include that reset combo on the list so I will make sure to add it.

      You will need to hold these three keys until your phone vibrates, once it vibrates release just the power key and keep holding the Volume Up and Home keys until the “Android system recovery” screen appears. You’ll use the volume keys to highlight the “wipe data/factory reset” option and then the power key to make the selection. Once the reset is done highlight and select the “Reboot system now” option and your phone will be squeaky clean.

      If your phone will not boot to the Recovery screen then I wouldn’t worry about wiping your phone too much. If you’re sending it in for repair, and the only issue is that it’s not powering on properly after an update, then they are going to end up re-flashing the OS anyways and all your information is going to get wiped with the latest version of software for T-Mobiles Samsung Galaxy S3. Your issue is one of the easier issues to fix as they won’t have to replace any parts on the phone. They’ll probably just plug it in, reload the software, do a quick test, and send it out to replace another malfunctioning S3 as a refurbished unit. But I digress.

      I hope that helps Staci, thank you for visiting the site and if you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

  65. Blu Life One X
    When I try the factory reset through the phone (Setting >….>Factory Reset), it gives the warning message then power off automatically and power back on. But nothing is reset. I still have my email account, calendar… etc. I did it many times. How can I reset it to its original factory default? Thanks.

  66. Kyocera rise stoped working cant access nothing
    I am having the same problem as angela and james, I have done a lot a research the past week trying to figure this out, my Kyocera rise will turn on and make it as far as the lock screen, I can do the unlock code but then goes right back to the lock screen and shows a message, sorry unfortunately process com android has stopped working, this happened right after trying to send my pictures to my memory card from an app that I had downloaded to do so. The photos never transferred over either. No biggy, sometimes it wont even make it to the lock screen and just stays on the android word sign flashing but still I want to use my phone due to just having put mins on it. Any suggestions, I rather not have to call my virgin mobile company if I do ill just go buy another phone and switch number to that phone, please contact me here and or by email thank you so much. If there is anyway to download something onto a memory card or onto phone from comp let me know.

    1. Getting your Kyocera Rise to start properly

      Hi Jessica,

      Sounds like a software issue, a bad app most likely. Maybe even the one that you downloaded to help you transfer your pictures from your phone to an SD card.

      The first thing that I recommend you try is to start your phone in the Safe Mode. Safe Mode allows your phone to boot up without loading any third party apps and if it is a bad app that is causing the phone not to start properly (which I think it is the reason) then you can boot up your phone into Safe Mode the App won’t run, it won’t conflict or cause issues with your Android OS, and it should allow the phone to boot up correctly.

      Once your Kyocera Rise turns on properly you will want to remove that troublesome application, so you’ll want to access the Settings and find your Application manager, find the application that you downloaded to help you transfer your pictures, tap on it, and then Uninstall it.

      Restart your phone and see if it starts up properly.

      As far as moving your pictures from your phone onto your memory card… I’m not too familiar with the file manager on the Kyocera Rise… if there even is one…

      Check out how to move pictures and videos from an Android phone onto its memory card and then check the “other” option. You probably downloaded a type of file manager application before but ASTRO file manager seems to be a good user friendly app to help move files around. You can read about using the ASTRO file manager at Saving pictures from an Android Phone to a Memory Card using ASTRO File Manager (it’s actually the same guide as the previous link). The steps you take are going to depend on the device itself as far as where your files and folders are stored but it should get you pointed in the right direction.

      Through a computer works too, all you need to do is Copy the files from where they are currently located and then Paste them to where you want them to be stored. I had an issue transferring a large amount of music through my phone onto my SD card once but I was able to resolve that by plugging the memory card into the computer directly and then copying the files from my computer to the SD card and then I just plugged the memory card back into my phone and it didn’t have a problem.

      Oh yeah, I know that Virgin Mobile’s Kyocera Rise has the Safe Mode feature but I am not 100% sure on how to access it on that phone. Accessing Safe Mode is very similar to accessing the Android System Recovery screen (as described in the hard reset guide above) the phone needs to be off, you hold a certain key combination down and the phone boots up into Safe mode.

      If I was to make an educated guess I would suggest trying the Volume Down key and the power key, it might even be the Power and Volume Up and Down buttons, I am not sure for the Kyocera Rise so you might have to try a few different key combinations until you find it.

      I hope that helps Jessica, if you have any more questions don’t hesitate to ask.

  67. my samsung galaxy note 1 stuck on samsung logos
    Hi, my samsung galaxy note 1 turned off while I was using the Internet by itself. I tried turning on but it wont pass the samsung logos. What should I do? I took it to fix it but they said the mother board is bad is that true? PLEASE HELP ME.

  68. it got worse
    i forgot my phone’s password and tried to do the first step which is pressing the volume up/down simultaneously then pressing the power button. after a few seconds, a picture of the android icon appeared and above it is a big exclamation mark inside a triangle.
    dunno what to do now. tried pressing the buttons again but seems like it got stuck there. even the power on is no longer working.
    i dont know if i followed the step incorrectly or what.. help pleaseeeeeee…

    1. Don’t Panic

      Don’t panic, you’re on the right track. What phone are you trying to perform a hard reset on? This Android lying down with an exclamation mark over it usually pops up on the Android system recovery screen but on some phones you may need to do an extra step actually get to the system recovery tool and see the option to “wipe data/factory reset”.

      So let me know what phone you have and if possible what version of Android is currently installed on it and I will see what I can do to help you get to the recovery screen.

  69. xperia T
    Am trying to resolve issues without sending off.

    Saturday night my fone was working fine and sat on bedside cabinet. Sunday morning, thinking my batt had died over night, i got up an placed on charge. 2-3 hrs later (after bacon & coffee) i checked fone, powered on an waited for boot up. I got as far as the memory decryption code screen an it froze.. Eventually it reset but was stuck in a loop, powering up to {mostly} the Sony screen and failing.or freezing.

    I have tried pc companion update process, hard reset [via power & volume buttons]
    sd & sim removed and currently considering seeing if my size14 boots can “fix it”

    Any suggestions would be appreciated

    ta

    1. Trying to fix your Sony Xperia T

      Hi Joe,

      An interesting issue, not unheard of though, and as you know already it can be a hard problem to fix. Good description in your comment by the way you mentioned the make and model of phone, what the issue was, what the phone was doing when this happened, and the troubleshooting that you have already tried to resolve the issue yourself. So thank you these details take a lot of the guesswork out of trying to find the best resolution to fix the issue.

       It sounds like you have actually done most of the troubleshooting that you can do already. Good job in removing the SD card and SIM cards by the way as I have seen an SD card cause these types of problems before and you mentioned that this issue occurred around the “memory decryption code screen” so good job all around.

      Ok so the hard reset is no go, it doesn’t sound like a simulated battery pull would help as the phone is trying to boot up but is failing to do so.

      Since your phone is still trying to powering on and isn’t completely dead there is still some hope, try Sony’s Flash Tool (or other flashing methods). The Xperia T is listed under the supported phones and this issue does sound like more of a software issue then a hardware issue so flashing the phone will likely resolve the issue (fingers crossed).

      I have yet to see the size 14 boot(s) trick work in solving an issue on a cell phone BUT it sure could make you feel good temporarily and if you get to that point you might as well try the brick wall as well. I am sure that whoever came up with the term “Bricked” in relationship to a cell phone had a Brick Wall in mind somewhere. Before trying those two methods remember that if your phone is less than a year old and if it has no physical or liquid damage this type of problem should be covered under the manufactures warranty and you should certainly try to file a warranty claim instead.

      Good luck my friend, you got me thinking about bacon now so I am off to cook some up and enjoy some bacon and eggs. Mmmmmm bacon….

      Don’t forget to come back and let me know the final outcome; I look forward to your reply.

  70. I have the Wiko Darkfull and
    I have the Wiko Darkfull and a completeley black screen, it ist brightened and reacting on touching, but keeps black (with backlight) but none of those worked, i tried it at least twice on each one.

    please, can you help me?

    1. Sounds like a problem with the display

      Hi Canib,

      I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it sounds like the actual display screen has malfunctioned. It sounds like your phones turning on like it should, it sounds like the touch screen is still working properly as your cell phone still recognizes and is reacting to your touch, but the screen remains black. You will probably need to replace the LCD screen in order to get your phone up and running properly again.

      You’re probably performing the hard reset key combination correctly and you’re probably even pulling up the Android system recovery screen but you just can’t see it because of the bad display.

      Sorry to hear about your display my friend. This issue should be covered under the warranty, defective equipment including a faulty LCD display screen, should certainly be a warrantable issue. Unless of course the phone is damaged in which case it would no longer be covered by the manufacturer and if that is the case a replacement screen shouldn’t be too costly and you can either take your phone in for repair or replace it yourself.

      Good luck my friend, I hope that helps.

      1. Thanks for your answer.
        Thanks for your answer. It’s still got warranty so thats no problem. I’ll claim a repair tomorrow.

        1. You’re welcome

          I am glad to hear that your phone is still covered under the manufactures warranty; it should make things a little easier on you. Since your phone is still booting up there is a good chance that you can save a lot of your phones information to a computer which might be a good idea as well, especially if you have a lot of pictures or other media files you wouldn’t want to lose.

          Thanks for coming back to the site and updating us on your Wiko Darkfull Canib. If you ever have any more questions about your smartphone(s) don’t hesitate to come back to the site and ask.

  71. mike de mesa jr

    Hard reset and cache wipe and boot
    Good day to all! I follow all the instruction that you said for hard reset. It works after several attemps. My problem now is after i reboot. The phone hang on the logo. How much time does it take to reboot after hard reset? I let it on that logo for more than 30mins. but nothing happen and repeat the whole process again. I have MyPhone 848i Duo Android ICS. Will i need to bring it to the service center or do i still have a chance to fix it myself. thank you. I like your site it explained well how to trouble shoot the smart phones.

    1. Trying to fix a MyPhone A848i Duo that’s stuck on its logo

      Hi Mike,

      That issue can be very hard to fix sometimes Mike. If you don’t mind me asking… what were you doing on your smartphone when this happened? Is your phone running on its original software or has any custom software been installed?

      Try the hard reset a couple more times and cross your fingers, if a hard reset doesn’t fix the issue then it’s likely to be a serious software problem and the software will probably need to be reloaded onto the phone.

      You can Flash or root the phone yourself but it can be a little technical so… something to consider. Some “service centers” have the machine that can re-flash a phone but most authorized retailers or corporate stores don’t; it usually has to be a special location in order to do it. It’s likely that if you took the phone to the service center they would offer to replace the phone with a refurbished unit or suggest that you try and file a warranty claim with the manufacture. If you send it into the manufacture they can re-flash it for you. In fact if you were to file a warranty claim that’s probably exactly what they would do then just send it back to you.

      If you do some searching online you can probably find some good step-by-step guides on how to flash your phone yourself which I’m pretty confident would help resolve the issue.

      I hope that helps point you in the right direction Mike. Thanks for visiting the site and if there is anything else I can try and help you with just let me know.

      Oh yeah and HAPPY EASTER.

      1. mike de mesa jr

        thank you and rooting question
        Thank you for the reply sir James, My phone is still on it’s original software and has not been rooted, sir. I remember it hang on while I am trying to restart my wifi connection. Then it hang, I wait for about 10 mins I think. But still it’s not connecting. I press the home, button. But it’s not responding also. That’s the time I decided to remove the battery then switch it on again. Then it hang on the logo. I keep waiting but still nothing happen.

        Sir, I know about computer repair but with android just new on this one. I also read lots of articles about androids just this few days. Because of what happen to my phone. Can I ask you again a question if you don’t mind. With the condition of my phone that i need to have a software reset. Can it be fix by rooting and if ever I make a mistake on doing it. Can it be re-done again. Thank you very much again. You site gives me alot of ideas about androids problem.

        Happy Easter Sir James

        1. Rooting and flashing your cell phone

          Hi again Mike

          Thanks for the detailed reply. It doesn’t sound like you did anything wrong that would cause this to happen. Sometimes when unlocking a phone or customizing its software these things can happen. For example if you were trying to unlock the phones bootloader and this suddenly happened then it would make perfect since the bootloader tells the phone how to power on correctly. If something went wrong while unlocking it and the bootloader is no longer working correctly then it might not tell the phone how to turn on properly and it could get stuck on its startup logo. So that’s why I asked, just trying to narrow down the possible causes a bit.

          You did everything right though, your phone froze (probably little to no fault of your own), you couldn’t get it to respond so you performed a soft reset by removing the battery and turning it back on. If that happened to me and I couldn’t get it to power cycle by pressing and holding the power key, then I would have done the same thing. So good job.

          Then your phone got stuck at the logo so you probably restarted it again a few times trying to get it to turn on properly, it didn’t, so you did a software reset by factory resetting your cell phone using one of the hard reset methods listed in the article above.

          The hard reset can sometimes fix this issue because a hard reset removes all user data from the phone and if something found its way onto the phone that’s causing problems the reset would remove whatever that “something” was and in essence allow the phone to start up properly again.

          You did a great job troubleshooting and those steps will often fix this problem, at this point I typically refer people to look into their warranty or replacement options when available. Since this isn’t always available and their phone is still functional to some degree it means that there is still hope in fixing their cell phone themselves so I mention the option of putting their phone back to a clean slate by reloading their phones software or in essence reinstalling the phones OS (Operating System).

          If you were doing this to a computer it would be the equivalent of flashing it from Windows 7 to Windows 8, or you could just install the stock software and flash it from Windows 7 to Windows 7 basically just reinstalling the software and replacing the original defective one with a clean new and working one… In your case it would be replacing your currently malfunctioning Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich for the MyPhone A848i Duo with a clean and working Android 4.0.4 Ice Cream Sandwich for the MyPhone A848i Duo. Or if you chose you could install a custom or different version of software instead of the original stock installation.

          Now as far as rooting… yes you’ll have to root your phone in order to flash new software or a new OS to it. Rooting basically gives you “Superuser” access which is much like being an “Administrator” on a PC. It means that you can make changes to the phones files, settings, or in this case its software.

          Android phones are awesome as far as their software because it can be difficult (not impossible but difficult) to completely BRICK the phone and break the software entirely. So to answer your question as far as making a mistake, yes – you should take caution when rooting and flashing etc but if you do mess up then in the majority of cases you can start all over from the beginning and re-do it or try something different.

          I hope that answers some of your questions Mike, if you have any more questions or run into any problems then don’t hesitate to let me know and I’ll see what I can do to try and help you.

          1. mike de mesa jr

            Thank you so much! A well explained answer
            Good Day again Sir James, Thank you so much. Things I need to know are clear now. I will read more and work on it when I get home. It is still under Warranty. But I want to explore sometimes. Thank you again SIR JAMES.

          2. Your welcome Mike

            Good to know that your phone is still under warranty; I think that filing a warranty claim might be one of the better options available in your particular situation. Thanks for visiting the site again Mike and if you have any more questions about your cell phone then don’t hesitate to stop by again and ask.

  72. Back Again
    Hi my phone one day just went black it charges & all but wont turn on.. Is there a magic solution you have for me like last time 🙂 My phone is a Sony Xperia

    1. Welcome back

      Hi Tiffany welcome back to the site. As a talented magician I do often have something up my sleeves when the occasion calls for it.

      I have seen that type of thing happen before on Sony Xperias, and it is actually more common than you might think. A Simulated Battery Pull can work like Magic in this type of situation and I think it can help make your problem disappear.

      Try it and let me know Tiffany, if you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

  73. Melion M Kleimann

    HELP!!
    Okay, so James I see that you’ve been helping a lot of these people out, but I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t know how to fix my problem. lol. So, I’ve got an Android, right? The brand is Inkk (its one of those home-based brands, I really don’t know much about. BTW, Im from Fiji, located right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean). The version I don’t know but Im pretty sure this phone is that cheap shot type, it doesnt even have a good camera. Ok, so I got locked out because my cousin configured it to his Gmail account & now the problem is, I cant reboot. There isn’t option on reboot. There’s only a “Full Phone Test” option, a “view phone test result”, “item test”, “BT EVT”, and a “ctp calibrate” option. I’ve tried each one and none of them seem to be the reboot option. A little help?

    1. An Inkk from Fiji…

      Hi Melion,

      Your right my friend, that cell phone is just a tad outside of my domain and a little beyond my expertise. To be perfectly honest I had never even heard of an Inkk mobile phone product before you mentioned it so I am in the same boat as you as far as not knowing too much about it.

      I tried to do some digging to see if I could locate any common hard reset methods for the Inkk models and didn’t have too much success in finding one. Sorry.

      You can try your luck and give Inkk Mobile a call to see if they know the reset combination (if any). If you do end up locating the proper method PLEASE come back to the site and let us know. I am sure you’re not the only one who would like to hard reset their Inkk cell phone and can’t reset it through the settings.

      Good luck my friend, and don’t forget to come back to the site and let us know what ended up happening.

      Oh yeah, you might be able to contact your cousin as well in order to try and unlock it using his Gmail account instead of performing a hard reset. That would be better anyways as you wouldn’t lose any of your information.

      Using a singular Gmail account on multiple Android phones might end up causing some unwanted problems as well, if your cousin already owns or ends up getting a smartphone he will likely want to use his Gmail account for it. So if you do end up having to setting up your phone again I highly suggest creating your own Google account. It’s free, and it should help keep your contacts, calendar, App Store downloads, etc. separate from anyone else’s.

  74. doesn’t work
    I have a virgin mobile samsung galaxy ring model: SPH-M840
    #2 & 6 get me to a screen that has the option to download a custom OS. but it says it can cause problems in phone and apps.
    #9 gets me to an upload mode which says:
    forced key upload
    Line:0
    Format:
    Qxdm msg:
    Power on reset: keypad. . .
    Debug level: low
    Wait…Done!
    (it stays frozen)

    1. How to hard reset the Samsung Galaxy Ring (SPH-M840)

      Hi Anonymous reader,

      Try method Number 11 using the Volume Up key and Power key. You might have to let go of the Power key after the Samsung Logo appears for the second time after beginning the hard reset, but keep holding the Volume Up button until the Android system recovery screen appears.

      So power the phone off, Press and hold the Volume Up and Power keys, the Samsung logo will show then disappear, then Samsung will show again, when this happens release the Power key but keep holding the Volume Up key until the Android system recovery <3e> screen appears.

      Once the Android system recovery screen pops up you can release the key(s), select “wipe data/factory reset”, select “Yes – delete all user data” and you will be good to go my friend.

      If your phone is still “frozen” from before just power off your Samsung Galaxy Ring by removing the battery counting to 10, and then reinserting it. If at first you do not succeed, try and try again.

      I hope that helps if you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

    1. How to hard reset the MTN Steppa

      Hi Keenan,

      Unfortunately I am not too familiar with that make and model of Android smartphone and am not sure what hard reset key combination would be used to perform a factory reset on that unit. Make sure that you try Methods 2, 11 and 1 though. If I was to make a guess on what keys were used to hard reset the MTN Steppa then I would certainly double check those three methods in that order.

      If you do end up discovering the method used to reset your MTN Steppa then PLEASE let me know what steps you ended up using to do it by leaving a reply to this comment. You got me curious and I am sure other visitors looking to hard reset their MTN Steppa would greatly appreciate it.

      Good luck Keenan, and thank you for visiting the site. I hope you’re able to find the proper reset method and I hope to hear back from you to let us know what it ended up being.

  75. sking i5222i
    non of this work on sking i5222i andriod 4.0 os phone is there any way to go to fastboot mode for this phone

    1. How to hard reset the Sking (i5222i)

      Hi Doren,

      The hard reset method for that cell phone might be a little different.

      I have yet to factory reset a Sking myself but try this…

      Use the same keys mentioned in method 3 and press and hold the Home button (the big button on the bottom center of your cell phone under the display) and the Power button (on top).

      Press these two keys (Home and Power buttons) until you see an exclamation mark inside of a triangle with a cell phone lying next to it (it might just be an exclamation mark, hard to say for sure). When you see this screen press the power button once and the Android system recovery should pop up.

      Use the Volume Down button to highlight the “wipe data factory reset” option, and then use the Power key to make the selection. Confirm the reset if required and enjoy.

      Like I said, I have never performed a hard reset on that type of Android before so I can’t say for sure but give those steps a try and let me know it works or not.

    1. How to Hard Reset the Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 (GT-S6500D)

      To access the Android system recovery screen and perform a factory reset on the Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 press and hold the Volume Up, Volume Down, and Home keys and then turn the phone on by briefly pressing the Power key. When you see the Samsung Logo appear you can release the keys.

      Use the Volume Down key to navigate and then the Home button to make the selections. Highlight and select “wipe data/factory reset”, then confirm the reset by highlighting and selecting “Yes – delete all user data”, and then when it’s finished resetting select the “reboot system now” option.

      Your Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 will reboot, the factory reset will be complete, and the cell phone will be nice a clean and back to its factory default settings.

  76. my xpad q5 has got locked coz i have forgotten my lock pattern
    i tried to do hard reset as u mentioned above but it still didnt work!!!!!!
    i wanna do hard reset but its not happening plz help me out…….
    the triangle android screen appears but after that nothing goes ahead and phone again restarts
    plz plz help me…………

  77. Problems with my Verizon Android
    I am not able to boot up my droid. It stays in that red image right after it “says” droid when I try to start it up until the battery is gone. I took it to a Verizon store and they said there is no hope. Do you know of a way to hard reset it? I don’t even mind that it will be wiped clean at these point. Thanks!

  78. How to hard reset HTM B9500
    I think my phone is in a bootloop its a HTM B9500, I did wat u said and after pressing vol + and vol – and power on buttons goes then the phone goes into recovery mode I look for wipe data/factory reset but all i see is
    full phone test
    View phone test result
    Item test result
    Bt eut
    Ctp calibrate
    Exiit
    Plz help your my only hope

  79. i have a samsung galaxy note 2
    i have a samsung galaxy note 2. i have set a phone password but now i cant recall it. can you help?

    1. How to Hard Reset the Samsung Galaxy Note 2

      Hi Vasudha,

      I actually wrote a whole article about trying to get into an Android smartphone when its password has been forgotten.

      You’re pretty much in the correct place though…

      If you cannot recall your password and you cannot use your Google account to access your Note 2 then in order to access the cell phone again you are going to have to perform a hard reset on the device.

      To factory reset the Samsung Galaxy Note II you just press and hold the Volume Up key, the Home key, and the Power button. For detailed instructions you can refer to Hard Reset method #5 in the article above.

  80. Speaker not working
    My mobile is a Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant. Some times the call receiver does not here my voice. I asked one of my friend. He told me to reset the phone and after the reset the microphone will work. What is your suggestion??

    Thank you.

    1. Let me understand this correctly…

      Hi Cater,

      Let me see if I understand what you are saying… when you are talking to someone else on your Samsung Galaxy S Vibrant sometimes they can hear you talking and other times they cannot hear what you are saying? You on the other hand can always hear what the other person is saying it’s just that they cannot hear you?

      If this is the case then your right it sounds like an issue with your microphone and does not sound like a problem with your “speaker not working”. Audio issues on calls can be a funny thing as it could be that the actual speaker or microphone is defective or malfunctioning in which case it would need to be repaired or replaced. It could be a software issue in which case your friend would be correct a hard reset would help to fix the problem (just make sure to backup your phone before you reset it). Or it could be an issue with the network of your wireless service provider like a poor connection.

      If it happens sometimes and not other times then it sounds more like the microphone itself might be lose, not connected properly, or is malfunctioning. You can perform a backup and reset for good measure, which I often recommend but if it doesn’t seem to help then you will need to look into your repair options.

      If I misunderstood your comment and you believe that you are having issues with your speakers as opposed to your microphone then I suggest you perform a speaker test on your device as it will help determine if the issue is hardware or software related.  

  81. It didn’t work
    I have an android sharp ADS1, and when I pressed the power button and sym button simultaneously it just went to a screen that shows a little android robot and a triangle with an exclamation mark in it. It should probably go to the boot screen but it might be frozen there.

    1. How to hard reset the SHARP FX Plus ADS1

      Hello Emma,

      You did everything correctly. For some reason there is just one additional step for that Sharp model. Once you get to that screen that shows a little Android robot and an exclamation mark within a triangle briefly press the Home key one time. This should pull up the Android system recovery window and allow you to factory reset your SHARP FX Plus ADS1 cell phone.

      Thanks for leaving a comment Emma, I went and updated the article just in case someone else has the same problem.

  82. How to hard reset Bird I800 China Smart phone.
    I’m unable to do a hard reset on my Bird I800 Phone. I forgot my password and nothing works with everything listed here. Thanks and please help me.

  83. PLEASE HELP!!
    i have a SHV e120L and i cannot go to the recovery mode which i want to hard reset my phone .,. after i upgrade my phone to 4.4.2 kitkiat (hellkat) i went to boot the system but after that a red hellkat with an arrow circling it appears .. ive waited 1-2 hours but still nothing happens.. please help me. i want to go to reset factory settings. i tried a lot of combination key but still it goes directly to the hellkat logo..

  84. not booting
    my smart phone not boot my cell phone is SAMSUNG GALAXY MUSIC DUOS GT-S6012…
    I try all hard resets but no. none of them help to me… pls reply

    1. How to Factory Reset the Samsung Galaxy Music Duos GT-S6012

      Hum, I have not confirmed the factory reset method for that exact Samsung model but make sure to try hard reset Method Number Five (listed above) again. That is an extremely common hard reset method for Samsung Android smartphones and will typically (not always, but usually) allow you to perform the hard reset on your Samsung.  

      Remember to make sure that your Samsung Galaxy Music Duos cell phone is powered off all the way before trying the reset. If possible, you can remove the battery from the phone for a few seconds and when you reinsert it and put the phone back together your Samsung should be powered off.

      I hope that helps Prakash. If you discover a different hard reset key combination for the Samsung Galaxy Music Duos then please let us know.

    1. How to factory reset the Karbonn Smart A24+

      Try hard reset method number 2. Power your cell phone completely off and then hold the Volume Down key and the Power key until the Android system recovery screen appears. If you do not see the standard Android system recovery screen and don’t have the options to reboot system now, apply an update, wipe data/factory reset, etc. and instead see other choices like to run different tests then look for the “clear emmc” option, scroll down and highlight it using the volume keys, and then use the power key to make the selection.

      Your Karbonn Smart A24+ should reboot and after it restarts the factory data reset should be complete.

  85. Deshan Nawanjana

    How To E-tel Curiosity i4
    I have root my android phone and now it doesn’t boot. My phone stuck in logo screen. how can i reset my phone

    1. A hard reset is probably not going to fix that issue

      Hello Deshan,

      You are not the first person to have that problem. Just try to remember that you have to be very careful when rooting a cell phone as issues like this can often occur and a hard reset is not likely to solve the problem.

      I think that you might have to try and re-root or flash your phone again in order to try and fix it. A few other readers have asked similar questions so if you want a more detailed reply make sure to go back and read the previous comments and the replies to those comments. I think that you will find them very helpful in finding a solution to your current problem.

  86. still no hope?
    i applied the first method as you explained but even after the factory reset the unlock pattern thingy doesn’t go away.. please help

    1. Try hard resetting the cell phone again

      Hi Hujjat,

      I have personally witnessed a few situations where a factory reset doesn’t erase everything from an Android phone like it’s supposed to. If a hard reset is done correctly and does its job at wiping all the user data from the cell phone then it should include the removal of the unlock pattern as well.

      If at first you do not succeed then try, try again.

      I hope that helps. If you still have issues then let me know what cell phone you have and I will do what I can to try and help. Make sure to also browse through the content currently posted on this site for additional tips and tricks that could help resolve your current situation. I think the hard reset should work though so try it again and let me know.  

    1. It depends if it’s a hardware or software issue

      Hello Monika,

      It depends on what is actually causing your touch screen to be unresponsive.

      If it’s a software issue then chances are very good that a hard reset WILL help to solve the problem and get your touch screen to work properly again.

      If however it’s a hardware issue, like the screen itself is defective or malfunctioning or damaged, then a hard reset unfortunately WILL NOT help to fix the touch screen.

      I don’t know too much about your specific issue or what type of LG phone you are currently experiencing problems with but I suggest that you TRY to plug your phone into a computer and if possible backup as much information as you can and then TRY a factory data reset. If it works then you will be good to go, and if it doesn’t then you will know that it’s a hardware problem and you could then look into your repair or replacement options.

      I hope that helps Monika, if you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

  87. After trying to reset my note
    After trying to reset my note 3 the android bug appears with downloading below it and do not turn phone off…. nothing is happening.

    I think my Note 3 is stuck on odin mode as it just shows downloading

    1. Samsung Galaxy Note 3 – Factory Reset Hiccup

      Hi Michelle,

      A hard reset usually won’t cause that to happen, it usually happens after trying to update or change the cell phones software. Were you doing anything in particular before trying to hard reset your Note 3? If it’s been stuck on that screen for a while then try pulling out the battery for a few minutes, reinserting it, and then powering the phone back on again. If it gets stuck again then boot into the recovery mode, just like you do to perform a hard reset, try to wipe the cache, then reboot. If that doesn’t seem to help then perform another factory reset. Then try the Samsung Kies software from Samsungs website.

      If you have any problems after trying those suggestions then let me know as your Samsung Note 3 will most likely require some more serious troubleshooting.

  88. Android System Recovery screen
    I tried the seventh one and the triangle screen is coming though no options are shown.. phone= fly fab, please help

    1. How to hard reset your Android smartphone – “Fly Fab”

      Hi Hrishi,

      I am not too familiar with that particular cell phone and as such I am not sure what the exact key combination that you would need to use to perform a hard reset would be. Some Android devices will get to that screen and require you to press another key combination to pull up the recovery window from that screen. It sounds like that might be the case for the “Fly Fab” as well.

      You might have to try a few different key combinations to find the correct one though. For some examples make sure to browse through some of the comments from other readers.

      Good luck Hrishi, and once you do locate the proper hard reset key combination PLEASE don’t forget to come back to the site and post another comment to let us know what it is.

  89. I have a samsung s3 running
    I have a samsung s3 running android 4.1.2
    I have tried varied methods mentioned above multiple times, but i keep getting the samsung galaxy s3 logo
    the battery has been taken out for few hours, a new battery has be used but to no avail
    anything else i could try?

  90. Vincent Aquino

    Mypone Agua Storm not working 🙁
    Hi i have my phone Myphone Agua Storm (filipino brand phone) i have this problem when i hard reset it by pressing and holding the power button + volume up + volume in 5-10 seconds there appears on the screen thay says Recovery Mode: volume up Factory mode: volume down. when i pick recovery mode there comes an android figure lying down and does nothing please help plsss 🙁

    1. How to hard reset the Myphone Agua Storm

      Hi Vincent,

      You’re very close to performing a factory reset on your Myphone Agua Storm. The process that you need to use to hard reset that specific cell phone is going to be a little different though.

      Typically you do want to access the recovery mode in order to locate the wipe data/factory reset option which will allow you to hard reset an Android smartphone BUT some Androids are setup a little differently; especially when the phones default language may not be English. Your phone is one of these cell phones.

      So try this…

      Choose the Factory mode instead of the Recovery mode, once you have accessed the Factory mode you probably won’t see the more common Android system recovery screen; you are most likely going to see a few “Test” options like Full Test, Item Test, Test Report, as well as a Clear eMMC, Version, and a Reboot option. Highlight and then select Clear eMMC which should be the equivalent of pressing the wipe data/factory reset. This should hard reset your Android cell phone.

      Try that and let me know if you have any problems, hiccups or if you have any more questions. I think that should help though. Let me know either way Vincent, I look forward to your reply.

  91. Huawei Ascend P1
    My Huawei Ascend P1 will not turn on. I have drained all the battery and then charged it again aswell as going to the android recovery menu and rebooting it and that did not work. I have also tried the hard reset but once again it did not work it just stays on a black screen that says Huawei and has the logo. PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!

  92. T Mobile phone
    Hi there, we are passing a phone along to someone less fortunate but would like to take our information off. Can you help? I have tried the volume button and power button but get an “unpacking” message that update has failed. Any suggestions?

    1. Try a factory reset through the settings if you can

      Hello Moira,

      Very noble and wise my friend; I would be more than happy to help you wipe your phone clean before passing it onto someone else.

      If the phone is still working correctly then the easiest way to erase your user data from the cell phone would be by performing a factory data reset through the phones Settings (no need to try and locate the correct hard reset key combination when you can still access the backup and reset option in your phones settings).

      I don’t know what type of T-Mobile phone you are trying to hard reset so I cannot tell you the exact steps to take but open the phones settings and look for a Backup and Reset option. It will allow you to factory reset your phone and will erase everything from it which includes the removal of all of your personal information.

      If for some reason you cannot access the settings, like for example you forgot what the password is for that phone, then a hard reset with the keys is going to be the best option available you just might have to try a few different key combinations until you find the right one. If you try all of the recommended methods shown above or you have any issues hard resetting your T-Mobile cell phone then let me know what make and model it is and I will see what I can do to try and help.

  93. HELP!
    Polaroid PRO405
    even if i didn’t touch the screen, it move by itself like someone’s touching it.
    it always vibrate and waaaaahhh i dont understand this phone.
    i followed the instruction above, and done! but still can’t solve the problem.
    maybe its because i withhold it on my pants..

  94. Biswajit Pradhan

    I saved Rs 1300.00 (Indian) by using this solution
    How :- I transferred some data by blue-tooth from my friend. After that the phone would hang every time. After some days the phones touch pad stopped working completely. I thought it was a Virus problem.

    I took my phone to the service center. They said the touch pad was damaged completely so repairing charges would be Rs 1300 (Indian). So I took the mobile back & searched on the internet for hard reset & got your website. I tried the hard reset as the information given by you & It worked. The phone is working completely fine. So by doing this I was able to save Rs 1300 (Indian).

    The information written in your website is so easy to understand & apply. It saved my money. Gr8 Job

  95. How to reset password for sony experia t2 ultra dual
    I had read all the above steps and had tried it for several times but none of it is working so someone please suggest me how to reset my forgotten password for sony experia t2 ultra dual. thanks

    1. Sony Xperia smartphones can be a little different

      Hello rdotasthana,

      Unfortunately I don’t think that the Sony Xperia t2 ultra dual has an alternative reset method (not yet anyways) and to perform a factory data reset through the phone you have to access the Settings > Backup & reset > Factory data reset > Reset phone > Erase everything. If you can’t get passed the password or lock screen then you won’t be able to access the Settings and this option won’t be available.

      So to hard reset your Sony Xperia t2 ultra I think that you might have to use the PC Companion from Sony’s website.

  96. haier y716
    i have Haier y716. i have forgotten its pincode. i tried the first method of hard reset but when the option screen appeared, there was a different language other than english which i cant understand.is there any other way to unlock my phone. i have no issue if the data on my phone is lost. Please guide me to unlock my phone.

    1. Trying to Hard Reset the Haier Y716

      Hi Imran,

      The Haier Y716 is not a phone commonly found in the U.S. and is there for a little bit outside of my expertise. It would seem that its primary market is aimed more towards the Pakistan region, and since the screen that you are seeing is not in English and English is the only language that I speak I unfortunately won’t be able to help you translate or guide you as to the proper option to choose.

      I tried to track down the hard reset key combination for the Haier Y716 and also tried to locate the option that you would need to choose to perform the reset but I had little luck in finding the proper procedure. I was able to find the user manual for that device but it did not list a hard reset method outside of the settings, which of course isn’t an option as you have forgotten your cell phones password and cannot access the phones settings.

      If I was in your position I would try to contact Haier directly and see if they could provide you with the proper reset method. It seems that they have an English website available online with a “Contact Us” section that might be able to assist you better than I can.

      Sorry I couldn’t be of more help Imran, but like I said that specific phone is a little outside of my expertise. Good luck and if you do find the exact reset method don’t forget to come back to the site and post it for other readers who might be looking for the same thing.

  97. My mytough 4g slide
    I have a mytouch 4g slide and all these methods don’t work and when I tried one of the many methods ive seen on youtube my screen turns pink. Help!!!!!!

    1. How to Hard Reset the myTouch 4G Slide

      Hello Edward,

      Try using hard reset method number 2 in the article above. Make sure that your myTouch 4G Slide is not plugged into a charger and is completely off. You can pull out and then reinsert the battery to make sure.

      Once your cell phone is completely off, press down and hold the Volume Down button then press and release the Power key. Continue to press and hold the Volume Down key until three little androids appear on the bottom of the display and you see your option to FACTORY RESET your phone. Use the Volume Down buttons to highlight the FACTORY RESET option and then use the Power key to make the selection.

      The pink screen that you saw can happen sometimes and simply means that the incorrect key combination was used and you phone thinks you are trying to do something else. I talk about this pink screen when trying to hard reset a cell phone a few times when responding to other readers on this guide if you care to read more about it.

      Note also that if you get to a “FASTBOOT”, “HBOOT”, or pretty much a blank recovery screen with three androids on skateboards but no option to factory reset then you might have accidently pushed a button when trying to reset and you should be able to get to the proper screen by pressing the Back button. You probably won’t have to worry about this but I thought I would mention it just in case.

      Oh and if at first you don’t succeed… try, try again. I have seen a stubborn cell phone need four different attempts before accepting a factory reset. Sometimes our smartphones think they are smarter than we are and we have to take a few minutes to remind them that they work for us.

      I hope that helps. If you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

  98. Uziel Tulayba Dahilig

    Hard Wipe works But Still Stuck
    after doing those steps its still stuck at the boot
    please help me

    1. Stuck on the boot screen even after a hard reset

      Hello Uziel,

      Sorry to hear that your cell phone is still stuck on the boot up screen even after a factory reset. Make sure to review ALL of the other comments posted under this article as some of my other visitors had similar issues and I think you might find my replies to them helpful.

      I am not sure what make and model of phone you have but a hard reset will not always help to solve this problem as it’s usually a more serious issue with the software such as a malfunctioning bootloader (which tells the phone how to boot up properly).

      You don’t have too many options available at this point but some possible resolutions include installing custom software to the device replacing the current malfunctioning software. Like I said I don’t know what phone you are having issues with, but if you do some research online you can often find step by step instructions on how to root or flash custom software to your specific Android device.

  99. I reset my Samsung .GT but…
    I reset my Samsung .GT but it would not start again what’s the problem someone please help.

    1. That is a very uncommon issue after a hard reset

      Hi Brian,

      There are very few reasons why a phone wouldn’t want to start up again after a factory reset. Some Androids can have problems if the battery was too low when trying to perform a hard reset BUT these phones usually won’t even let you perform a reset if the battery doesn’t have enough of a charge. The same goes when performing an update. You don’t want your phone to run out of power when updating its software or you can have some serious issues.

      I have seen some phones take 5-10 minutes to reset before but Samsung phones are typically pretty fast at resetting; and it’s likely you have already waited that long after factory resetting your cell phone.

      Does your Samsung at least recognize a charger? Can you get any response from it at all? Make sure to try leaving the battery out of it for a few minutes, draining power from the phone completely, and then reinsert the battery and then try to turn it on again. Try charging it over night and if possible try using another battery as well (if available).

      Like I said there is not much of a reason why your smartphone wouldn’t start up again. If you cannot get a response at all then you’ll likely have to look into your other options. Good luck Brian, sorry I couldn’t be of more help but if there is anything else I can try and help you with just let me know.

      1. Thanks i tried that but…
        Thanks i tried that but it only starts then freezes at “SAMSUNG” but does not start. What might be the problem? please help.!!!!

        1. Stuck on the Samsung Logo

          Hi again Brian,

          So the phone is turning on its just not turning on all the way and its getting stuck on the boot up procedure at the Samsung logo… That’s one of the more annoying and somewhat more serious software issues that can occur on any Android smartphone.

          Is that issue why you reset your Samsung in the first place? Were you doing anything in particular that might have lead to this issue? Out of curiosity were you trying to unlock the phone or trying to install custom software onto the device?

          Since your phone is a Samsung, the next thing that I recommend you try is the Samsung Kies program off of Samsungs website. You might be able to use its update and recovery tools to get your phone back up and running properly.

          If your Samsung gets stuck again and Kies doesn’t seem to help then there might be something wrong with the phones bootloader and you might have to try and re-flash or reload the software back onto your phone. A search online should show you how to install custom software or reload the stock software for your Samsung GT but if you’re still under the manufactures warranty then this issue would be covered and you can look into filing a warranty claim in which case Samsung could and would be able to reload the OS for you.

          Make sure to go back and read some of the comments from other readers as many of them had similar issues and you might find my replies to them helpful as well.

  100. Can’t do factory reset on my Galaxy4S
    I followed instructions for a factory reset on my Galaxy 4S (forgot my password – very embarrassing….) but it seems to be stuck on the green robot and says “downloading… don’t turn off target” What do I do now? Thanks

    1. That’s odd…

      Hello Elcee,

      That “downloading… don’t turn off target” usually shows when updating the phone software and doesn’t usually pop up after a factory reset. It can be a little nerve wrecking but if that message has been there for a while then I’m going to recommend that you do exactly what it says not to do and I suggest that you try to reboot the phone either with the power key or a quick battery pull. Afterwards try to turn the phone on normally and see if it has any issues booting up. If it doesn’t boot up to the setup screen (as though you were setting up the phone for the first time) then I would perform another hard reset just to make sure that the reset goes through and finishes properly.

      If it gets stuck again then download the Samsung Kies software from Samsungs website and use its recovery feature. It should help to get your phone up and running properly again. Thanks for visiting the site Elcee and if you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

      1. Thank you

        Thanks. I wound up going to an AT&T store to solve the problem. He took out the battery waited half a minute and went through the process again. This time it worked.

        1. Your Welcome

          Your Welcome Elcee,

          I thought that would help. I am glad to hear that your Samsung Galaxy S4 is back up and running properly again.

  101. Hard Reset when “Vol” keys dont function
    Hello,
    Pretty interesting and very useful write-up. Thanks for all the trouble you have taken. I have a typical problem with my phone (Micromax A75) with JB OS, I think. Its frozen, because I have forgotten Pattern Lock and it is not even accepting my email ID and Password for authentication.
    After I press and hold together “VOL”up key and “Power” button and release power button after few secs (but keep holding the other key. It does take me to “Android Reset” screen (A triangle with exclamatory mark and an Android bot icon) strangely, I am unable to make choice using volume keys to select “Wipe Data/ Factory Reset” option, nothing happens even when I press Power button to the default choice of “Reboot Device Now”. This screen stays as long as batteries are charged. Suspect Volume Keys malfunction. Can you suggest any ideas to do a Hard Reset for such a frozen device.
    Thank you so much

  102. Galaxy Nexus still doesn’t recover
    It seems that I’m experiencing a new kind of problem with my Galaxy Nexus. I already knew the right procedure in order to hard reset my phone having successfully used that almost 5 month ago, unfortunately now it’s no longer working. I do all the procedure as I did in the past the phone tells me that he has done everything ok, then I restart the phone and it’s all as before… no data loss, no settings changed and worst of all still not working.

    Can you help me?
    Thanks a million.

  103. SAMSUNG GALAXY Y (S5360)
    Hi.. I wonder if you can help me. My Son’s Samsung Galaxy y (GT S5360) Mobile phone is stuck on the logo screen. We have done some research online and have tried holding the ‘Volume Up, Home & Power’ buttons simultaneously to get the ‘Reboot Menu’ up. We have pressed to ‘Reboot’ it, we have ‘cleared cache’ and we’ve also clicked to ‘restore factory settings’ – NOTHING works 🙁 We have attempted to look on a laptop about downloading something about ODIN or something like that, but I am not technically minded at all and didn’t have a clue which thing to download….I am pleading for help because the phone is only a year old and we can’t afford to get him another one….please, if you have the time, I would really appreciate some help – IN BABY STEPS IF POSSIBLE 🙂 Thanking you in advance…..Nicola

    1. Stuck on the Samsung Logo *Update*

      After some trial and error Nicola was able to get her Samsung to turn on and work properly again and since this issue can often be a difficult problem to try and resolve I thought that I would post a follow up to Nicola’s original comment just in case someone else ended up experiencing the same issue.

      In a nutshell, Nicola’s son went to get his cell phone off of the charger after it had been charging all night and when he tried to turn it on it refused to power on properly. It would start powering up and then get frozen on the Samsung logo screen. Trying valiantly to fix the phone herself (as you can see in her comment) I suggested that she try the advice listed at How to fix an Android phone if it is stuck or frozen on the Samsung logo for some additional troubleshooting that might help her fix her sons smartphone.

      After following the advice in that article as well as trying to use the Samsung Kies program off of Samsungs website, which unfortunately didn’t seem to help, Nicola was able to fix her son’s Samsung Galaxy Y by downloading a stock version of the phones firmware onto her computer and then using ODIN she was able to upload and install that stock software onto her Samsung Galaxy Y (replacing her malfunctioning software). By doing this she was able to get her sons cell phone back up and running properly again.

      Though a little unsure of her troubleshooting abilities (at first), by taking some chances and of course some baby steps in the right direction, Nicola was able to solve one of the hardest and most serious software issues that can occur on an Android smartphone and I just want to say Good Job Nicola!

  104. Sushant Shekhar

    Micromax A-51 couldn’t turn on.
    I had left my phone in the room last night on the table. It worked perfectly till last night. When i woke up,i found that my phone was fully discharged in morning, so i reconnected it to the charger and let it charge, but i found that the battery charging logo didn’t come. I left it plugged into the charger to charge for 1 hour and then i pressed the power on button but still no response.
    Then I connected my mobile with the usb data cable with a computer that was powered on, thinking that i might be able to get it to charge by using the data cable.
    Then I saw a battery logo with half of the icon of logo and company logo BOLT……..
    I still stay connected it with usb but it only blinks and i saw that half cutting logo and then turns off by itself…….
    what could be the cause.??????????

    1. Hard to say for sure….

      My first impulse was that your battery had gone or is going bad, and this can still be the cause. But perhaps it’s your charging cable as well. You mentioned that you had no response after charging it with your wall charger but after you plugged it into your computer you were able to at least get a response. Perhaps your wall charger is defective. Or perhaps plugging the phone into a computer was able to get a quick charge to the (possibly bad) battery and get it to respond.

      It is hard to say for sure.

      It could even be the phone itself, refusing to power on. I would try a different charger (that you know is working properly), then a different battery, and then start looking at the phone itself.

  105. Thank you. Method 1 worked super fine.

    Thank you. Method 1 took me out of trouble. It worked super fine.

    Great job.

  106. My phone froze on the reset screen?
    I did as it said and it went to a black screen with, in yellow lettering, “Downloading…” and it’s been like that for 15 minutes already. Does it usually take very long or is it frozen and broken for good?

    1. It should be ok

      Hi Danielle,

      The time it takes for a reset to complete is going to depend on the phone itself and the amount of time needed can vary depending upon how much information is stored to the device. While it can take “up to 15 minutes to complete” most phones only take a couple of minutes before the reset is completely finished.

      What make and model of cell phone are you trying to reset? There is a rare hiccup that can occur which causes a phone to get stuck on a “Downloading…” screen and perhaps your phone is just one of those unlucky statistics. Sometimes that “Downloading…” message will also display a “Do not turn off target!!!” warning message as well.

      I wouldn’t panic just yet though; your phone should be just fine. If that “Downloading…” message appears and remains on the screen after performing a hard reset and stays on that screen for more than 30 minutes to an hour than try to reboot the phone and if necessary perform a soft reset by removing the battery for 30 seconds and then reinserting the battery and powering the phone back on. A soft reset should allow the cell phone to boot up properly.

      Afterwards check the phone to make sure that the reset completed correctly and that everything got erased from the device. If not then perform another reset. Once the reset is complete you can enjoy your nice, clean and working smartphone.

  107. venkatesh digumarthi

    Thanks
    Thanks friend… its working… i am feeling very happy by this operation… thanks again…

  108. Galaxy s3 4g lte stuck
    i went through the motions of the hard reset and not my phone is stuck on the “tmobile 4g lte” screen. the phone has been on this screen for almost two hours now and the only way to turn it off is by taking out the battery. the phone is heating up. i took the battery out and attempted to do another reboot but the phone just vibrates hard until i release and press power.
    samsung galaxy s3 4g lte
    was on android 4.3

    1. Overheating is not a good sign

      Hi Sara,

      I was going to suggest that you look into THIS GUIDE and if necessary look into the option of re-flashing the software back to the cell phone (and I suppose I still do recommend it), but overheating and none stop vibrating is NOT a good sign. Overheating often points to a hardware issue in which case you would likely need to look into your replacement options; either replacing the battery or the phone.

      Why where you performing a hard reset on the phone originally, if you don’t mind me asking?

  109. Saved my phone, again
    After my stubborn phone refused the first few methods, I realized there was an LG method, which on my Optimus V worked like a charm. These phones aren’t bad when they’re on sale however you always get what you pay for so this forum is fantastic information. Thank you and have a nice day.

  110. Stuck at boot screen
    You seem to be very helpful with everyone else’s issues, so I hope you’ll be able to help me with mine as well… If I’m lucky, you still check here. I tried to do a hard reset on my LG phone (not sure of the type.) Anyway, the only method that had any effect was to turn the phone off, hold the power, volume up, and home buttons at the same time. When I did this, the phone froze at the LG startup screen and won’t do anything. I had to take the battery out and leave it out for awhile to get it to start back up at all and it wasn’t reset when I did. I tried it again, this time letting go of the power button once the LG logo comes up, same thing. Every time I try, it just gets stuck at the boot screen. I can’t factory reset it through it’s privacy settings either, since I don’t know the password and the original Gmail account it was setup with isn’t my own. It’s an LG phone from US cellular, also has two screens. One for when you use the keyboard. Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.

    1. Trying to get your LG up and running properly

      It’s hard to tell whether it’s an issue with the phone getting stuck at its startup screen (which can happen and can be hard to fix) or if a different hard reset key combination code needs to be used for that particular model of LG (which is possible and hopefully the reason in this particular situation as it would be an easier fix). I am kind of leaning towards needing to use a different reset method as you mentioned that you can get to the Password screen but you just don’t know the password or the Google account info to get into the phone that way. Often if an Android smartphone is locking up on its logo it won’t even let you get to the unlock screen.

      You mentioned that your LG phone has a keyboard. I have found that these types of phones often use a key off of the keyboard to perform the reset properly. You mentioned that your “not sure what type” of LG you have but in order to try and help I’ll need to know what model of LG you have. If you are still having issues or have not yet found the correct hard reset method to use for your phone then try to find out what the name of your cell phone is and I will do what I can to try and help. If you did find out the correct reset code and you don’t see it listed in the article above then please still let us know what phone you have and the method that you ended up having to use.

      Thanks Sebastian I look forward to your reply.

  111. can’t fix my phone
    I am using an android(os) samsung sking(l5222i) phone,it has a reboot problem.It only displays the Sking logo and reboots.It is a Chinese phone.I tried almost all your hard reset methods above and came to six(6) who only gave me to a test screen.There was no reset….may you please help!!

    1. How to hard reset a Samsung Sking smartphone

      Hi Langelihle,

      I have yet to handle a Samsung Sking myself BUT I believe that you can reset that particular smartphone by using the Home key and the Power key.

      So, power off your Samsung Sking (removing and then reinserting the battery if you have to), press and hold down the Home button and the Power key simultaneously until you see the triangle with an exclamation mark inside of it. Once you see that screen you can release and stop pressing the keys. Then press the Home button while looking at that triangle and exclamation mark screen until you get to the Android System Recovery screen (note: you may have to press the Home button a few times in order to get to that System Recovery screen). Use the Volume Down button to highlight the wipe data/factory reset option and then press the Power key to make the selection. Then confirm the reset by using the Volume key again to scroll down and the Power key to select the “Yes—delete all user data” option.

      Wait for it to reboot and enjoy.

  112. Hard Reset not working on a Micromax Canvas Doodle A111…
    Hi James Bond,

    I was reading through your article which was very informative & I was very surprised at how patiently & diligently you were replying to comments from readers/people who couldn’t fix their issues. I am also one of those people lining up hoping for a cure for my phone problem 😉

    A little background info: One fine day (not at all fine bcos my phone stopped working), I see my phone stuck on the loading screen and its got ’CANVAS’ in the middle of the screen. After that whenever I try to start the phone its stuck on that screen.

    I’ll list out all the info that I can see u asking many people & I don’t want u coming back to me for that. It’s an Indian phone model & not listed among the ones that you mentioned on ur article;

    Phone Model: Micromax Canvas Doodle A111 (Month & Yr of Mfr: Oct 2013)
    O/S: Android Jelly Bean 4.1.2
    Processor: 1.2 GHz Quad Core
    Hardware Version: LWDM980B
    Software Version: Micromax_A111_V01_130614

    I tried all the various hard resset combinations on my phone that u mentioned; 1 & 2 (bcos those are the only ones that my phone responds to right now, I cant try the others).

    When I try ’Reset Method # 1’: Volume Up+Volume Down+Power key nothing comes up on the screen even though I keep the keys pressed down for over 1 min. But the blue light on top of the screen keeps blinking & doesn’t go out, so I know its responding to this.

    And when I try ’Reset Method # 1’: Volume Down pressed + Power key press & release – the blue light just blinks & goes out. If I try the Volume Down pressed + Power key pressed, the phone starts but gets stuck on the loading screen.

    Any sort of help would be much appreciated.

    Many thanx,
    Denny

    1. Trying to fix your Micromax A111 Canvas Doodle

      Hi Denny George,

      Before we begin I just want to say that your comment is one of the best comments ever posted on the site thus far so Kudos to you for reading the article AND the comments and leaving such a wonderful post.

      I recommend that you try to perform a hard reset again using the Volume up and Power key (I am pretty sure that’s the key combo for the Micromax Canvas Doodle A111). Then if possible proceed with the reset as you would on most other Android smartphones by using the Volume Down button to scroll to and highlight the wipe data/factory reset option and then using the Power key to make the selection. Then scroll down to Yes—delete all user data using the Volume Down key again and of course use the Power button to select it and confirm the reset.

      If your phone gets stuck on that “Canvas” screen and will NOT get off of it or past it then it’s going to be a little harder to fix. If that’s the case then there is likely a serious software issue that will have to be resolved for your smartphone to start up and function properly again. It is hard to say for certain what the actual cause is but it might be a problem with your phones bootloader ( a piece of software that tells the phone how to boot up properly… but it can just as well be caused by some other serious software issue).

      I have not handled that make and or model of phone yet but you should be able to fix it if you can find out how to flash a new OS onto it using a tool like ODIN. This will replace the existing (and malfunctioning) software with a nice, clean (and functioning) version which will likely resolve your problem. This issue sometimes occurs on Android devices and can be one of the more annoying issues to try and resolve as standard troubleshooting doesn’t always fix it.

      I hope that helps Denny. Thanks again for taking the time to leave such a wonderful comment and helping to take the guesswork out of things. It really is helpful and appreciated. If you need any more assistance or advice then don’t hesitate to ask.

    1. Then you used an incorrect command

      Hi Kyra,

      That can happen when trying to hard reset an android smartphone. It simply means that you used an incorrect key combination that was intended to carry out another command and not the command to open the Android System Recovery tool; which you will need to access in order to perform a factory reset on your cell phone.

      A few people ran into the same things on their phones too if you would like to review the comments previously posted by other site visitors to learn more about it.

      What model of Huawei smartphone are you trying to hard reset? The combination might be unique to that specific model of Huawei…

  113. Android Boost Factory Reset Concern
    I purchased a Boost LG Optimus F7 on Amazon and it turns out it was originally a Sprint Phone.
    So, if i factory reset the LG phone will the boost service no longer be available ? Will it go back to being a Sprint phone in other words

    Thank you !

    1. A hard reset shouldn’t cause an unlocked phone to relock itself

      Hi Emmanuel,

      It should be fine. A hard reset shouldn’t cause an unlocked phone to relock itself. You should still be able to continue to use your LG on Boost Mobiles wireless network after the reset. If for some mysterious reason you have any issues connecting to Boost Mobile after a reset then reboot the phone. If it still has issues then you can use the same unlock pattern that was used to unlock the phone originally (which you can get from Sprint if you need to).

      I hope that helps! If you have any other questions about resetting your LG Optimus then check out this Hard Reset FAQ Guide and if you don’t see the answer there then make sure to post it so I can add it to the list. Thanks for visiting the site Emmanuel, if there is anything else that I can try and help you with just let me know.

  114. hard reset samsung sch-s720c android
    method one works on this phone.
    daughter in law locked it up and forgot email address and swipe code.
    had to try two times but it finally got it.
    thanks a million.
    your the man.

  115. hi there,
    hi there,

    im using sony ericsson wt19i i forgot my pattern now its locked im unable to unlock my mobile it asks me a security question (Forgot this also) & google acc. details i entered google details but data traffic is not ON in my mobile so can you help me to unlock..?

  116. Panasonic T21 Hard Reset
    Hi,
    Panasonic T21 hard reset is not working. I have tried vol down button with power button.
    It does not work. Then i tried Vol Up with power button.
    Phone started and nothing is happening except Panasonic is written on a black screen and it will not budge from there.

    Please help ASAP.

    Regards,
    Avvi

    1. Trying to fix your Panasonic T21

      Where you able to access the Android System Recovery feature at all? I have never had to hard reset a Panasonic T21 so I am not 100% sure what the hard reset key combination is for that specific cell phone but if the Volume Up and Power key didn’t work (I think that’s the method for the T21) then I don’t see why one of the other methods wouldn’t work… you might need to contact Panasonic directly for the proper reset command.

      Out of curiosity is the reason why you are trying to perform a hard reset because the phone is getting stuck on that black screen with the “Panasonic” logo? If your phone is stuck on its startup screen then a hard reset might not help as it might be a more serious issue with the phones software. If this is the case then I recommend that you review the advice listed HERE. The guide is written with Samsungs in mind but the general advice should work for your Panasonic as well.

  117. how to reset my iphone which have Android os
    hello i have china iphone which i taken from china which have android operating system but when i m trying to reset with key combination the screen shows the option (wipe data/factory reset) but when i m trying to click on that option it doesnt work with any other option or when i click on that option on screen then also it doesnt work .if there is alternate option to reset my mobile with pc or with key combination so please inform me what to do …thank u

    1. I am not familiar with that specific cell phone

      Hi Mujib,

      To be perfectly honest I am not sure what key you would need to use to confirm the reset on that iPhone (copy/clone? I am assuming) which is ironically running on the Android OS. If you have gotten to that part of the reset process and have tried every key available on the phone then maybe the button itself is malfunctioning and not responding properly.

      If possible you could try to contact the people that you bought the phone from or the manufacture to get the proper code but as for myself I am not familiar with that phone and don’t know the best way that you would be able to complete a hard reset on it.

      Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful. I wish you luck though and if you do discover the reset combination or method don’t forget to come back to the site and let us know what it ended up being. Just in case someone else has the same question.

  118. Galaxy Ace GT-S5830 Stuck in Startup Loop; with Kies Problem
    Hi James,

    Sorry to trouble you, but I am giving up trying to find the right help to sort my problems out myself, among the very many sources of help/information, from which I feel quite confused and have not found what seems to be the complete answer, and as yours seems to be the most understanding and helpful place, here I am.

    The phone : Samsung Galaxy Ace GT-S5830, about 3.5 years old, running I think, Android 2-point-something.

    Problems :
    1) I got some help from Samsung tech. support in July after I started getting daily, and soon more frequent, ‘Low on Space’ and ‘Memory full’ warnings. I didn’t have very many photos (phone is certainly not my main camera), and after deleting several hundred SMS texts – many far from short – (but very few had been deleted since I got the phone), and, on recommendation by a friend, downloading, and using daily, Clean Master, the situation became manageable.
    I have only ever downloaded about 12 Apps, which I don’t use much but they don’t seem to total much space either, though the phone has loads of others, apparently supplied with it, most of which cannot be uninstalled – The worst seems to be Google Play Services (about 33MB), which I’ve often uninstalled to make more space, though it usually reappears before long, and I know it’s needed to run at least some of the other apps.
    The Space/Memory warnings have never disappeared for long though.
    2) About 10 days ago, I went to turn on my phone in the morning (I usually turn it off overnight) and found that I had forgotten to turn it off the previous night. Once the screen illuminated, almost immediately I got several square blue warnings with an OK button, in succession, which I’d never seen before, all saying that ” xxxxx had stopped working”; – one of them was Google Play Services.
    I thought that turning the phone off, and back on, might help, but that was when the Startup loop started and has been unchanged when tried, ever since.
    Battery charge is good (and does recharge OK).
    When startup commences, it goes through the normal Samsung logo, then the usual swirling ‘outer space’ graphics with startup tones, and progresses back, as normal, to the white-on-black Samsung logo alternating between sharp and having a ‘shimmery’ outline to the word, but that’s where we stay, then after varying times of about 50-90 seconds, over and over, the phone restarts again to the same point (but without tones), and again, and again, etc., and that’s all, I am unable to turn it off with the power button, so i have to take the battery out to achieve that..
    I have tried battery out, wait a minutes, battery in, then startup, but the above is again all that happens.
    3) I have found, from your advice to others, how to get to the ‘hidden’ Reboot, Reset, etc. choices.
    But I can’t find out anywhere whether or not a reboot leaves contacts intact. – [ Most of my very many Contacts are in the phone, not on any card, as I found early on, that trying to save to card severely limits what data of the contact’s details can be stored.
    4) Everything was supposedly saved into Samsung’s Kies in July while dealing with Samsung tech. support, so when considering whether to try even a Reboot, never mind a Reset, I wanted to know if my backed-up Contacts were safe.
    When opening Kies, I was prompted to accept a Kies Update, and naturally thought ‘Good idea’, and said ‘Yes’. But after a couple of minutes I suddenly thought ‘That might delete all previous backed-up data!’, so I stopped the Update. Looking now into the Kies saved data, there is nothing there. So I’m left wondering whether, if I restored my PC back to a pre-Kies Update point, would this restore the previous Kies-saved data, as well as presumably restoring the previous version of Kies?
    5) Another point about memory shortage, which I’d not seen mentioned ANYWHERE until reading one of your past replies to someone, and hadn’t even thought of, was the capacity of the Micro SD card (in from new, then forgot about it). I’ve now, while the phone is in its problematic state, changed the 2 GB card to be an 8 GB, but it hasn’t changed anything at all.
    6) So that’s where I am: – ‘phone unusable and functions inaccessible but with an 8GB Micro SD card inserted, and a Kies back-up that appears to be empty (but is it?) ;
    I can’t avoid feeling that my many Contacts might be retrievable somewhere, in some way, providing that the right thing(s) is done with either, or both, the phone and/or my PC ; and permanently lost if I make the wrong move(s).
    Can you advise please? (and sorry this is such a long story, but thought it all might all be relevant).

    May thanks.
    Steve.

    1. Trying to get your Samsung Galaxy Ace functional again

      That’s ok I love long explanations; it helps take a lot of the guesswork out of things.

      So… where should we begin?

      Let’s start with the main reason why you are having all of these problems (especially those memory error messages). The Samsung Galaxy Ace GT-S5830 only comes with 158MB of internal storage space. This is an incredibly small amount and very easy to fill (it’s not even half of a half of a Gigabyte! Next time you shop for the right phone don’t buy any phone that comes with less than 4GB. I personally wouldn’t get anything less than 8GB). This in its self is going to be our main problem as its going to be hard to keep enough space free and available on the device for your Samsung to function properly.

      Here is what you should do first as it may help you avoid a lot of difficulties later.

      Try to boot your cell phone into Safe Mode. This should disable any third party apps and will hopefully allow the phone to turn on properly and allow you to move some of the phones data to your memory card, which hopefully will allow the phone to turn on properly again.

      If that doesn’t work then it might be a more serious software issue and you should review the suggestions listed at How to try and fix a Samsung that won’t turn on properly.

      Chances are your  names and telephone numbers are going to be backed up to your phones primary Google account but you might want to check to make sure your contacts are backed up to your Gmail just for good measure.

      Not every App will allow you to move it to an SD card but I suggest going through all the apps that you have downloaded and try to move as many as you can to your new 8GB memory card. Don’t forget that if you choose to the Samsung Galaxy Ace GT-S5830 allows you to use up to a 32GB card.

      As far as the “hidden” reboot that you mentioned you can read more about that in this article about what the Android System Recovery is and what it can be used for which reviews the options available through that feature and how each option can be utilized. The “reboot system now” option simply restarts the phone and shouldn’t result in any loss of data.

      While saving contacts to your SIM card can “limit what data of the contact’s details” get saved (usually just a name and telephone number), by saving your contacts to you SD card this should allow you to save other details such as names, numbers, addresses, emails, etc. and typically you won’t be limited to how many contacts you can save to an SD card either like you would be when trying to save them to a SIM card.

      I hope that helps Stevie. Thanks for the wonderful explanation and if you have any more questions then don’t hesitate to ask.

  119. itel 1401
    the information is very useful but hard reset not being completed only showing triangle+android, sorry it did not work on my itel1401, anything I can do please help

    1. How to hard reset the Itel 1401

      Hi Alex,

      It sounds like your phone requires one more step to get to the options which will allow you to reset your Itel 1401.

      When you get to that “triangle+android” screen you will need to press one more button, I think that it’s the Volume Up key (but you may have to try the Home key instead, or another physical button on your Itel1401). It sounds like you are almost there but that phone probably just requires one additional step for the hard reset process than most other phones require.

      I hope that helps Alex, don’t forget to post a reply to let everyone know what key combination ended up being the one for your cell phone, just in case someone else is looking for the same method for their phone as well.

      1. itel 1401 still stuck on (android + triangle)
        Thank you for your effort , I have tried to press V+ and other physical buttons but my phone is still stuck on “android +triangle”. Thanking you in advance for any further suggestions.

        1. You’re welcome Alex

          Sorry to hear that it didn’t work 🙁 I was really hoping that it would.

          Hum, what else can we try… I just don’t know that phone (or even manufacture) very well so I’m not sure… I tried digging up some kind of hint on how to hard reset that specific phone online and I can see why you are having problems as I had issues finding clues as well. Not very much documentation or information for that device.

          I am not sure Alex. It looks like you are not the only person searching for information on how to reset an itel cell phone but I couldn’t find one proven method that actually worked or was confirmed to work. Perhaps that cell phone doesn’t even have the Android System Recovery menu built into it, and maybe that’s why we can’t get to it. I really don’t know.

          You stumped me, and I don’t get stumped very easily. I wish you lots of luck though and if you do stumble upon or run across the proper method used to hard reset an itel 1401 Android cell phone than please come back to the site and let me know how you did it. I would really appreciate it. Good luck my friend and if there is anything else that I can try to help you with just let me know.

  120. Thank you very much!
    Thank you very much! I have an LG Optimus L9 II (android os: 4.4.2 kitkat) an it rebooted faster than expected.

  121. kyocera event android cell phone
    I have a kyocera Event android cell phone,one day I left it on a website-the next 3 hours the screen was frozen,can’t get to anything on it,took the battery out-turned back on-it just stayed on the virgin mobile screen where the girl is dancing-and it stayed like that-if you turn it off,it will come back on again a few seconds later and repeat the same thing. nothing helped. thanks.pst.

    1. Trying to fix your malfunctioning cell phone

      Hi Pamela,

      Sorry to hear about your cell phone. It stinks that pulling out the battery didn’t seem to help. Try to pull out the battery and let the phone sit there for few minutes then put the battery back in and boot it back up just for good measure.

      If the battery pull doesn’t help and your phone refuses to turn on properly then the troubleshooting that you can try is going to be extremely limited as far as what you can do to try to fix it. Check the power key on the phone, the actual physical button, to make sure that it’s not sticking in or in the pressed down position. A cell phone should not try to power itself back on (although malfunctioning ones sometimes do) but just check that key for good measure as well.

      Where you able to get any of the hard reset commands to work properly on your cell phone? Or since its rebooting where you unable to have the cell phone off for the command to go through properly?

      After attempting to boot your phone into Safe Mode (if your phone has the Safe Mode feature) a hard reset is going to be the next step in trying to resolve that issues on your cell phone.

      If a hard reset doesn’t help then you will likely need to install a fresh installation of the software onto your phone in order to get it to function properly again. If that option isn’t available then you will likely need to start looking into your repair/replacement options.

    1. Try this…

      Hi Leago,

      Try entering the password that you use to log into your cell phone. It should allow you to confirm the reset. If for some reason the unlock pin/password doesn’t work, and I am pretty sure that it will, then try using 1234 or 0000 instead. If that doesn’t work then let me know what make and model of cell phone you have and we can go from there.

  122. HDC J One Mini smartphone android hard reset
    Problem with my J One Mini screen just showing ‘swipe to unlock’ but nothing happens after I swipe. It will boot into phone test mode if I press the vol + & power but not the factory mode. I tried many different combinations but I can’t seem to be able to hard reset it.
    pls help 🙁

    1. Trying to hard reset your J One Mini smartphone…

      Hi AlMalique,

      If you have a legitimate HTC J Android smartphone then you can perform a hard reset with the hardware buttons by powering the phone off (remove the battery if you need to), press and hold the Volume Down key and then the Power button until the three Android images appear and then release the Volume Down and Power keys. Press the Volume Down key to scroll to and highlight the Factory Reset option and then use the Power button to make the selection.

      If however you are trying to hard reset an HTC clone or replica then I am not sure what the hard reset key combination would be or if the phone would even have this feature (especially if you have already tried all of the common hard reset methods mentioned in the article above).

  123. google play store is missing
    I did a factory reset on my lg optimus elite and now google playstore is gone. it was there before I did the hard reset. I can access google playstore through my browser & find an app l want and click download and it says its downloading. Then it says its installed but when l go to my apps its not there. please help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    1. Accessing the Play Store App on your newly reset LG Optimus

      Hi Holly,

      Try restarting your phone and see if the Play Store will pop up again (it’s a pre-installed application and a hard reset wont remove that particular app from the phone). If you get a message stating that the app is already installed then it’s going to be on your phone somewhere we just need to find it.

      If restarting the phone doesn’t seem to help then check your phones list of applications for a “Market” instead. The Google Play Store hasn’t always been the “Play Store” and you might need to open and update the original “Market” application.

      If you have no luck with that then try searching for available updates and update whatever needs updating.

      I have a feeling that these quick suggestions will allow you to have access to the Play Store application on your LG Optimus again but if you still have issues then let me know and we can go from there.

  124. TSM T928 (To Many Pattern Attempt and Forgot my Gmail account)
    Please help me with my phone problem. This phone is important.

    I cant unlock my phone and I forget the password. I have tried many ways to unlock it and now i am trying to do a HARD RESET. When I try to hard reset my device it turned on and an Android with a Triangle also appeared. But, the android system recovery doesn’t appear so that i can’t reset my phone.
    I already tried waiting for a long time but it still shows the same thing.

    Please, could you give me some advice or another way to solve my problem. I have tried to solve this problem by searching all over the internet but the hard reset doesn’t want to work.

    Thanks for the Help. 😀

    1. How to hard reset the TSM T928

      Hello Sharifudin,

      To be perfectly honest, I have never handled (or troubleshot) that particular cell phone before and am not sure which hardware buttons you will need to use in order to complete the hard reset. Some phones require you to press another key when getting to that Android with a Triangle screen and perhaps that might be the key in resetting your TSM T928.

      Sorry I couldn’t be of more help Sharifudin but I am not familiar with that make or model of cell phone. If you do end up discovering the proper reset combinations then PLEASE come back to the site and post it. I myself tried doing some research online in order to try and locate the proper hard reset process for that phone and while unsuccessful in my search I could see that you are not the first person to have problems finding the proper method.

      Good luck, I got my fingers crossed for you and I hope to hear back from you.

  125. Encryption Unsuccessful
    The model of my phone is MyPhone A919 and it applies the first method, i thought it worked but then it didn’t direct to my home. It says “Encryption Unsuccessful. Encryption was interrupted and can’t complete. As a result, the data on your phone is no longer accessible To resume using your phone after the reset, you’ll have an oppurtunity to restore any data that was backed up to you google account”. I pressed the “RESET PHONE” button and nothing happened.

  126. CAT B15 – Failure of system reset.
    Hello,
    I’ve suddenly started having issues with my CATB15. It was working fine, but suddenly I’ve received countless notifications (some recurring annoyingly) about applications failing. A lot of them, I’ve noticed are ones that relate to google and android. Plus I cannot uninstall Dropbox or Facebook without the phone crashing.

    So I’ve done everything – disable and enable, disable certain apps, uninstall updates etc, but nothing worked.

    After that I tried a factory reset, and it rebooted and took me to the android recovery mode. In the mode I selected wipe data/factory reset, and also wipe partition cache. Both finished suspiciously quickly (in 1 second). However on starting the phone, it showed that apart from time and date resetting, the rest remained the same. Further I cannot even tap anywhere on the screen easily, without being interrupted by an array of notifications of something having to terminate.

    I suspect it is either a virus, (in which case Avast Mobile Security was useless) or and more likely, that something has crashed. My guess is based on the fact that I only hav 512mb RAM, and that anything intensive like facebook or Dropbox is too much at this point.

    Can you give me a possible solution to completely reset the phone back to scratch? I cannot install any apps on the phone as most apps do not start and fail almost immediately, including play store.

    Thanks

    1. That sounds like a CATastrophe my friend

      Hello Daniel,

      Sorry to hear that you are having issues with your CatB15. That specific cell phone doesn’t have a lot of internal memory built into it and available memory is likely to run out quick, which is likely why the phone was working fine and then “suddenly started having issues”. It’s likely that the phone was fine when it had available storage space but as soon as it filled up it could no longer process things like it needs to and thus all of these annoying error messages.

      From your description it sounds like you did EVERYTHING correct and performed a hard reset properly BUT like you mentioned it doesn’t sound like the reset finish like it should have. Your phone might not have had enough space/memory to perform a reset properly (not good).

      Here is what I recommend. Try the reset a few more times until it appears that everything has been removed from the phone. If you cannot seem to get it to go through properly then TRY to go through the phone and delete some things manually. If you cannot do so and everything continues to keep crashing then try to boot your phone into Safe Mode and then, while in Safe Mode, try to remove things.

      You can check out this guide for some additional suggestions if you need to but after you have manually deleted some data from your device, attempt the hard reset again and it should go through properly.

      Afterwards you will need to keep a close eye on your phones storage and try to move and keep as much of your information to a memory card as your phone will allow.

      Good luck Daniel, if you have any more questions or problems then let me know and I will see what I can do to try and help.

      1. CATastrophe continues
        I’ve tried the hard reset a couple of times, and tried even going through safe mode – however safe mode was not safe mode, but the normal phone mode!

        I had tried holding the power off – until it says reboot in safe mode, but it rebooted just like it normally would, and the data was the normal one. So no safe

        I then tried deleting physical data – through file manager, but on rebooting, it went back to status quo – no difference on that.

        I saw something on the internet – about rooting the phone and clearing the davlek cache – which I was trying using Kingo Root, except it wouldn’t do anything.

        I’m at a loss at this point – I’ve tried taking out the battery for 48 hours to see if that would work but it didn’t. For a phone that’s indestructible, the software is no good.

        Thanks

        1. A CATaclysm of misfortune

          Hi again Daniel,

          Wow your cell phone sure is a stubborn one isn’t it? Ok, Safe Mode was a no go (this stinks). When you went to delete data using your phones file manager did it let you? What were you able to delete if anything? Try to delete as much as you can if it does let you remove/delete/uninstall information from your cell phone. If things keep crashing you may be able to connect your cell phone to a computer with a USB data cable to remove some stuff and clear up some information (which should also allow you to backup anything important as well).

          Does your CATB15 have a memory card in it? If so take it out and see if that makes any difference. Memory cards can cause funny problems like this sometimes and they are very easy to overlook.

          I assume that you have tried the factory data reset through your phones setting and with the hardware buttons but so far both ways have been unsuccessful.

          As far as the “Davlek cache”… yeah that might help, and yeah you would need to root the phone in order to get to that option… and yes rooting MAY be an answer. In fact some phones can be manipulated to allow an external memory card to act as internal storage space but be very careful if you try to go down this path as getting to that point can be tricky and if you ever remove the SD card (that’s being used as internal storage space) the phone will be in worse shape than it is now. For me, rooting and software customization would be a very last resort (especially if rooting voids the phones manufacture warranty which should cover this stubborn software issue).

          So if your cell phone is using a memory card take it out, reboot, and see if that helps. If not then keep it out for now and try using a computer to free up some space (if applicable), cross your fingers and try the Safe Mode and Hard Reset again and if that doesn’t work then try using some of the hard reset star codes listed HERE to see if any work on the CATB15. If that doesn’t work then check into your warranty options as it should cover annoying software problems like this.

          Good luck Daniel, I got my fingers crossed for you and I hope to hear back from you soon with some good news.

          Oh and by the way, who is your wireless provider?

  127. Help!
    None of these worked. I forgot my password and now its asking for a Google account, but it wont let me in when I put my Google stuff in?? I have no idea the make and model, but please try and help me!

    1. You have to help me help you

      Hi Venecia,

      I want to help you, as I love helping people BUT I cannot help you reset your phone if I don’t know what kind of phone it is that you have, and your cell phones version of software might make a difference as well. This is even more important if NONE of the common hard reset methods mentioned above worked for your cell phone. Your cell phone might require a unique reset button combination to be used, or a hard reset with the hardware keys may not even be possible for that device. I can’t say for sure as I don’t know what phone you are trying to reset.

      Since you cannot get past your password screen you won’t be able to access your cell phones Settings > More > and About device in order to find your phones model number (or Android/software version) but can you remove the battery on your phone? If you can take the battery out then on the back of the phone underneath where the battery sits there should be some information about your cell phone which may help us figure out what the name of your phone is.

      Don’t feel bad about not knowing what the name of your phone is. Depending on the manufacture it might have dozens of brothers and sisters with similar names. There are a lot of different types of Samsung Galaxy phones or LG Optimus cell phones etc. So don’t feel bad but I do need to know what it is to help you effectively.

      If you cannot remove the battery from your phone or you no longer have the box that the phone came in, or if for any reason you cannot locate the make and model of your cell phone then call your wireless carrier and ask them what the name of your phone is. They can tell you in a matter of seconds and while your talking with them ask them to lookup the proper hard reset method for your cell phone and ask them to walk you through it.

      Afterwards don’t forget to come back to the site and if you don’t see that hard reset method listed in the article already then let me know what the name of your cell phone is and what you did to reset it. That way if someone else has the same issue your post can help them out.

      Either way let me know Venecia and I hope to hear back from you.

  128. Hard Reset – No Data Message
    Hi,
    I also have the same problem of Hard Reset….
    But this one is Different. I followed the First step as it is. What happened is a screen came showing “No Data”!
    Maybe this is happening because I have a cheap tablet or something?
    Or maybe because of Root?
    Maybe I tried to increase my internal storage?
    I have Touchmate TM-MID722 Proto Tab Pro.
    I really need a solution for this.
    Because I can’t get a new one!

    1. It sounds like a bad command

      Hi Shahroz,

      It could be a few things that caused that to happen BUT if I had to guess I would speculate that the hardware key combination code you used was a command that instructed the tablet to install updates from a memory card. It couldn’t find the update file (as there was none) and so your tablet let you know that there was “No Data” to update from…

      It sounds like you might just need to restart your tablet and try a different hardware key combination that will instruct it to open the Android System Recovery instead which should let you perform a hard reset on your Touchmate TM-MID722 Proto Tab Pro.

  129. My alcatel one touch wont restart after factory reset
    I have done a factory reset on my cell phone but it wont restart. It keeps showing me the android logo. I have removed the battery but nothing is happening.Could it be because I rooted the phone? Please help.

    1. Trying to fix an Alcatel stuck on the Android startup logo

      Hi Ray,

      It sounds like a software problem, and yes it could be because you rooted the device but not necessarily. I have not written a guide on how to fix that specific problem on an Alcatel cell phone yet but you can use THIS guide as a reference. It sounds like you have done the majority of troubleshooting already but pay extra attention to the end of that guide as you may have to install a fresh version of software to your Alcatel to get it to power on correctly and work properly again.

    1. It depends…

      Hi Juan,

      It depends on what model of LG Optimus you are trying to hard reset… There are quite a few of them my friend. Make sure to definitely try Hard Reset method number 9 listed in the article above though. It’s a method commonly used to hard reset LG Android smartphones.

      It depends on what model of LG Optimus you are trying to hard reset… There are quite a few of them my friend. Make sure to definitely try Hard Reset method number 9 listed in the article above though. It’s a method commonly used to hard reset LG Android smartphones.