How to reset your Samsung phone

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If the time has come to sell or donate your Samsung Galaxy phone, you’ll want to ensure the phone’s new owner can’t access your private texts, photos and personal information. This is when a factory reset may come in handy; it’s an easy way to wipe everything on your phone in preparation for a sale, or as a way to free up some storage space.

Find out how to factory reset your Samsung Galaxy smartphone below.

How to factory reset your Samsung phone

Factory resetting your Samsung can be done in two ways: via settings or buttons. There’s also a remote way to reset your Samsung if it is lost or stolen. Remember if you’re factory resetting your phone, all of your personal information, apps, media and data will be erased from the device.

Resetting your Samsung phone via Settings

This may differ slightly depending on your model of Galaxy, but the general method of resetting is via one of these methods:

• Settings > General Management > Reset > Factory data reset
• Settings > Backup and reset > Factory data reset
• Settings > Privacy > Factory data reset

Resetting your Samsung phone via buttons

Resetting via physical buttons can be handy if you’ve locked yourself out of your device. The general method is as follows, but make sure your handset is off first.

• Press and hold the volume up button, the power button and the home button at the same time.
• When you feel your device vibrate, release the power button.
• A screen menu will pop up; when you see this, release the remaining buttons.
• Use the volume down button until you highlight the ‘Delete all user data’ option; press the power button to select it.
• Press the power button again to confirm yes.
• Press the power button to highlight and select the ‘reboot’ option.

Your phone will now be reset. This can be useful if you’ve forgotten your passcode, you’re using a family member’s old phone with an active PIN, or you can’t be bothered going into your settings.

Resetting your Samsung phone via ‘Find My Mobile’

‘Find My Mobile’ is similar to ‘Find My iPhone’; when enabled, it allows you to find your phone if it’s lost, stolen, or misplaced. The app allows you to locate, lock, and wipe your device remotely. 

To reset your Samsung phone remotely you’ll need to have that function set up before your phone goes missing.

• Login to your phone via website using your credentials.
• Through the interface you can select ‘Wipe my Device’.
• Select ‘wipe removable storage area’ (i.e. your SD card) or ‘factory data reset’.
• Enter your account password and click ‘Wipe’.
• Click OK.

To remotely reset your Samsung phone, it will need to be online. Delays may occur if your Galaxy is out of range. If you try to factory reset your Samsung phone and it fails, it’s likely out of range.

A word of warning

If you’ve signed in to your Google (Android) account on your Samsung Galaxy device, you may have unwittingly enabled Google device protection, which was a default option on later operating systems. This prevents unauthorised people from resetting your device if they’ve stolen it or found it. If you have Google device protection enabled, you’ll need your login credentials to reset your phone.

When to reset your Samsung phone

Factory resetting isn’t something to be taken lightly, especially as all your files, photos, apps and music can be deleted! Here’s what factory resetting is good for:

• An easy way to delete everything when selling your phone or giving it to someone else.
• If your phone is very buggy or slow due to a virus or other issue.
• If it’s slow due to having the memory or hard drive near its limit and you find it easier to start again than pinpoint the issue (too many apps, music etc).
• Your phone frequently freezes when you go from apps to the home screen and it’s not your SD card acting up.
• You’re having to force close apps a lot, or if your battery life is suffering.

It’s optimistic to say that your Samsung Galaxy will run smoothly forever, as all phones slow down and battery life suffers over time. Often, a factory reset can be all that’s needed to give your phone a new lease on life, which is why it’s important to backup your phone regularly.

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Backing up before a factory reset

Aside from directly copying over your hard drive to another hard drive with device writing software, backing up with a Samsung Galaxy unfortunately isn’t a one-step process. There are several methods you can use to completely backup your device.

Backup via Samsung Cloud

Virtual storage can be a convenient way to access all your stuff. Samsung Cloud can backup the following:

• Call logs
• Alarms
• App data
• World clocks
• Home screen settings
• App settings
• App data
• Messages
• Documents
• Voice recordings
• Music

You may have noticed an omission from this list – contacts. Fortunately, you can save your contacts to your SIM card and pop it in your new phone to access them after you’ve factory reset.

• Go into Settings > Clouds and Accounts > Samsung Cloud.
• Backup settings and select what you want to be backed up.

You can also set your Samsung to auto backup. For this to happen your phone will need to be on charge, connected to WiFi and have the screen off for an hour. A good way to auto backup is to keep it running overnight while you’re sleeping.

Backup via Google

Backing up via your Google account won’t take care of everything, but can save important personal data and media. Backing up via Google saves the following:

• Wi-Fi passwords
• Phone logs
• App settings
• App data
• Photos
• Videos
• Files

For a more thorough backup, you’ll probably need to use the Samsung Cloud service. But if you don’t want to use a cloud service, backing up via Google is a solid option, and can be done by following the steps below.

• Go into Settings > Cloud and Accounts.
• Tap Backup and Restore.
• Switch on ‘Backup my data’ and ‘automatic restore’.

Your photos and documents can also be backed up via Google Photos and Google Drive, if you use those apps regularly.

How to move files from a Samsung device to SD card

Choosing to store your information, photos and files on your removable SD card is a luxury iPhone users don’t have. Samsung Galaxy users can insert an SD card and store data on it, including photos, files, videos and more. Here’s how you do it:

• Navigate to Apps > My Files
• Select your options e.g. Images, Audio.
• Tap the Menu icon.
• Tap Select then select desired files.
• Tap the Menu icon again.
• Tap Move.
• Tap ‘SD Card’.
• Navigate to the preferred folder then select ‘Move Here’.

You’ve probably noticed that Apps can be challenging to transfer. To simplify the process, choose to save Apps to your SD card when presented with the option to save to internal storage or your SD.

Should I factory reset my Samsung Galaxy phone?

Resetting your Samsung phone can be worthwhile if you’re experiencing slow speeds or lagging. 

Similarly, it’s vital to reset if you’re selling your phone or giving it to someone else. Factory resetting can help ensure security and that the new owner can’t access your old files, photos, apps and personal data.

Before you reset your Samsung phone, it’s important to backup your device. Backing up is easy, especially if you have access to Samsung Cloud. 

Similarly, you can also copy the contents of your device to your SD card or save everything to it from the get-go.