Hard Reset to format the Samsung Galaxy

When the smartphone no longer works as it should, it no longer turns on or seems literally dead, there is always a possibility to get it back and make it work again: the hard reset . The hard reset wipes out all data and applications applied to the phone and returns the various settings to the factory default state. So if for some bug or error a hardware component was blocked, the hard reset should wake it up and put it back into operation.
In this guide we will show you how to correctly perform the hard reset on any Samsung Galaxy phone, so you can quickly intervene in case of problems with the startup or with some apps.
Since it acts in depth on the phone, we recommend using it when it is not possible to access the phone correctly (it freezes on startup) or when the Settings menu is not accessible (RAM memory saturation or blocking by some app).
READ ALSO: Restart Android if the mobile phone or tablet seems dead

How to perform hard reset on Samsung Galaxy

Hard reset is the last option to use when a smartphone freezes and does not start and is done by pressing physical buttons on the mobile phone, the volume and the power buttons. The main difference from the simple factory reset (available in the Android menus) is that the hard reset, in addition to formatting the internal memory of the phone, erases all the data, restores the system and re-initializes the basic hardware components by finishing all ongoing operations on them.
The hard reset is also useful to restore the original Samsung firmware in case you have installed an update that has worsened the performance of the device: carrying it out immediately after the update will allow us to delete any residues of the old firmware, so as to benefit from all the benefits of upgrading.

Hard reset procedure

On all modern smartphones produced by Samsung, in particular those of the Samsung Galaxy series, the hard reset can be done, even when the mobile phone seems completely dead, by turning off the device and holding down on the key sequence shown below:

1. Samsung smartphone with physical Home button : Power + Home button + Volume up
2. Samsung smartphone without physical Home button : Power on + Bixby button + Volume up
3. Samsung smartphone without Home button and without Bixby button : Power on + Volume up

Once the correct key sequence has been pressed (based on the smartphone model in use), the system recovery will appear, which will appear as in the image below.

From this menu we move using the volume buttons, while to confirm on each item we use the power button as a click.
To perform the hard reset, we select the item Wipe cache partition e we confirm on Yes ; back in the recovery menu we select this time Wipe data / Factory reset and in the next window we select Yes, so we can start the procedure, We wait for the procedure to be completed (usually just a few seconds), then we restart the phone in normal mode by selecting and confirming on the Reboot system now item .
If the recovery console appears, 99% of the time the phone will return to normal operation, just like it was bought; all data will have been cleared and all options reset.
With this procedure, the files on the external SD card and the data stored on the SIM are not affected by the reset and are absolutely not touched.
The first start after this procedure may prove to be longer than usual, as it has in fact returned to the settings provided by the manufacturer (as if it were starting the first time).
Following the hard reset, the operating system will always show the latest update installed and, after the welcome screen, will ask for the insertion of the data of the last Google account associated with the phone, as a security measure against thieves (if the thief try to reset the phone, it will necessarily have to know the credentials of our Google account in order to continue after the hard reset).

Hard reset on completely blocked phone

If it is not possible to enter recovery mode using the physical keys indicated above, we will have to enter recovery mode from PC .
First of all we turn off the Samsung smartphone and put it in download mode, as shown below:

1. Samsung smartphone with physical Home button : Power + Home button + Volume down
2. Samsung smartphone without physical Home button : Power on + Bixby button + Volume down
3. Samsung smartphone without Home button and without Bixby button : Power on + Volume down

Downloading will appear on the phone; now we install the Samsung drivers for the PC, download the quick ADB package, then connect the phone to the PC via the appropriate USB cable. After a few seconds it will be recognized by the system as a smartphone in download mode; to continue, open the Start menu at the bottom left and search for the Command Prompt .
From the prompt we launch the following commands inside the window (those indicated in italics):

1. adb devices : shows the connected device
2. adb shell : opens a terminal on the device
3. recovery --wipe_data : hard reset the device and restart it

If the phone supports Fastboot commands, we can also attempt hard reset with the following commands:

1. adb reboot bootloader : restarts the phone in bootloader mode
2. fastboot devices : shows the device connected and compatible with Fastboot
3. fastboot erase userdata : hard reset the device
4. adb reboot recovery : restart the phone in recovery mode

The last command will also allow you to access recovery quickly, so that you can later use the commands displayed in the previous chapter (they are safer to use). Whatever procedure we followed, at the end let's go into recovery and press on Reboot system now to end the recovery procedure and use the new and formatted phone.

Conclusions

The hard reset is the last resort, to be used only when the internal recovery of Android does not work or we cannot access the device (it freezes on startup or restarts indefinitely without ever displaying the welcome or login screen ).
Still on the recovery topic, it can be very useful to read our guides on how to reset and restore Android even if the mobile phone or tablet does not start, where we will find procedures and methods valid also for Samsung phones.
If instead we wanted to deepen the potential of Samsung-branded smartphones, we can read our in-depth analysis on the Cheats and functions hidden in the Samsung Galaxy .