Reset Samsung Galaxy S2, S3, S4, Note2, Note3 Without Losing Data
Edited by Jerry Rivers, Alma, Dougie, waseemdewdrop and 43 others
There are a number of good reasons to reset your Galaxy phone. Whatever the reason you don't want to lose your valuable data. You can do this easily with a soft reset, and it will only require rebooting your Galaxy. It will simply bring you back to a home screen. Yet, if you are having a huge problem with your Samsung mobile device, you may have to perform a Hard Reset which unfortunately will result in losing all of your data. In this case, you must re-install some or all of all apps, unless you do a back-up of all your data. This will require more steps than a soft reset but in most cases, you can still retain your data. The procedure to Hard Reset the Galaxy phone is simple but slightly different.
The steps will be demonstrated for both types of resets for your Samsung Galaxy S2, S3, S4, S5 Note2, and Note3. The two procedures for the soft reset in which your data is preserved will be presented first. You will be instructed how to perform a backup to save all your files in case you must Hard Reset your Galaxy. There are three different ways to perform the Hard Reset, and each procedure will be given for you to follow.
A soft reset will just kill all apps that you have going at the time. Any data that is not saved will be gone. Nearly all problems, such as your screen freezing, the Galaxy suddenly operating slowly, or commands cannot be entered, can be remedied with the soft reset. So, all will be okay if there is a problem that pops up with your Galaxy. After this tutorial, you will reset your Samsung Galaxy S2, S3, S4, S5, Note2, or Note3 without losing data.
- 1 Soft reset your Samsung Galaxy Using the Power Button
- 2 Soft reset your Samsung Galaxy by removal of battery
- 3 Back-up Your Samsung Galaxy Data Prior to a Hard Reset
- 4 Hard Reset your Samsung Galaxy Using the Dialer App
- 5 Factory Reset your Samsung Galaxy from the Settings App
- 6 Hard Reset your Samsung Galaxy through Android Recovery
- 7 Hard Resetting the Galaxy S4
- 8 How to Hard Reset a Galaxy S4 if Locked Up
- 9 Questions and Answers
- 9.1 How do I soft-reset Note3?
- 9.2 When I drive away in my car (away from any WiFi), I lose my internet connectivity. I want to know if I can restore it?
- 9.3 Can I get data off of my locked Samsung Galaxy S4 if I can't use the screen?
- 9.4 Help should I reset or buy a battery?
- 9.5 My son caused my S5 to Factory Reset and it wiped out my SD card. Is there any way to retrieve the data?
- 9.6 S2 Keeps restart/loop, and I don't know what to do?
- 9.7 Samsung Galaxy S5 with rainbow screen of death, what should I do?
- 9.8 Frozen screen suddenly phone shut off and when restarted it only gets as far as the white screen with T-Mobile 4G lte letters?
- 9.9 I cannot access the voicemail. I do not know a password?
- 9.10 I downloaded Kies for a second time and my Mini 3 will not connect?
- 10 Comments
Soft reset your Samsung Galaxy Using the Power Button
One of the first options you can use to soft reset your Samsung Galaxy is as follows:
- 1Simply press and hold the "Power" button for approximately 20 seconds or until the screen turns off.
- 2Then, turn your mobile device on again by pushing and holding the "Power" button for a few seconds.
- 3Alternatively, if you are performing a soft reset on your Samsung Galaxy 3, you will need to press the "Power" button for 3-5 seconds until the phone restarts.
- 4Wait another 10 seconds and then press and hold the "Power" button to restart it again.
- 5If this doesn't work, remove the battery for 30 seconds and try again until it works.
Soft reset your Samsung Galaxy by removal of battery
The second method involves these few steps:
- 1Turn off your Samsung device.
- 2Remove the back cover.
- 3Then, wait a few minutes before taking the next step.Take out the battery, subscriber identity module (SIM) card, and the Secure Digital (SD) memory card.
- 4After you have waited a few minutes, put the SIM, SD card, and the battery back in your Samsung Galaxy.
- 5Snap the mobile device cover back in place.
- 6Your data will still be intact, and your Galaxy should be fully operable once again.You are now ready to turn on your Samsung Galaxy.
- 7The above two ways to Soft Reset your Samsung Galaxy device will not remove any device lock pins or patterns. You will need to perform a hard reset in order to do so. Performing a hard reset will wipe all of your user data. If at all possible, you need to back up your data (if you can) beforehand.Please note:
Back-up Your Samsung Galaxy Data Prior to a Hard Reset
If you have a major problem and must perform a Hard Reset to get your Galaxy back on track, do not fret. You can still keep all of your data with a data back-up by using the procedure below. By the way, this is also recommended to do a back-up if you ever update your mobile device's software.
- 1
Hard Reset your Samsung Galaxy Using the Dialer App
- 1Be sure that you have backed up your files as directed above before a Hard Reset. Note: Disable any encrypted data on your SD card before doing this procedure.Hard resetting a Samsung Galaxy can be accomplished in one of three ways from Dial Pad, Android operating system (OS), or the Start-up method.
- 2Hard reset using the dial pad is the best method for most Samsung mobile device owners because it is so user-friendly.
- 3
- 4The Samsung Galaxy will automatically reset.
Factory Reset your Samsung Galaxy from the Settings App
To perform a factory reset of your Samsung Galaxy phone, follow these steps (a factory reset will wipe all of your user data):
- 1From the home screen, tap on the "Apps" button.
- 2Locate the "Settings" app and tap on it to open it.
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8Once your device finishes and reboots for the first time, you will have to set it up with your Google account, etc.Your Galaxy device will be restored to the original state and the original settings when you bought it.
Hard Reset your Samsung Galaxy through Android Recovery
- 1The third option for the Galaxy Hard Reset is during the "Startup".
- 2This may take about ten seconds.With your mobile device off, Press and hold the three buttons "Home", "Volume Up", and "Power" buttons together until your Galaxy comes on.
- 3Your device should boot into the Android Recovery screen.Release the three buttons.
- 4
- 5Press the "Power" button on the right side of the screen.
- 6
- 7
Hard Resetting the Galaxy S4
- 1At the home screen, tap the "Apps icon" found at the bottom right corner of your screen.
- 2Press the "Settings" icon.
- 3Press the "Accounts" tab or "General" tab, depending on the layout of your screen.
- 4Tap the "Back-up & reset" option.
- 5Tap the "Factory data reset" button.
- 6Follow any instructions or prompt messages that appear and then tap "Reset device" or "Erase Everything".
How to Hard Reset a Galaxy S4 if Locked Up
- 1Just in case your Galaxy is locked up, with no way to reach menus, you can Hard Reset it.
- 2Hold the "Power" button down until the S4 powers off.
- 3Then set it back in place. Keep it turned off.Should the S4 not turn off, take out the battery for a moment.
- 4Then, press and hold your "Volume Up" and "Home" buttons. Keep these two buttons pressed, and then press/hold the "Power" button.Ensure that the S4 is turned off.
- 5Once the "Recovery mode" shows up at the upper top corner, release all three buttons.
- 6Now, go to the "Recovery Mode" screen, and press the "Volume Up/Down" key to navigate up or down.
- 7With the "Power" button you can now choose any application option.
- 8The Galaxy S4 should now be reset, and fully optional once again.
Questions and Answers
How do I soft-reset Note3?
Holding down the power button seems not to work
The official Samsung instructions say that you should follow these steps to soft reset your Note3.
- Press and hold the power button.
- Select "Restart"
- Select "OK"
- If the above did not work (as in your case), remove and then reinsert the Note3 battery, and then turn your Note3 back on.
See more questions like this: My Note3 is dead but contains all my contacts, any suggestions?
When I drive away in my car (away from any WiFi), I lose my internet connectivity. I want to know if I can restore it?
Recently I was at a resort and was having trouble retaining connectivity to their WiFi, so I was patched through to a resort tech support person who helped me do so. In the meantime, I wonder if this changed some settings on my phone that made it difficult to retain internet connectivity because of the entire drive home, I had no access to internet or text messaging apps like Kik. This continued until we arrived home and I was able to access our home WiFi.
It did not, however, affect my being able to call on my phone or text message through the regular phone app. I have tried: Restarting; shutting down and then booting back up; shutting down, taking the battery out, blowing canned air in the compartment, waiting 10 seconds, then booting back up; shutting down, taking the battery out, taking the SIM card out, then booting back up; using an online tutorial from EE to configure some settings.. I think it was caused by: The WiFi incident described above
All of the WiFi networks have a small range where you can catch the signal. The range can be even shorter with various obstructions. Therefore, your phone will need to switch to the mobile Internet to keep the connection alive.
Please follow the instructions in our tutorial. In step 5, check both "Data roaming" and "Use packet data".
If you still do not have the Internet, you will need to see if there is Internet coverage in your area for your specific carrier and if you are signed up to an Internet plan that still has traffic available for you. Both of these questions can be answered only by your carrier.
Can I get data off of my locked Samsung Galaxy S4 if I can't use the screen?
I dropped my phone, and the digitizer broke and I'm getting a new one, but I would like to be able to back up my phone first.
Unfortunately, if your phone is locked and you can't unlock it due to a broken screen, you won't be able to back it up through any service or application. If you logged into a Google and/or Samsung account before your dropped your phone, your contacts, pictures, applications, data, web history, and other settings will be backed up for you to use on your new device. Outside of that, however, since your phone is locked, you will not be able to backup any information with Samsung Kies or any other program or service.
Help should I reset or buy a battery?
My Galaxy 4 is shutting off and restarting, only staying on for 30 seconds or so. I've read several things and some have even said it could be I just need a new battery. However, I'm impatient and don't want to order one online and have to wait for it to be shipped. Also, can I possibly reset it without my SIM card in it or is my stuff not actually on my SIM but on my phone?
The most common reason is either software or the battery. To start with the fastest and simplest solution, reset your Galaxy S4. Sometimes, restarting and shutting down are caused by disabled system applications or bad applications. This can be easily "cured" by hard-resetting your phone. Just follow the "How to Hard Reset your Samsung Galaxy" section in the article. Keeping or taking out your SIM card does not matter: the card only serves as a proxy between you and the cell phone carrier and stores some basic data that will not be affected by any resets.
If that did not work, open the back cover and see if the battery contacts touch to contacts of the phone. You may want to prop the battery contacts right against the phone contacts with a piece of folded paper or eraser by putting it into the gaps where the battery is loose.
Other causes are
- overheating: do not operate your device in the sun with a resource-consuming game running;
- faulty firmware: if you flashed a custom ROM onto your device, reflash it with the original one;
- faulty hardware: if nothing above helped, bring your device to a Samsung service center.
See more questions like this: I dropped my Samsung Galaxy S2. The screen is black and does not display any commands that can be seen. However I know the power is on, because this morning the alarm went off on the phone and I used the USB cord and saw the battery has 87% life. Please h
My son caused my S5 to Factory Reset and it wiped out my SD card. Is there any way to retrieve the data?
Is there any way to retrieve the data?
There are many ways to retrieve deleted files from your SD card. If you backed up your files before the Hard Reset you can recover them easily. You'll need to plug your Samsung GS5 into the PC and restore your backup by using the Kies program on your computer. However, if you don't have any backup of your data, you can use the EaseUS MobiSaver program to recover most of your files.
If you aren't familiar with this program, follow the steps below to install and retrieve your files:
- 1On your PC, open a web browser.
- 2Go to the MobiSaver website.
- 3Click on 'Free Download'.
- 4Once the setup is downloaded, open and install it on your PC.
- 5Follow the instructions on the setup to install the program.
- 6Wait for the installation process to complete.
- 7Once the program is installed, launch it.
- 8Connect your Samsung device to the PC.
- 9When the program identifies your phone, it will automatically start the scanning process for the lost files.
- 10Now you should be able to see all of your deleted files.
- 11Select the items you want to recover.
- 12Click on 'Recover'.
- 13Specify a location on your PC to store the files.
- 14Your files are retrieved and you can now transfer them to your Android phone.
If you need more help retrieving your data, let us know in the Q&A section.
S2 Keeps restart/loop, and I don't know what to do?
Hi! My Samsung Galaxy S2 keeps restarting. It turns on, loads up to the part where it has the Samsung Galaxy S2 screen, and then just restarts from there. It keeps doing this, and I'm unable to use my phone. I've tried going into the recovery mode and using 'Wipe Cache Partition", but that didn't work
In the recovery menu, select "wipe data/factory reset" instead. Please notice that this will erase all of your data on the phone. If this method does not help, remove the back cover, and push the battery towards the contacts. Keep it pressed like that with an object pushed between the lower part of the battery (the one without the contacts) and the phone. See if the phone boots up. If that does not help, replace your battery. You can order one here: Samsung Replacement Battery.
Samsung Galaxy S5 with rainbow screen of death, what should I do?
My Samsung Galaxy S5 suddenly got the rainbow screen of death. I took the battery out and put it back in. it worked fine for 5 minutes. I repeated the process, and had it working for about 45 minutes. Now it just stays on the rainbow screen. I tried all available methods of resetting it, I couldn't even do the factory reset with the power,home, and volume up buttons. The rainbow screen just popped back up. I have not taken it to the Verizon Store yet, because they were already closed when this happened. The Rainbow Screen of Death will not allow me to reset my phone. I have tried: Every form of reset available. They all failed due to the rainbow screen. I think it was caused by: One of the software updates has caused the rainbow screen to occur more frequently in the Galaxy S5. From what I've read, one of the settings from a previous update doesn't play nicely with the newer settings.
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Frozen screen suddenly phone shut off and when restarted it only gets as far as the white screen with T-Mobile 4G lte letters?
My Galaxy note 2 suddenly shut off and now when I try to start it up it gets stuck on the white screen with the T-Mobile 4G LTE letters. Can it be due to the fact that I sort of edited the build prop file via root browser? Its a little different because when I try to start it up into safe mode it simply won't at all it just resumes on that screen. I have tried: I've tried using switch as well as lies software but they say the same which at first when connected it shows that it's connecting but at the end states connection failed. I rooted it again with ODIN and it all went well even got the PASS and it still just won't get passed the white screen. I tried using ease US mobile recovery software but it won't even read the phone. I also went into recovery mode and wiped cache data with no luck. I don't want to try to factory reset because I just want to get all my important files pictures etc. If possible. I think it was caused by: I edited the build prop file cause it was a fix for the screen mirroring. I had used up pretty much all my phone memory low storage space. I used this app called service disable which allows one to freeze or doable system apps or remove bloatware
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I cannot access the voicemail. I do not know a password?
I am using a used phone. I have already completed a factory reset. I unable to access the voicemail. How can I access the voicemail to listen to the messages and create a new passcode? How to access voicemail when the pass code is unknown? I have tried: Factory reset twice hasn't allowed access to voicemail. I think it was caused by: Used phone may have had a voicemail pass code set up. how do I access the voice mail account to change the pass code?
You may have to contact your mobile carrier to request a password reset on your voicemail service.
I downloaded Kies for a second time and my Mini 3 will not connect?
Reason I want to back-up is because of the RH-01 error when going to the App store. Was told I need to back-up and then do a factory reset. This is a failed to connect to device- May be prohibited by computer security system.
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If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.