Since we rely on our phones to do 90% of our daily tasks, it can be a nightmare when your smartphone freezes. To feel this, try leaving your home one day without your smartphone. Most of us won’t last an hour.
A frozen smartphone can cut you off from work, friends, and family. Not having access to certain software or your favorite communication channels can harm your productivity as well as your overall mood and mental well-being.
This is why you can learn how to do a full iPhone or Android hard reset long before your phone actually starts to freeze.
What is the difference between soft reset and hard reset?
There are many reasons why your phone freezes and becomes unresponsive. Fortunately, in most cases, simply rebooting (or rebooting) your phone will unfreeze your device
Another name for phone reboot is “soft reset”. To soft reset iPhone or Android, hold down the Power button for 30 seconds for Android, or simultaneously hold the Home button (circle button) and the Power button for iPhone. Then the device will restart.
When you turn on your phone after a soft reset, all of your data should remain intact. This includes your settings, photos and videos, and any other files or updates. We recommend that you always start by performing a soft reset to see if it fixes the problem with your device.
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But what if the problem with your phone is more serious than, for example, a single crashing and unresponsive app? If you notice shortly after a soft reset that your phone is still not working properly, you may need to dig deeper and perform a hard reset.
A hard reset, also known as a factory reset, means restoring your smartphone to its original state.
Hence the biggest difference between a soft and a hard reset: A hard reset erases all your data from your phone, meaning all your media files, settings, and apps will be removed from your device. For the same reason, it is recommended to perform a full reboot of the smartphone before selling it to a new owner.
How to reset your Android device
Since hard resetting your phone is like formatting your memory and restoring it before day one, you should only perform a hard reset as a last resort. If possible, back up your phone data before resetting your device to avoid losing valuable information.
The instructions are different for Android and iPhone (and sometimes for different phone models). On Android, this can be done in two ways. You can perform a hard reset of your smartphone through the settings menu or do it in recovery mode.
Use the settings menu
- In the Settings menu of your device, go to System Preferences.
- Look for “Backup and reset” (sometimes found under “Advanced settings”).
If you cannot find this option, simply enter “factory reset” in the search box. Then select “Backup and reset”.
- Scroll down and find Factory Reset. There you will find the option to reset your phone.
- Then you will need to enter your password or pattern and go to “Erase everythingâ€.
- Select the option to restart your phone.
After factory resetting your phone, you can restore data from the latest backup.
If you’re worried about losing all of your data, you can choose to reset your network settings and see if that fixes the problem with your phone. It will reset Wi-Fi settings as well as mobile data and Bluetooth. However, any personal data will remain intact.
Use recovery mode
If for some reason you cannot access the settings menu, you can perform a hard reset in recovery mode. You can do this simply by using the buttons on the side of your Android phone.
- Turn off your phone using the power button.
- Hold the Power and Volume Down buttons together while turning the device back on.
- When you see the Start screen, use the Volume Down button to select Recovery Mode. Now press the power button to start it.
- In recovery mode, hold down the power button again and then press the volume up button.
- Using the volume down button, select “Wipe data / factory reset”. Press the power button to start the reset.
After the hard reset is complete, select the Reboot System Now option to restart your phone. Then you can restore your data from the latest backup on your smartphone.
How to Reset Your iPhone
So you tried restarting your iPhone using only the power button and the combination of the power button and home button, but it still doesn’t work. In this case, you can try resetting various settings on your phone and see if that solves the problem.
Be sure to back up all your data before proceeding so you don’t lose anything in the process.
- Go to the phone settings menu and select General.
- Scroll to the bottom and find “Reset”.
In the Reset menu, you will have several options to choose from.
Resetting all settings will not affect your data. This will only reset your phone settings including Wi-Fi data, Bluetooth, notifications, privacy settings, etc.
Reset network settings is the option to choose if you are having connection problems. It will reset everything related to your Wi-Fi and LTE connections.
Erase All Content and Settings will erase everything from your phone, including all media, data and settings. This is a factory restore option that should be used before selling an iPhone to a new owner.
After resetting iPhone, the device will automatically reboot.
Has the problem been solved?
Have you tried to fix problems with your device by performing a hard reset? Did your phone return to normal or did it stay sluggish and keep freezing? Share your experience with us in the comments section below.
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