HOW TO FACTORY RESET YOUR PHONE

Has your smartphone just stopped working out of the blue? It might be freezing or glitching, but it just won’t work. Don’t panic; with a factory reset, it should get your phone working again. It’s important to note that this will delete all your information previously stored on the phone. This should be performed after trying other ways to get your device back and running.

Another reason you would factory reset is if you are trying to sell your phone, this will make it, so all your personal information is wiped from the device. We will teach you the steps to reset your phone, whether you have an iPhone or Android.

Purpose of Factory Reset

A factory reset is a process that erases the data on a smartphone and restores it to mostly the same condition as when it was first purchased. It will essentially take your phone back to the basics, with no contacts, playlists, pictures, password memory, or anything else you’ve added since the day you bought it.

How to Factory Reset Your iPhone

First, it’s important to back up all your data, so you don’t lose your important information. After resetting your iPhone, you can restore it with your backup.

  1. Go to Settings
  2. Select General
  3. Select Transfer or Reset iPhone
  4. Select Erase All Content and Settings

When the iPhone restarts with all content and settings erased, you have the option to set up your iPhone as new or restore it from a backup.

How to Factory Reset Your Android

Like with iPhones, it is essential to back up your data on your Android before your factory reset. It’s also recommended to keep your device plugged in while performing the reset. Make sure that you remove any memory cards before resetting. It’s important to note that it can take an hour or more to complete.

  1. Open Settings and select System
  2. Select Reset Options
  3. Select Erase All Data (factory reset)
  4. Select Reset Phone at the bottom
  5. You’ll be asked to confirm, select Erase Everything
  6. Your device should reboot and may show a progress screen indicating that it is erasing the data
  7. After it finishes deleting the data on the device, the operating system will restart again and will arrive at a screen similar to the one when you first unpacked it from the box

Remember that a Factory Reset should be performed after trying other ways to restart your phone, as it will delete all your information from the device!

15 Thoughts on "HOW TO FACTORY RESET YOUR PHONE"

  1. Lesa Faller says

    I keep calling you at 888/345-5510 & call has failed five times? I need to activate my mothers phone

    • Nicole at Consumer Cellular says

      I’m sorry to hear that you’re having trouble reaching our customer service team over the phone, Lesa. You can activate the phone when she logs into her online account here, or by chatting with an agent here.

  2. Ronald Bozicevich says

    My phone will not send/receive call and will not text

  3. Tammy Whitt says

    I can’t call anyone. Neither can my son. I paid the bill. Please help me!

    • Hi Tammy, I’m sorry to hear about the trouble you’re having with service. We’d like to look into this and help get that resolved. Give us a call at 800-686-4460 or chat with one of our agents on our website here to follow up on this.

  4. Stefanie Yvette Skerritt says

    When I talk on the phone no one can hear me unless I put the phone on speaker. That started this afternoon. Can this be fixed?

  5. Hazel howard says

    My phone keeps dropping my calls, I talk about one minute and my call is drops

  6. Bruce says

    Instructions on how to backup all data would be helpful to folks not aware of how that is done. And advise all that their apps will all be erased and need to be downloaded and set up again… might want to write down all the apps you want to reload!

    • Nicole at Consumer Cellular says

      Great advice, Bruce. Those are all things we’re happy to help with over the phone or via live chat.

  7. Joe Scheiter says

    Re: Your survey after my phone call with your rep. There should be space for customer to make comments.
    Other topic: Format of your paper bill is confusing. Please clearly define text and data and the units for each and charges for each. Get a computer scientist that knows how to make apps user friendly. After revision have the Comp. Scientist sit next to several elderly people as they try to use your website and also to read your paper bill and their questions.
    Thanks.

  8. Linda morlang says

    What do I do when one of my phones was stolen

    • Hi Linda, thanks for your post. I’m sorry to hear about what happened with the device. I would recommend calling us from a different line at 800-686-4460 or chat with one of our live agents here and we can help with suspending the line to keep others from using it. If you call in regarding this, we can help with ordering a new phone as well.