There are many types of resets associated with mobile phones. Soft Resets, Hard Resets, Second Level Resets, Master Resets, Master Clears, Factory Data Resets, to simply name a few. This article covers two of the more common resets available on cell phones, the Soft Rest and the Hard Reset, explaining what they are, what they are intended for, how they can be performed, and what they can do to help your mobile phone function properly.
Soft Reset
What the Soft Reset is
What is a Soft Reset? The Soft Reset is the easiest reset to perform on a mobile phone. To Soft Reset a phone is to simply power cycle the device, to power it off and then to power it back on.
How to do a Soft Reset
Some phones have a restart option which will allow the phone to power off and power back on by itself. Some older phones may only offer the power off or power down feature and the phones operator will have to power the phone on manually once it’s completely powered off.
What the Soft Reset does
The soft reset can actually solve many simple problems on mobile phones, especially when the phone has been on for a long period of time and has not been power cycled for a while.
Issues that can be solved by performing a Soft reset include and are not limited to:
- Not receiving messages, both text and picture messages.
- Cannot receive calls.
- Cannot make calls.
- Lag or sluggishness.
- Not receiving emails.
- Cannot send files.
- Audio issues.
- Incorrect settings.
- Incorrect time being displayed.
- Responsive issues with touch screens or when navigating the phone.
- Network related issues.
- Minor software related issues.
- And many more minor issues can be solved by Soft Resetting a mobile phone.
A Soft Reset DOES NOT delete anything from your mobile phone and causes no loss of information from the device.
Tips about Soft Resets
Soft Resets are the FIRST step in trying to resolve phone related issues, on both standard and basic phones as well as smartphones, and can solve many types of software related problems.
When performing a Soft Reset I recommend that the phone remain powered off for at least 10 seconds before it is powered back on.
It’s never a bad idea to get into the good habit of powering off your mobile phone for a few minutes at least once every few days. This can help contribute to a nice, happy, and efficient working cell phone.
Hard Reset
What is a Hard Reset?
A Hard Reset reverts a phone to its original settings and a clean OS (Operating System) removing all data and information added to the cell phone by the mobile phone user. In essence a Hard Reset erases everything from the phone and puts the phone back to like new condition as though it’s brand new right out of the box.
How to perform a Hard Reset
The steps involved when trying to perform a Hard Resets are going to depend on what type of cell phone you have, what operating system is currently running on the mobile phone, the make and model of the phone, and what version of software is installed on the phone.
Not all phones are Hard Reset the same way.
For example Android phones have many different types of Hard Resets available depending on the make and model of the phone itself. Most Android phones can be Hard Reset by holding a certain key combination such as holding the volume down and power key for 15-20 seconds then releasing those keys and then using the volume keys to navigate and highlight the Hard Reset option then using the power key to make the selection. This comes in handy if you forget your password or have a serious software related issue that’s causing your touch screen to be non responsive.
If you want to learn more about Hard Resets on Android phones you can read How to Hard Reset an Android Phone for more information. If you’re looking to do a Hard Reset on your cell phone, there are simply too many phones and to many methods available to list the instructions for every Hard Reset for every mobile phone on this page. Simply doing a Search on your favorite search engine should allow you to locate instructions for your specific phones make and model.
Don’t forget what a Hard Reset does
Remember that a Hard Reset erases all personal data from the mobile phone. Make sure to backup everything that you don’t want lost or deleted before performing the Hard Reset.
This is often the LAST resort in troubleshooting and a Hard Reset is a VERY POWERFUL tool that can solve most software related issues on a phone including but not limited to:
- Fixing corrupted software.
- Removing viruses
- Fixing glitches
- Reverting unwanted Settings
- Removing bad applications
- Removing anything that has been changed or added to the phone that can or is causing it to respond or act incorrectly (a Hard Reset removes everything but the OS).
Tips about Hard Resets
The Hard reset cannot be undone. BACKUP EVERYTHING if possible before performing a Hard Reset, if you don’t then that information is going to be lost forever.
Remember that a Hard Reset is typically the last resort in troubleshooting a mobile phone. If a Hard Reset doesn’t fix the issue and that issue is causing the cell phone to not function properly then the next step is often looking into your other options available when a phone cannot be fixed which includes looking into replacement options.
Review Hard vs. Soft Resets
These are two of the most commonly used resets.
The Soft Reset: The most basic reset which can solve many minor issues that can occur throughout the use of the phone. The Soft Reset should be the first reset and often the first step in troubleshooting that a person can do when attempting to fix an issue on their mobile phone. This reset is simply power cycling the cell phone turning it off and then back on. The Soft Reset does not cause any loss of data on the phone.
The Hard Reset: Usually a last resort and the last reset to try when other types of resets have been attempted and have been unsuccessful in resolving the issue. The Hard Reset is intended to fix serious software problems that can occur on mobile phones. This reset removes all user data from the phone and resets the phone to its factory default settings.
All the resets in-between
We covered the most basic reset being the Soft Reset, and the more intense reset, being a Hard Reset, what about all the other resets in between the two? What about the other types of resets available like the ones mentioned in the beginning of this article? If you’re interested in some of the other types of resets that can be done to a mobile phone you can check out mobile phone resets for more information. source
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