Factory Reset your Samsung Galaxy S2

Performing a Factory Reset on your device is very easy. The difference between a Factory Reset and a Hard Reset is:

Factory Reset
The 'lighter' of the two reset options. It can be done either in settings or via recovery menu. It wipes all user data and firmware settings but leaves the contents of your internal SD Card intact.

Hard Reset
Restores a smartphone to its basic factory settings, which erases all applications that were installed by the user as well as all user data. Hard Reset wipes everything including the contents of your internal SD Card. Whatever firmware you last flashed will be the firmware you get back, but everything else will be wiped.

Clear? Ok, let's proceed with the Factory Reset of a Samsung Galaxy S2 from within the menu settings:

Settings > Privacy > Factory Data Reset > Reset Phone > Erase Everything.

Please remember to back up any data you want to keep first! In the Factory reset screen you also have the option to Backup My Data and Auto Restore. These are good options to tick before you Factory Reset if you're not too sure how to do this on your own.

If you're at all paranoid about your SIM card or SD card contents just take them out before you do the Factory Reset. Attention: if you reset your device to the factory default with SD card encryption setting enabled, the device will not be able to read your encrypted files. Disable this setting before resetting the device.

Alternatively, you can type in *2767*3855# on the key pad and that will do the same thing.

Remember sometimes you don't need to go even this far to solve problems. First of all try just turning your phone off for a while, or removing the battery entirely. Sometimes something as simple as that is enough to clear up some simple problems.

But if you've tried all of these methods and are still having problems, you can try a Hard Reset, the instructions for which are here.

— modified on Aug 12, 2013, 7:02:02 PM

Hi Yaham, these reset options are endorsed by Google and are very common for Android devices, either to speed up your device, or if you plan to resell your handset and want to remove all traces of your personal data first. But don't do it if you're not comfortable with the process. Just use it as a solution if your device starts experiencing problems.