You can reset Samsung phones to the factory settings very quickly. However, there are some pitfalls to be aware of. Here's how to reset Samsung smartphones.

Back up Samsung phone data

Before resetting your Samsung phone, you should usually back up your data . You may have already set this up, then it will work automatically. You can find options for this under "Settings (gear)> Accounts and backup> Backup and restore". There are three ways to back up data.

Under "Samsung Account> Back up data" you can back up the phone data such as call logs, messages, contacts and a few more with your Samsung account. If you log into your Samsung account on a new Samsung smartphone, you can then restore this data. Option number 2 is the backup via "Google Account> Backup". If you switch on the data backup, the Google account will be used and you can restore the data on a new Android smartphone via the Google account. Data can also be backed up via Samsung and Google accounts at the same time.

Data can be backed up using a Samsung or Google account, among other things. Image: © Samsung / Screenshot: 2021

Backup to an external data carrier is also an option. Image: © Samsung / Screenshot: 2021

The third option is the data backup via "External storage> External storage transfer". In this case, you use the Smart Switch app to save data on an SD card or USB stick . This app can then be used to restore the data to a new mobile phone from the selected storage device.

Remove Google and Samsung accounts

Android phones are equipped with device protection designed to reduce the risk of theft. Ideally, this "Android Device Protection" is only activated if someone resets the smartphone manually and not via the settings to the factory settings. At the next start, the login details of the Google account and, if applicable, the Samsung account, which were used on the mobile phone before the reset, must be entered.

Unfortunately, device protection is sometimes also activated on devices that have been properly reset via the settings. Before you reset a Samsung phone, you should remove the Google and Samsung accounts from the device one by one .

Go to Settings> Accounts & Backup> Accounts. Here tap on the Google and Samsung accounts and go to "Remove account" on Google and on "Log out" on Samsung. The remaining accounts will be deleted with a factory reset.

You should log out of the Samsung account in the settings. Image: © Samsung / Screenshot: 2021

Reset Samsung phone to factory settings

The last step is actually resetting the Samsung smartphone. Go to "Settings> General Management> Reset> Factory Reset". Select "Reset", enter your password or PIN and confirm your choice. It will now take a while for the Samsung smartphone to reset . Finally your data is removed and the device is ready for a new user.

Factory data reset should be the last step. Image: © Samsung / Screenshot: 2021

Summary

• Back up your data before resetting your Samsung phone.
• You can use the Samsung account, the Google account and external storage for this.
• Before resetting, remove your Google and Samsung accounts.
• In the last step, reset the smartphone to the factory settings.