How Do I "Factory Reset" My Tablet?

Spider

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This thread is intended to gather the many "Factory Reset" replies scattered all over the forums into one location. Hopefully, this will be a community effort and you'll participate if you can.

If you know of a procedure that works for a particular tablet (that the example in the second post does not work for), please post it in the same format as the second post for consistency. Place the Make & Model of tablet on the first line to make searching easier. Your "reward" for doing so will be the gratitude of anyone who uses it successfully and hopefully some clicks of the "Thank" thingy in your post. You'll also have the appreciation of the Forum Staff.:eek:

This is a thread for ANSWERS NOT QUESTIONS. Questions belong in the forum for your tablet or, if there is no forum for your tablet, in the Q&A section. Any questions posted here may be deleted without notice by the Forum Staff.

Note: Anyone using one of the procedures below should be aware that ALL personal data will be deleted from the tablet as part of the process. (If your tablet has a MSD card, I'd recommend removing it as well. Just in case.)

Edit: I've come across many recommendations to try a "Soft" reset, before resorting to a "Hard" reset such as the ones in this thread. Most say to hold the Power button in for about 20 seconds or until the power menu appears (Power Off if you get the menu.), Then wait about a minute before powering on again. Couldn't hurt, worth a try to avoid losing your stuff.
 
Tablet Make & Model

Make sure the tablet is OFF.
Press and hold the Volume Up and Power buttons at the same time.
When the Android starts to flash, release the buttons.
Then try to press different hardware buttons until you are given a list of options.

Note: If Volume Up and Power doesn't work, try Volume Down and Power.

Credit Just about everyone:rolleyes:
 
ASUS Transformer (most models are reset the same way)


If you are unable to power off, try this process from point 2.

1. Unplug the power cord and shut the unit off.

2. Press and hold the VOL DOWN and then POWER button at the same time for at least 10-12 seconds until after the start-up screen appears and is joined by some small print at the top of the screen, then let them both go. If the TF booted the way it always does, you have not accomplished the task, try again until you have seen 2 icons (ICS), 4 icons (JB) in the screen.

3. After a few seconds you should see some icons in the middle of the screen - in ICS they are called "Wipe Data" and "Android". The right "Android" will have a green highlight fading in and out. In JB there are four, the first of which is RCK.

4. Press the VOL DOWN button to select the "Wipe Data" icon then VOL UP to confirm it.

5. The system should then Factory Reset as in the "settings" process (method 1). Go through the new install process, adding your account/s & wifi details.

Credit Janner43
 
Acer Iconia tablets (This reset only works for models with a lock-screen switch. Others, like mine, are out of luck.)

Make sure the tablet is OFF.
Press and hold the Volume Down and Power buttons at the same time.
When the tablet starts to vibrate, release the power button, but hold the volume down button and toggle the lock-screen switch until it erases all data.

Credit Acer Technical Support
 
B&N NOOKcolor

Power off.
Then hold "power + N (upside down N)" for 6-7 seconds. If it powers off you did it wrong. Try again.
When you let go, it should still be on the welcome screen.
Let go and then it will go to a screen that reads "installation fail."
Power down and do the same again.
This time, it will ask you to restore to factory.
Hit "N" twice and it will start clearing and restore to factory!

Credit lancelot916 androidcentral.com
 
Nexus7 2013


  1. Go to Settings > Backup & reset.
  2. Touch Factory data reset.
  3. Touch Reset tablet.
  4. If your tablet is password protected, you'll be prompted to enter your Pattern, PIN, or Password.
  5. Touch Erase everything to confirm.

Alternatively, follow these steps:


  1. If your tablet is on, power it off.
  2. Press and hold Power until the device powers on, then immediately press and hold Volume Down (while still pressing Power). You will see the word Start with an arrow drawn around it.
  3. Press Volume Down twice to designate Recovery mode.
  4. Press Power to restart into Recovery mode. You will see an image of an Android robot with a red exclamation mark.
  5. While holding down Power, press Volume Up.
  6. Use the volume keys to scroll to "wipe data/factory reset" and press Power to select it.
  7. Scroll down to "Yes - erase all user data" and press Power to select it.

Note:
If at any point during the above steps your tablet becomes unresponsive, you can restart it by holding down the power button for several seconds.

Credit Google.Com/Nexus
 
B&N NOOK Tablet

Internal Factory Reset

Step 1 Press the “Home” (“n") button to display the Quick Navigation menu on the Nook tablet.

Step 2 Tap the “Settings” option in the Quick Navigation menu to open the Settings menu.

Step 3 Tap the “Device Info” option to display the Factory Reset screen.

Step 4 Tap the “Erase & Deregister” option to perform the factory reset. A confirmation screen opens.

Step 5 Confirm the action by tapping “Erase & Deregister Device.” All data is deleted from the tablet, and the device is restored to original factory settings.


External Factory Reset

Step 1 Press and hold the power button for 20 seconds to turn off the Nook tablet. Wait about 10 to 15 seconds.

Step 2 Press and hold the power button, and then press and hold the “Home” (“n”) key will still holding the power button down. The screen flashes, and then the message, “Touch the Future of Reading” appears. The message disappears, and then the Factory Reset prompt is displayed.

Step 3 Press the “Home” key to execute the factory reset. A confirmation screen is shown.

Step 4 Press the “Home” key once again to confirm the reset action.

Source Tammy Columbo, Demand Media
 
Acer Iconia A110

Clean Boot (Internal Factory Reset)

Open Settings from the application menu, then tap Backup & reset > Factory data reset; click Reset tablet and then Erase everything to format your tablet.

Source User Manual

Note: There is apparently no external factory reset for this model, according to Acer Support.
 
Coby Generation 3 Devices

  1. Unplug power and shut the unit off by pressing and holding the power button.
  2. Press and hold volume +, volume -, and power.
  3. When you see the Android robot, let go of the buttons.
  4. On the menu that appears, use the volume + and - buttons to navigate, the power button to select. The back button can be used to exit sub menus to go back to the main menu.
  5. Navigate to "Wipe Data/Factory Reset" and select with the power button.
  6. The device should restore to factory condition.

Notes:
  • The key sequence to get into recovery may vary with device. For example, my 9742 only requires volume - and power be held down to get in.
  • It may be necessary to press the back button once to get the menu mentioned in step 4 to appear.
  • The power cord needs to be unplugged because otherwise it makes getting into recovery far more difficult.
  • If you see the word "Android", you've failed to access recovery and will need to try again at step 1.
  • Factory reset can be performed from within Android by going to Settings > Backup & Reset and selecting "Factory data reset".
 
Coby 7042

External Factory Reset ("Hard" Boot)

Turn off tablet. press and hold volume up. While holding volume up, press and hold power and back till you see Coby, then release.


Once in recovery, use vol+ and vol- buttons to navigate. use power to execute.

Source: tpaine post
 
Last edited:
On the 7042, you must hold vol+, back, and power. The others in the series (8042, 9742, etc) don't require or don't even have a physical back button.

Thanks, tpaine. I wasn't even aware of the fact that there was a back button on the Coby 7042. I've edited my post, accordingly.
 
If you see a list of options ? The selected item is highlighted. Use the volume keys to navigate to factory reset. Use the power button to execute. Navigate to reboot tablet. Press power to execute.
 
Last edited:
Samsung Galaxy Note 8

1. Turn the tablet off.
2. Press and hold Volume up and Power buttons until the Samsung logo appears on the screen.
3. Scroll to wipe data/factory reset by pressing the Volume down button.
4. Press the Power button.
5. Scroll to Yes -- delete all user data by pressing the Volume down button.
6. Press the Power button.
7. The tablet will now wipe all contents.
8. Press the Power button.
9. The tablet will now reboot to the initial setup screen.

Credit: Bell Customer Support Centre
 
Fusion 5

Turn off the tablet completely (press and hold power button for about 10 seconds)


Whilst the power is off, press and hold the SILVER button (adjacent to screen). While holding the SILVER button, turn on the tablet and keep holding the SILVER button and release if after 3 seconds after you have turned on the tablet.

The tablet will then show multiple options. Please move the cursor down and select YES using the POWER button, the tablet will recover back to factory defaults.

Credit: fusion5tablets.co.uk
 
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