If you’re experiencing problems with your Samsung Galaxy Note 8, you can try to reset it with these steps.
Soft Reset
If the phone is not responding or powering on, try a soft reset by using these steps. Data will not be lost from performing a soft reset.
- Connect the phone to a power outlet using a power block and USB cable.
- Press and hold the “Volume Down” and “Power” buttons at the same time for about 20 seconds.
Your phone should reset and allow you to use it as normal after these steps. If the phone is in a boot loop or displays “Downloading” and won’t go any further, let the phone sit and charge for at least 20 minutes before trying to power it on again.
Hard Reset
If you are experiencing consistent problems with your Galaxy Note 8, a factory hard reset may be the cure. A factory hard reset will wipe all data and settings from the device and return it to factory default settings.
Factory Reset – Option 1
- Connect the phone to a power outlet using a power block and USB cable.
- Power the phone completely off. Ensure that all notification lights are off before you try the next step.
- Press and hold “Volume Up“, then press and release “Power“. If you did everything correctly, the Samsung Galaxy logo will appears, and it will say “Recovery Booting” in the upper-left corner of the screen.
- Use the “Volume Down” button to toggle the selection to “wipe data/factory reset“, then press the “Bixby” button to make that selection.
- Use the “Volume Down” button to toggle the selection to “Yes — delete all user data“, then press the “Bixby” button.
- The factory reset process will begin. Once it’s finished, select the “reboot system now” option, and your device will restart in its factory reset state.
Factory Reset – Option 2
- From the Home screen, select “Apps” > “Settings“.
- Select “Personal“> “Back up and reset” > “Factory data reset“.
- A warning will appear warning you that your data will be erased. If you’re sure you want to proceed with the hard reset, tap “Reset device“.
FAQ
How do I disable Factory Reset Protection?
Factory Reset Protection prevents access to your device without your permission. It locks the device to your Google account. If you’re changing ownership of the phone, you will want to turn this feature off.
You can disable Factory Reset Protection by removing your Google account from the device before the factory reset. This can be done under “Settings” > “Accounts and cloud” > “Accounts” > “Google” > select the account > > “Remove account“.
This post applies to the SM-N950V, SM-N950A, SM-N950P, and SM-N950F versions of the device.
alex says
to do factory reset option 1, i had to do something different than above – i had to :
press and hold the Power/Lock, Bixby Key, and Volume up buttons simultaneously until the Android Recovery screen appears
Andrew Diedrick says
My Note8 just went dead after a Whatsapp message and just would not respond. As a battery pull is out of the question wondered how to do the reset. Your soft reset method worked perfectly.
Thanks a mil.
Jordan says
EXCELLENT! Thank you very much for this information. It brought up a four-choice menu which allowed me to restart the phone without losing data. Admittedly, awaiting the reboot process was uncomfortable, but it worked.
Rebecca says
Thank you for this direction but I am afraid I have totally messed up by G8……
early this morning I clicked on a video I wanted to watch and I did not realize the volume was up full…
I grabbed the phone and held the volume button and I really don’t know what else to muffle the sound and when it finally stopped I had the speak back for everything, have to double tap anything I want to see, cannot swipe to the next screen and cannot swipe to my settings…..I am so sad : (
I am hoping it can be restored to the previous settings without wiping out all my passwords for other stuff…
can you help me? thanks