Samsung Galaxy S21: How to Soft & Hard Reset

Samsung has finally released the Galaxy S21, S21+, and S21 Ultra, which are likely to be some of the best phones of the year. But even the best phones run into issues sometimes, whether it’s from a rogue application or something else in the software. That’s why restarting and resetting your phone are the best paths to follow if you are trying to get your phone working properly again.

***Editors Note: The following methods will work with all three variants of the Galaxy S21***

How to Soft Reset Galaxy S21

Before heading down the path of resetting your phone completely, the first step you’ll want to take is to soft reset the Galaxy S21. This is just power cycling the device, as you may be able to knock out any of the cobwebs that are wreaking havoc.

1. Swipe down with two fingers to reveal the Notification Shade.
2. Tap the Power icon in the top right corner.
3. Tap the Power off button.

This will turn your Galaxy S21 completely off, so after a few moments, the screen will completely turn off. After it has turned off, press and hold the power button on the side of the phone for three seconds.

How to Hard Reset Galaxy S21

If you continue having issues after performing a soft reset, the next step that you’ll want to take is to perform a hard reset. You can equate this to powering down your computer by holding down the power button, instead of following the power menu.

1. Press and hold the Power and Volume Down buttons.
2. Continue holding the buttons until the Samsung logo appears.
3. Release the Power and Volume Down buttons.

Even when you hard reset the Galaxy S21, you will not lose any data, and no applications will be removed or deleted in the process.

How to Factory Data Reset Galaxy S21

For those who need to go down the “nuclear” path, you’ll need to set your Galaxy S21 back to its factory defaults. But before you can do that, it’s important to make sure that all of your information and data is properly backed up to the cloud. This makes it easier to recover your data after the reset has been completed.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Scroll down and tap Accounts and backup.
3. There are two options for backing up your data:
   • Samsung Cloud
   • Google Drive
4. Select the account you want to use to back up your files.
5. Tap the Back up now button.
6. Wait until the backup is completed.
   • A progress bar will appear at the top of the screen. Wait until this disappears to confirm that your backup is completed.

Once the backup has finished, it’s time to reset the Galaxy S21 back to its factory defaults. Everything will be wiped from the phone, so you will lose any unsaved work or anything that was not included in the aforementioned back up.

1. Open the Settings app on your Galaxy S21.
2. Scroll down and tap General Management.
3. Tap on Reset.
4. Select Factory data reset.
5. Scroll down and tap Reset.

This process will take a few minutes to complete, so you can go grab a cup of coffee while you wait for the phone to reset. Once completed, you’ll be greeted with the same setup menu that appeared when you turned the phone on for the first time. Just follow the steps, restore a backup if you want, or set up the phone as brand new.

Use Android Recovery to Reset Galaxy S21

There’s actually another method for those who need to factory reset the Galaxy S21, but cannot do so via the Settings application. Again, you’ll want to try and make sure that your data is backed up so that nothing gets lost. This method deals with Android’s built-in recovery system, which may look a bit archaic compared to the software on the Galaxy S21.

1. Swipe down with two fingers to reveal the Notification Shade.
2. Tap the Power icon in the top right corner.
3. Tap the Power off button.
4. Press and the Volume Up and Power button for up to five seconds.
5. When the Samsung logo appears on the display, release the buttons.
6. Use the Volume buttons to navigate to Wipe data/factory reset.
7. Click the Power button to select the option.
8. Scroll down using the Volume Up and Down buttons.
9. Select Factory data reset and tap the Power button.
10. Once complete, select Reboot system now using the Power button.

After the system has finished being wiped and rebooting, your phone will be set back to its factory defaults. Follow the prompts and get your phone set back up again.

Conclusion

It’s still in the early days, but the Galaxy S21 Ultra is already rather impressive with its S Pen support and unique camera system. Even though this is the most powerful Android phone to-date, that doesn’t mean that you won’t run into issues. If you need more help or are running into other issues, let us know in the comments below.