A factory reset is commonly used as a last-resort, troubleshooting method for mobile phones. Simply put, a factory reset restores your phone to the original factory settings. Factory reset is recommended when your phone is freezing or if you’re planning on selling your phone. Just make sure that you back up all your personal information before resetting your phone!

Does a factory reset remove all data?

A Samsung Galaxy factory reset does not erase all data – it simply encrypts data and hides it from your operating system. A tech-savvy individual can discover and unencrypt this data, and retrieve your personal information. Therefore, if you’re planning on selling your phone or giving it to someone else, make sure that you hand it over to an expert for all your data to be completely removed. 

Factory resetting your:

Samsung Galaxy S6, S7, S7 edge, J3 (all versions), and J7 (all versions)

  1. Turn off your phone.
  2. Press and hold the Power, Home and Volume Up buttons simultaneously.
  3. Release the three buttons after the phone switches on. Your phone should display No Command and the Android Recovery Menu should appear. 
  4. Press the Volume Down button and select Wipe data/factory reset using the Power button.
  5. Press the Volume Down button and select Factory data reset using the Power button. The phone should start undergoing a factory reset. 
  6. Press the power button to select Reboot system now once the factory reset is complete. 

Samsung Galaxy S8, S8+, S9, S9+, S10, S10e, S10+, Note 8, Note 9, Note 10, and Note 10+

  1. Turn off your phone.
  2. Press and hold the Power, Bixby and Volume Up buttons simultaneously.
  3. Release the three buttons after the phone switches on. Your phone should display No Command and the Android Recovery Menu should appear. 
  4. Press the Volume Down button and select Wipe data/factory reset using the Power button.
  5. Press the Volume Down button and select Factory data reset using the Power button. The phone should start undergoing a factory reset. 
  6. Press the Power button to select Reboot system now once the factory reset is complete. 

Any other Samsung phone

  1. Turn off your phone.
  2. Press and hold the Power and Volume up buttons simultaneously.
  3. Release the three buttons after the phone switches on. Your phone should display No Command and the Android Recovery Menu should appear. 
  4. Press the Volume Down button and select Wipe data/factory reset using the Power button.
  5. Press the Volume Down button and select Factory data reset using the Power button. The phone should start undergoing a factory reset. 
  6. Press the power button to select Reboot system now once the factory reset is complete. 

How to permanently wipe out all data on Samsung Galaxy phone

As we’ve already mentioned, a factory reset isn’t enough if you want to completely erase your personal data. Instead, you need to overwrite your current data with “dummy” data. You can easily do this by following these steps:

  1. Back up your Samsung Galaxy by uploading your info to Google Drive or Samsung Cloud.
  2. Disable security tools and any accounts.
  3. Remove your microSD card. 
  4. Disable Samsung Find My Mobile, Find My Device and your lock screen. 
  5. Remove your Google account.
  6. Encrypt your phone: Settings > Biometrics and Security > Other Security Settings > Switch on Strong Protection.  
  7. Factory reset your phone.
  8. Overwrite old data by using apps such as Secure Erase iShredder or Shreddit. 
  9. Factory reset your phone one more time to hide the dummy data.