Restarting or resetting the operating system

If your device becomes unresponsive, and the troubleshooting guide does not resolve the problem, you need to restart or reset your device.

Restarting your (unresponsive) device

If your device is no longer responding to touchscreen or keypad input, you may need to force it to restart by removing power from the system.

Restarting the system by holding down the Power key removes power to the CPU. Any unsaved files and settings will be lost.

To force your device to restart:

Press-hold the Power key until the Power Off and Restart options appear on the screen.
Tap Restart to restart the device.

Resetting your device to factory default settings

If restarting your device does not resolve the issue that you are seeing, resetting it might help.

You can remove all data from your device by resetting it to factory settings.

A factory reset wipes all data from the device. While any data stored in your Google Account will be restored, all apps and their associated data will be uninstalled.

Your device is protected to prevent other people from using it if it's been reset to factory settings. After a factory reset, you'll need to enter your Google username and password associated with the device . If you don't have this information, you won't be able to finish the setup process and use the device at all after the factory reset.

Erasing your data may take some time, so make sure that you plug your device into a power source before you start.

Tap to open the Settings app.
Tap System, then tap Advanced.
Tap Reset options, and then tap the reset option you want to use:
- Reset Wi-Fi, Mobile & Bluetooth
- Reset app preferences
- Erase all data (factory reset). Select this option to factory reset the device to the original state it was shipped in.
Follow the on-screen instructions for the option you selected. You may need to enter your unlock pattern, PIN, or password.
When the device has finished erasing, you’ll be prompted to go through the new device setup.