Hard Reset - Is it safe?

[Woolfy]

Hey there guys.

I'm very new to the forum...

I recently got my new phone, a Samsung Galaxy S2, and after about 2 days or so, I got a 'Force Close' Error message... It bothered me quite abit.
I'm not sure if I'm just being paranoid, but I believe my phone has slowed down abit...

My question is, If I choose to do a factory or hard reset, Is it safe...? I understand I will loose everything on the phone, but, will it cause errors, or create and software or firmware problems...? Or will my phone really return to the state it was the day I bought it...?

Regard...

Woolfy

 

[John Redcorn]

Not bad for it in any way except your data going away.

It'll return to the state it was when you bought it but only for a few minutes until you sign in with your gmail account, once you do that it will re-install all your market apps, probably including whatever one was causing problems and problems will start again. Would be best to figure out what caused the problem, do you remember any apps being mentioned on the force close message?

 

[Woolfy]

Thanks for the quick reply.

Yes, it happened on two apps, one called... Whatsapp. and the other called, Mxit. They are both Instant Messenger Apps.

Also, are there any sort of, Maintenance Apps? So that I can keep my phone healthy...?

 

[T.M.M.L]

Greetings Woolfy,

Welcome to the forums.

As stated by redcorn, a hard reset will only erase the data stored on your phone. Any files on your SD card will remain untouched.

When an issue just pops up out of the blue, it can usually be tied to a recent action. Did you happen to update the app that's giving you problems? Did you install a new app right before the issues?

When trouble shooting, start working in the reverse order of installation...newest to oldest.

Do you know which app is giving you problems? You can try to uninstall the offending app, then reboot your phone to see if the problem corrects itself. If all's well, you can try to re-install the app. Sometimes electronics just get weird like that.

If all else fails, a factory (Hard) reset will return your phone to its default condition.

Hope this helps.

 

[jerofld]

Reboots, shutting it off for a minute, pulling the battery, or a simple clear cache / data can help things like that. Clear the cache (or data) by going into Settings > Applications > Manage Applications > scroll to the app and open it > Clear Cache (if available). If that doesn't work, repeat above, but clear data.

 

[Woolfy]

Thank you very much... Jerofld, Redcorn and T.M.M.L.

Do you know of any Maintenance apps...?

 

[T.M.M.L]

Android doesn't work like windows, I've never used a Mac so I'm not sure about that one. There really is no need for maintenance apps. Android basically maintains itself.

 

[Roze]

It'll return to the state it was when you bought it but only for a few minutes until you sign in with your gmail account, once you do that it will re-install all your market apps, probably including whatever one was causing problems and problems will start again.

Sorry John but that's incorrect. I have done many factory resets and I have NEVER had an app automatically install on my phone once I enter my gmail account. The market only keeps record of your PURCHASE app, not your free ones. You would have to go into the market to install EACH app again.

Woolfy, not really a maintenance app, but I would recommend SystemPanel. It shows you what app uses CPU and for how long.

 

[John Redcorn]

Sorry John but that's incorrect. I have done many factory resets and I have NEVER had an app automatically install on my phone once I enter my gmail account. The market only keeps record of your PURCHASE app, not your free ones. You would have to go into the market to install EACH app again. .

It restores them for me, and I'm pretty sure it's supposed to. If you start typing android app restore into google it will have an autocomplete search listed for "android app restore after factory reset" you'll see a bunch of forum posts of people having problems with it not working or only doing paid apps but they're all posting because they expect it to work like it does for me and others.

 

[Roze]

It restores them for me, and I'm pretty sure it's supposed to. If you start typing android app restore into google it will have an autocomplete search listed for "android app restore after factory reset" you'll see a bunch of forum posts of people having problems with it not working or only doing paid apps but they're all posting because they expect it to work like it does for me and others.

Thanks for the clarification. That's really strange between. I wonder if this is dependent on the phone or the Market apps. I have to always manually install apps after a factory reset since Android 2.1 with the Nexus One.

So, I googled, and this guy also has the same issue (?) as me. I have never thought this was a probem.

Hello, a number of users have had their downloaded apps (both free and purchased apps) re-downloaded and re-installed after doing a factory reset. I have replaced my phone (motorola Droid, Android 2.0) once and have done two factory resets but none of my free apps (only the purchased apps restored but were not installed, they only appeared in the downloads section) were restored, downloaded, or installed. I have all my data synced both in the accounts setting and in the Privacy settings. Any help is appreciated, is there a bug in my account or something?

 

[AndroidAdvntge]

Like stated above, no there is nothing wrong with it, there is that option for a reason. I personally treat my phone like a computer (clean reformats every 3 months) seems to keep my phone going strong and off of the support section in the forums.

 

[ouch1976]

Hard resets are the best! It's like getting a new phone again! It sucks that you have to do it so soon, but at least you probably didn't get too attached to your screens...

 

[chanchan05]

Depends on phone usage, but my general schedule of hard resets is before an OS update. Been doing that pattern ever since my Nokia days. Helps in evading those sudden script compatibility issues with existing apps when you update. Feels like a "clean" install (as clean as a Samsung skinned phone can, anyway).

 

[sohguanh]

In Windows we have the so familiar CCleaner, Android should have something equivalent coming out soon but as to how effective it is will depend on end user feedback

But if it is an offending app causing problem, using app like CCleaner equivalent will not solve the problem. The most effective and tested way is to find that app by doing one by one trouble-shooting. Start with newest installation/update to oldest. A lot of times this will suffice. Factory reset is usually the last resort.

 

[EarlyMon]

Thanks for the clarification. That's really strange between. I wonder if this is dependent on the phone or the Market apps. I have to always manually install apps after a factory reset since Android 2.1 with the Nexus One.

So, I googled, and this guy also has the same issue (?) as me. I have never thought this was a probem.

There's a setup option now to store your setup with Google. If that's enabled, all apps will automatically download on a reset or even switching to a new phone.

Coming from an earlier setup, make sure that the Market on the web recognizes your current device and has a good installed apps list.

Because of early bugs when they released the new feature, you sometimes have to give it a push, if you are one of us older users.

PS - hard reset solves many problems.

 

[Clementine_3]

There's a setup option now to store your setup with Google. If that's enabled, all apps will automatically download on a reset or even switching to a new phone.

Sometimes.
Just did a factory reset and activation of my OG Droid for my son as he smashed his screen to smithereens after dropping it on the floor. His paid apps showed but none of his free ones (he had the option enabled). It also took forever for the 'new' phone to show on his online Market account. When it did he simply sent the free ones over, no biggie.
When I got my D3 to replace above OG all of my apps installed rather quickly, free and paid.
Not sure why it worked for me and not for him...but it clearly doesn't always work the way it should.

 

[EarlyMon]

Yep, that's that Market bug. I think it helps to correct the list over time if the apps are set to automatically update.

You can force the list by installing from the web Market apps you already have.

The whole thing may require Background data and Auto sync on, not 100% sure on that...

Not sure, but I think the option on the phone is now standardized under Privacy settings.

 

[Clementine_3]

Well, you did ninja edit. lol.
Yeah, I made sure his online Market was there and up to date, it was. Not sure if he has his apps set to auto-update or not really, I don't though. Silly thing, I think it just has a mind of it's own. It is really nice to be able to just pop them over from online Market though!

 

[russkris]

Hey guys,

Sorry to hijack the thread but I have a major problem and was hoping someone will be able to help.

http://androidforums.com/android-lounge/474624-garmin-asus-a10.html

 

[chanchan05]

In Windows we have the so familiar CCleaner, Android should have something equivalent coming out soon but as to how effective it is will depend on end user feedback

But if it is an offending app causing problem, using app like CCleaner equivalent will not solve the problem. The most effective and tested way is to find that app by doing one by one trouble-shooting. Start with newest installation/update to oldest. A lot of times this will suffice. Factory reset is usually the last resort.

How effective it is won't depend on end user feedback, it would be dependent on how it was written, and if there is a point to it.

CCleaner cleans up the windows registry of orphan files and other stuff which windows loads but does not use anymore. I don't think there'd be a point to it on Android, and I won't install anything like that. A false positive and it deletes an app file it could cause the app to crash, or even the phone.

Personally I think its pointless to have something like CCleaner on a Linux machine.

 

[AndroidAdvntge]

Thank you for the CCleaner reference! I remembered that I am in dire need of a cleaning and couldn't remember the software I used!