What is a Hard Reset and How to Perform It on Your PC/iPhone/Android

What is a hard reset?

In simple terms, a hard reset involves formatting and restarting your hardware. You can perform a hard reset on a device when it's misbehaving or unresponsive, which alters the settings and returns it to its original, functional state.

There are several types of resets: soft reset, hard reset, and factory reset. Today, we'll delve into the differences between these three types of resets.

Hard Reset vs Soft Reset

A soft reset typically refers to restarting a device or performing an equivalent function of turning it off and then on again. It's like the everyday action of shutting down your office computer through the Start menu after you're done with your tasks for the day.

A hard reset is more drastic than a soft one. On a laptop, for example, when you put your computer to sleep, its memory is written to disk; when you open it, the laptop reloads from there, with everything that was in memory before it was closed. That is a soft reset. A hard reset stops all running applications and activities in the background, and restarts your device.

Hard Reset vs Factory Reset

The terms "hard reset" and "factory reset" both pertain to settings. A factory reset is meant to restore the entire system, wiping all data and apps from the device and returning it to its out-of-the-box state. However, you can still perform a hard reset without losing data on your computer; learn how to do a factory reset on PC without losing data. A hard reset is a part of a factory reset that only formats the hardware and restarts it.

To clarify, a factory reset formats the entire operating system, restoring it to its default, out-of-the-box state, whereas a hard reset reverts the hardware to its original settings.

How to Hard Reset a PC

Now that we've covered the basics of what these terms mean, let's look at the meat of the matter: how to perform a hard reset on your computer.

How to Hard Reset Windows 10

Before you hard reset your Windows computer, you should know that resetting will keep your files and let you reinstall Windows 10, but it will remove any programs you've installed and revert your settings to their defaults. As such, it's best to back up all of your data to another device first.

Step 1: Open Settings on Windows 10 and click on System.

Step 2: Click “Recover”.

Step 3: Click on “Reset your PC” in the recovery options.

Step 4. Choose “Keep my files,” then select either “Local reinstallation” or “Cloud download.” Click “Next” > “Reset.”

This process should take about 20 minutes, and when it's done, your Windows will be reset, but your files will be preserved. If you're still having issues after a forced reset, you can do a factory reset from BIOS to erase all data from the device.

How to Perform a Hard Reset on a Mac

If your Mac is unresponsive, or frozen, you can fix the issue with a hard reset.

For detailed steps on how to perform a hard reset on your Mac, please refer to the following article:

How to Hard Reset a Mac [New Possibilities for 2023]

If your Mac is freezing, performing poorly, or experiencing software issues, a hard reset might be necessary. This process allows you to reinitialize both the hardware and software of your computer, potentially resolving these problems.

How to Hard Reset a Chromebook

For a Chromebook, you can perform a hard reset by following these steps:

Step 1: First, turn off the computer.

Step 2: Hold down the Refresh button and press the Power button.

Step 3: Release the 'Restart' key when you see the Chromebook logo.

Other options available for you:

• Hold the "Back," "Refresh," and "Power" buttons for 10 seconds.
• For tablets: Hold the "Volume Up" and "Power" buttons together for 10 seconds, then release.
• If your device has a dedicated reset button, press that.
• Eject the power cord.
• Take out the battery, then put it back in.

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How to Hard Reset Your Phone

If a software reset didn't work, try a hard reset to see if that helps.

How to Hard Reset an iPhone

For iPhone 8 and later:

Step 1: Press the Volume Up button and release it. Then, do the same with the Volume Down button.

Step 2: Press and hold the Power button until you see the Apple logo.

For iPhone 7 and 7 Plus:

Step 1: Press and hold the Volume Down button and the Power button at the same time.

< strong > Step 2:< /strong > Release the buttons when you see the Apple logo on the screen.

This image illustrates the steps to perform a hard reset on an iPhone 7.

For iPhone 6 and earlier:

Step 1: Press and hold the Power button and the Home button.

Step 2: Release the buttons when you see the Apple logo.

A hard reset can help you fix a slow iPhone or a frozen app. But sometimes, a hard reset is not enough and you should take the next step to recover your iPhone without data loss.

How to Hard Reset an Android Device

Sometimes, your Android phone may become slow because apps running in the background take up memory and waste system resources. For most such cases, you can fix the lagging issue by restarting, hard resetting, or performing a factory reset on your Android phone.

However, if your system is unresponsive and won't restart, you might need to do a hard reset by holding down the power button for up to 20 seconds. If your phone still doesn't respond after 30 seconds, press and hold the power button and the volume-up button to force it to shut down, then turn your Android device back on as normal.

If none of the above works, and if possible, remove the battery.

Conclusion

After reading this article, you'll know the differences between a hard reset and a soft reset, as well as a hard reset and a factory reset. You'll also find detailed steps to perform a hard reset. However, before performing a hard reset or factory reset on your device, remember to back up all your data to avoid loss. Alternatively, you can use the Data Recovery Wizard tool to recover files after a Windows 10 reset.

"Frequently Asked Questions about 'Hard Reset'"

You can learn more by reading the Hard Reset section of our Troubleshooting Guide.

1. How do I perform a hard reset?

This article walks you through how to hard reset a Windows 10 computer, a Mac, an iPhone, and an Android device, with steps for each. Follow the instructions accordingly.

< strong > What are soft and hard resets? < /strong >

The article begins by defining a soft reset as restarting your device, and a hard reset as formatting your hardware and restarting.

3. How do I hard reset my iPhone?

You can do this by pressing and holding the Volume Up button, pressing the Volume Down button, then holding down the Power button until you see the Apple logo.

4. Is a hard reset a good idea?

If your device isn't responding or is running slowly, you can perform a hard reset to fix the issue. However, a hard reset can sometimes result in data loss and damage to the device. Proceed with caution when performing a hard reset.