Want to know how to factory reset your Android phone? Before handing over your old device, it’s important to remove all traces of your personal information. This not only protects your privacy but also ensures the new owner receives a device in its original state, free from any of your custom settings or data. I’ve got you covered with a step-by-step guide to help you through the process, ensuring you don’t miss a thing. Let’s walk through it together. If you want to factory reset your iPhone, we’ll take you through the steps here. 

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How to back up your Android

Before we dive in, remember this golden rule: back up your data. A factory reset wipes everything clean, so let’s make sure your precious memories and important files are safe and sound.

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer. 

• Open the Settings app on your Android phone
• Tap on Google
• Select Manage backup
• Toggle on where it says Back up now

Steps to back up your Android phone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Pro tip: You should charge your device to at least 70% before starting; you don’t want your phone dying mid-reset.

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How to factory reset your Android

All right, let’s get down to business. Here’s how to factory reset your Android:

 Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer. 

• From your Android’s home screen, find and tap the Settings app
• Scroll down and tap Additional Settings (on some devices, this might be System or General Management)
• Tap Backup and Reset (or Reset on some models)
• Select Erase All Data (or Factory data reset)
• Scroll down and tap Reset again to confirm
• You may then be asked to enter your current PIN.
• You’ll see a warning that this will delete all your personal information and downloaded apps will be erased and can’t be recovered.
• Tap Erase Data or Delete all to begin the process

Steps to factory reset your Android phone (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Your phone will restart and begin the reset, which might take a few minutes. Once it’s done, you’ll see the initial setup screen, just like when your phone was brand new. Also, after a factory reset, you may need to sign in with the Google account previously linked to the device for security purposes.

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How to factory reset your Android using Recovery Mode

OK, let’s say you want to factory reset your Android, but your phone is unresponsive, or you cannot access the settings. You can use “Recovery Mode.”

Settings may vary depending on your Android phone’s manufacturer.

• Start by powering off your device completely
• Then enter recovery mode by pressing and holding the volume up, home and power buttons simultaneously (or just volume up and power for some models) until you see the Android logo.

Steps to factory reset your Android using Recovery Mode (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

• Use the volume buttons to scroll to Wipe Data or Perform a factory reset, then press the power button to select it.
• Confirm the reset by selecting Yes–delete all user data, then confirm with the power button.
• After the reset is complete, select Reboot system now.

Steps to factory reset your Android using Recovery Mode (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

There you have it. By following these steps, you can successfully perform a factory reset on any Android device, ensuring a fresh start or preparing it for a new user. Once your device is clean, check out “Best ways to get rid of your old phone or tablet” for various options like trading it in for credit, donating to charity or recycling through certified e-waste programs.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Factory resetting your Android prepares your device for a new user or just starting fresh. Remember, it’s a drastic measure that erases everything, so always back up your data first. Whether you’re troubleshooting, starting fresh or passing your device on, now you’ve got the knowledge to do it right.

Have you faced any challenges with data security, and how did you overcome them? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact.

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What if you could turn a PSP with a broken screen into a miniature PS2, connect a Bluetooth controller to it, and play PSP games on your TV? That’s the idea behind Retro Mod Works’ PS Placeable, a mod that “consolizes” the PSP and was featured yesterday in a video from the YouTube channel Macho Nacho Productions.

Retro Mod Works charges $274.99 for a prebuilt PS Placeable. Those are waitlisted at the moment, though — a message on the site says the project is a “one man show” and that the demand for the Placeable was higher than anticipated.

Retro also offers to mod customer-provided PSPs for $100 less, and there’s an option preorder DIY parts and do the conversion work yourself. The mod requires either a PSP-2000 or PSP-3000 revision, as the first PSP didn’t have a video output. It’s not clear when the DIY parts will ship — we’ve asked Retro Mod Works and will update if we get a reply.

The primary person behind the project, named Dan, told Macho Nacho host Tito Perez that he “hated the idea of buying digital games” for which he has physical copies, and wanted a way to add Bluetooth controller support while preserving the UMD drive. He’s also mentioned in replies on Reddit that his goal is to help people revive broken PSPs with the mod, which doesn’t need the console’s screen.

But buying one of these mod kits can be pricey or require skills most people don’t have. If you just want to play PSP games on your TV and don’t care about having a UMD drive, the PSP Go — which lacked Sony’s oddball optical drive but supported Bluetooth controllers and also had a way to output video — is still pretty easy to come by.

In a series of Threads posts this afternoon, Instagram head Adam Mosseri says users shouldn’t trust images they see online because AI is “clearly producing” content that’s easily mistaken for reality. Because of that, he says users should consider the source, and social platforms should help with that.

“Our role as internet platforms is to label content generated as AI as best we can,” Mosseri writes, but he admits “some content” will be missed by those labels. Because of that, platforms “must also provide context about who is sharing” so users can decide how much to trust their content.

Just as it’s good to remember that chatbots will confidently lie to you before you trust an AI-powered search engine, checking whether posted claims or images come from a reputable account can help you consider their veracity. At the moment, Meta’s platforms don’t offer much of the sort of context Mosseri posted about today, although the company recently hinted at big coming changes to its content rules.

What Mosseri describes sounds closer to user-led moderation like Community Notes on X and YouTube or Bluesky’s custom moderation filters. Whether Meta plans to introduce anything like those isn’t known, but then again, it has been known to take pages from Bluesky’s book.