How to Hard Reset the Motorola Charm

Like most devices, there are two different methods for hard resetting the Motorola Charm. If your Charm boots and you can use the device, then the easiest way to clear the device and return it to factory settings is to open the programs menu, tap on Settings / Privacy / Factory Data Reset. You will then be prompted with a confirmation window explaining what you’re about to do and giving you one last chance to back out.

What happens if your device won’t start up? Or perhaps it continually crashes on start up? While the problem may be the result of a badly written application, you need to get the device started to uninstall it using the above method. Since that’s not always possible, you’ll be happy to know that you can still perform a hard reset without actually booting into Android. To do this, with the phone off press and hold the camera key. Then press the power key and when you see a blue screen you need to press Alternate + L and ALternate + W. This will force a hard reset and the device will return to factory settings.

I don’t have a Charm to test these steps on, so please post your feedback below and let me know how it works.

How to Hard Reset the LG eXpo / IQ

The LG eXpo and IQ are the same phone. The only difference is the carrier and some preloaded software. LG eXpo was released to AT&T in the US, but didn’t last very long. The LG IQ was released to on Telus in Canada to pretty good consumer acceptance. Regardless of the model you have, there may be a time when you need to reset the device back to factory defaults – perhaps you’ve picked up a used one, or your getting ready to sell yours, or maybe you’ve installed some application that has made the device unstable and it keeps freezing up on you. It doesn’t matter what the reason is, if you’re looking to reset it, you have two options to pick from. The first option is powered by the software of the device. Simply tap Start / Settings / System / Clear Storage. You will then be asked if you want to clear internal memory, external memory, or both. Internal memory refers to the memory hard wired into the device. External would be any storage card you may have inserted. Once you have made your select and tap the Yes button, the device will start the wipe and all of your data and configuration settings will be removed from the device.

The second option works if the device will no longer boot up. If that’s what you’re seeing then you will need to master the following process. First, make sure your phone is turned off. Press the power button for a couple seconds until it starts. As the phone begins to boot, press and hold down the Volume Down key, Multitasking key, and the End key. Release all 3 of the keys once the status lights change multiple colors. The phone will continue to boot and you will know if the process worked when it prompts you to align the screen on the device.

Unfortunately, I don’t have an eXpo or IQ to test this procedure on. If you have any problems or if something is not clear, please reply and let me know so we can try and clarify the steps.

How to Hard Reset the iPAQ Glisten

The iPAQ Glisten is HP’s latest Smartphone device. It’s powered by Windows Phone 6.5 and features a front facing keyboard and styling that resembles RIM’s BlackBerry devices.

If you’ve just picked up this device off ebay, or perhaps you’re getting ready to sell it on ebay, or worse – it just freezes and you can’t do anything, you’ll need to hard reset the device. The hard reset process returns the device to factory settings. That means the all your settings and configurations along with applications installed will be removed and the device will return to the state when you first pulled it out of the box.

There are 2 ways to perform a hard reset. The first, and easiest way is by using the menu’s on the device. Of course, for this to work, the device will need to be bootable. From the home screen, press Start / Settings / System / Factory Restore. You will then be prompted to select what should be cleared – the device, or the device and the storage card. Select the option you want to wipe and enter the confirmation code in the box at the bottom of the screen. After clicking Yes, the device will restart and once it’s up and running again, you will have a brand new device.

If your device won’t start up or hangs on the boot process, you can still hard reset the device. Just like using the software menu, this will wipe all your data off the device. Although, using the hardware method does not clear the storage card. To hard reset a device that won’t start up is pretty simple. With the device turned off, press both of the Call and End keys on the front of the device. While holding those buttons down, press the power button. Just after the HP logo displays on the screen, you will see text at the top of the screen that says “Clean Boot”. That means your device is in the process of starting fresh. Once it’s done, you’re device will be like new.

Starting Fresh with T-Mobile Dash / Excalibur / S620

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published way back on January 23, 2007 on my personal blog. There have been some changes since then and my personal blog is, well..  more personal focused. Mobile Jaw is where I post mobility related information. It was recently brought to my attention that a number of people that are still looking for this solution. So I decided to raise it from the dead and post it here for everyone to enjoy. So.. Enjoy!

As a follow up to my post about how to hard reset the popular Samsung BlackJack, I figured I should share the steps to hard reset the Excalibur. The HTC Excalibur (also known as the T-Mobile Dash, HTC S620, and a couple other titles) is another hot QWERTY Smartphone. Excalibur sports a larger screen and WiFi – so it’s got a step up on the BlackJack.

HTC has long included a hard reset utility on their devices. It’s typically found in the Start / Accessories folder under the name “Clear Storage“.  Don’t let the name fool you, it’s nothing to do with your storage card. This application will wipe your device and return it to factory configuration.

If you can’t start the device, then you’ll need to hard reset the manual way.  No worries, it’s not hard to do.  When the device is powered off, press and hold the two softkeys. Then press and hold the power button for about 1-2 seconds. Relase the softkeys and the device should start into the hard reset mode.  It can be a little tricky to get the release timing correct, so don’t give up too quickly.

Disclaimer – I don’t have an Excalibur, yet.  So I can’t confirm that these steps will work 100%.  If anyone does do this, please post back and let me know if there is any other steps that need to be outlined.  I will give this a try once my phone arrives sometime in the next couple of weeks.

Starting Over with the Samsung Blackjack

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published way back on January 23, 2007 on my personal blog. There have been some changes since then and my personal blog is, well..  more personal focused. Mobile Jaw is where I post mobility related information. It was recently brought to my attention that a number of people that are still looking for this solution. So I decided to raise it from the dead and post it here for everyone to enjoy. So.. Enjoy!

Cingular’s hot new Smartphone – the Samsung Blackjack SGH-i607, is fast becoming the one of the best and most popular Smartphones we’ve seen in a while. It’s easily one of the best Windows Mobile devices that I have used to date.

If you’ve picked up a used device and you want to clear out all the crap from the previous owner, then you’re going to be looking to hard reset the device.  This will set it back to the factory image, removing all programs, settings and files that the previous owner might have changed or added. If the device was SIM card unlocked, a factory reset will not change this.

So how do you reset the device? There are 2 different ways to do this. The first is the more common way – Start / Settings / (more) / Security / (more) / Reset  – and enter the password.  Which should be ’1234′ – unless it’s been changed under the ‘Change Reset Password’ option in the Security menu. Using this method means you have to know the password to reset, and the device has to be able to boot. So what happens if you can’t boot the device? Well, then you need to kick in the manual hard reset method. It’s not hard to do – When the device is powered off, press and hold the up button on the control pad (joystick – circle thingy) and then turn on the device.  Keep pressing up and it should kick off a hard reset process.  When the reset is done, you’ve got a brand new device to play around with again, at least on the inside.

On a side note, make sure you have a full battery, or that it’s plugged into the wall when you’re doing a reset.  You wouldn’t want it to run out of juice in the middle of the reset!

How to Hard Reset the HTC HD2

The hottest Windows phone device available today is the HD2 from HTC. It’s beautiful large screen, fast processor, and ultra-thin design make it a joy to use. HTC’s Sense user-interface sure helps too. So there’s no question that this is the current smartphone that all the other Windows Phone devices will be judged against.

So you just picked up a device off ebay, or perhaps you’re getting ready to sell yours. Or maybe the unthinkable has happened – a 3rd party application is causing problems and the device will no longer boot. You’ll need to hard reset the device so it’s back to factory settings. Here’s the steps to get that done:

1. Turn the phone off
2. Press and hold both the volume up and volume down buttons
3. Press and release the Power / Hang-up button
4. The device will turn on – release the volume buttons when you see the tri-color screen. It flashes for a second or two
5. The device will then display a prompt asking you to confirm the reset of the device
6. Press the volume up button to continue with the hard reset, or press any other button to cancel.

If the device still boots up, you can perform the same reset using the software on the device. Just tap Start / Settings / Security / Factory Reset and then enter the 4 digit security code – 1234, and the hard reset will begin.

Be sure to charge the device prior to performing the hard reset. As well, it’s worth noting that all of your data will be erased from the device during the reset process. Be sure to backup any valuable files or information before following these steps.

My Zune HD Froze and Won’t Respond to Any Key Press

Today on my car ride home from work, my Zune HD stopped playing in the middle of a song and the screen turned off. I keep it plugged in when I’m using it in the car so the screen stays on and I can see all the song details. For some reason, that I’ve yet to understand, it decided to stop playing.  Since I was sitting in heavy traffic, I tried a couple things to get it back on – like pressing power, or the volume buttons, but nothing seemed to work. I gave up pretty quickly and switched on the satellite radio for the rest of the drive.

Now, this has happened to me a couple times in the past. The device just stops playing and won’t respond to any button or screen taps. Sometimes the screen is off, other times it’s on, but locked shut. Usually, I can get it to respond inside of a minute and all is well.  But that wasn’t the case today. Nothing seemed to bring it back.

When I arrived at home, I plugged it directly into the wall thinking that something may have been wrong with the car adapter. Sadly, that didn’t make any difference, and at this point I started to fear that the device might be dead.

[ ..Read More.. ]

How to Hard Reset the HTC Hero

The HTC Hero has quickly become a popular Android device. If you have picked up a used device, or perhaps you’ve managed to install too many apps and crashed the device, there is a way to restore it back to factory settings. In the past, Darren posted about how to hard reset an Android phone from the menus on the device. The steps he posted work perfectly on the Hero, but what if the device won’t boot? No need to worry, there’s still hope. Just follow the steps below, and you’ll have a factory fresh install on your device in no time at all.

If the device is on, turn it off.  If you can’t turn it off, remove the battery! Now, with the phone off, press and hold the Home and Back keys. Keep pressing on those keys and then press the Power/End button, but don’t hold that button down. The reset process will start after a short time, at which point you can release the Home and Back keys. That’s all there is to it.  Please post and let us know how it works for you.

Hard Resetting the Propel Pro Smartphone

Occasionally something goes wrong and your device becomes unresponsive or perhaps you just purchased a used Propel Pro off eBay and want to wipe it clean before you start configuring it for your personal needs. Regardless of the reason, I’m going to tell you what you need to know to hard reset the device and make sure it’s back to the factory default.

The Propel Pro, also know as the i627, shares a lot with the Samsung Jack (i637) including the process of hard resetting and just like the Jack, there are 2 different methods for hard resetting the Propel Pro – Master Clear and Master Reset. The Master Reset function will reset the phone back to factory settings. The Master Clear option will reset the phone and wipe clean the user storage locations.

If the phone still starts then you can wipe the phone from the Start Menu by pressing Start / Settings / Security and then select the reset method of your choice. You will then see a prompt to enter a password before the wipe takes place. By default, the reset password is 0000 (that’s four zero’s).

If your Propel Pro will not start, you can still perform a reset. From a powered off state, press the power button while holding down the “F” key on the keyboard. Keep holding down the “F” key until you see the format menu. Here is where you can select which type of reset you would like to do. Press 1 for Master Clear and 2 for a Master Reset. After making your selection, the device will then be wiped.

Now you’re back to the beginning and can start to customize the device to your liking.

UPDATE: I mentioned above that during a hard reset from the Security menu, the phone will prompt you for a password. That’s not the case with the Propel Pro. It will take do the wipe as soon as you say “Yes” to either method. So PLEASE be careful when doing this!

Hard Reset the HTC Touch Pro 2

HTC’s new Touch Pro 2 device is finally starting to make its way into the hands of people around the world. The TP2 has been available in Europe for a little while. Canada’s Telus has recently started offering the phone, and AT&T in the US is expected to start offering the phone shortly.

To hard reset the Touch Pro 2 when the phone is on, simply select Start / Settings / All Settings, and then tap Clear Storage. Enter the password, by default it should be 1234, and press Yes. You’ll be prompted to confirm the wipe of the device and then you’re ready to go.

To hard reset the Touch Pro 2 when the device is powered off, the first thing you need to do is make sure you warm up your fingers because you’ll need them to be flexible in order to get this just right. Press and hold the following 3 keys – Call, Hang Up, and Volume Down. Now, with all 3 of those buttons pressed, you need to take the stylus and press the reset button on the side of the phone. Continue to hold those keys until you see a white screen with instructions on how to continue. Follow the on-screen instructions and you’re good.

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