How to Perform a Factory Data Reset on the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+

If you ever just need to start over with a fresh start, you can follow these steps to do a full factory data reset on the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8+.

With Samsung devices, a number of people complain about their phone starting to become slow and sluggish. Many have blamed this issue on Samsung’s TouchWiz/Grace user interface because this doesn’t happen on all smartphones. For whatever reason though, if you want to do a Galaxy S8 Factory Reset then the process is simple and there’s actually two entirely different ways to erase all of the data from your smartphone.

One of these methods is called the Soft Factory Reset. This means that we’re going to initiate the factory data reset from within the Android OS (aka the software).

The secondary method is generally referred to as the Hard Factory Reset. This doesn’t mean it is difficult to perform, it just means we’re not doing it from the software. Instead, this second method requires you to boot the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ into Recovery Mode first.

Note – Neither of these methods are better than the other. Each will actually delete and erase the data from your phone in the exact same way. The only differences here is that one method can be accessed from the Android OS while the other is accessed from Recovery Mode.

Galaxy S8 Factory Reset (Soft)

1. Launch the Setting application
2. Scroll down and tap on the Backup and Reset option
3. Scroll down again and tap on the Factory Data Reset option
4. Tap on the Reset button at the bottom of the screen
5. Then tap on the Delete All button to initiate the factory reset
6. Wait until the Galaxy S8 erases your data and boots back into Android

Galaxy S8 Factory Reset (Hard)

1. Power off the Galaxy S8
2. Boot the Galaxy S8 into Recovery Mode
3. Press the Volume Down button until you highlight the Wipe Data/Factory Reset option
4. Press the Power button to select this option
5. Press the Volume Down button to highlight the Yes option
6. Then press the Power button to select this option
7. Wait until the Galaxy S8 erases all of your data
8. And press the Power button once you are taken back to the Recovery Mode menu

Explanation

Again, both of these methods will do the same type of factory reset and one is not better than the other. If you are able to boot into the Android OS and launch the Settings application then I suggest you follow the steps outlined in the soft factory data reset method. However, if your Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8 is having some sort of bootloop issue, or you’re simply unable to boot into Android, then you’ll want to follow the steps in the hard factory data reset guide.

The process for both of these methods are very straight forward and you can follow along in the video above as I walk you through how to do both of them. I do want to point out that when doing a Galaxy S8 factory reset with the first (soft) method, you will be prompted to enter your PIN, pattern, or password before it will actually let you erase the data. Since I don’t have any of those setup on my device, you didn’t see this in the video and I didn’t include it in the step by step guide.

The second method requires that you boot the Galaxy S8 or Galaxy S8+ into Recovery Mode. If you are unsure about how to do that then click the link in Step 2 of the second guide above. That will walk you through the whole process and take you directly to the Recovery Mode menu. From here, you simply want to press the Volume Down button multiple times until the Wipe Data/Factory Reset option is highlighted. You will then need to press the Power button to select this highlighted option.

You’ll be sent to a confirmation prompt asking if you’re sure you really want to delete all of the data from your phone. Again, press the Volume Down button to highlight the Yes option and then press the Power button to select it. The Galaxy S8 Factory Reset process shouldn’t take more than a few seconds to complete (as you can see in the video above), and you’ll be taken back to the main menu. Simply press the Power button from here and your phone will reboot.

This first boot cycle will take many minutes to complete so just be patient. Once Android is done setting everything back up in the background, you will be taken to the Android activation screen and be prompted to sign back into your account.