Factory reset shouldn’t be a scary thing for you, even though it sounds like that. Essentially, just like the name suggests, it’s a process of ‘reverting’ your phone back to the exact state when it was produced in the factory. But why is it really useful, shouldn’t you be able to enjoy your smartphone just the way it is at the moment? Sure, but what if it’s freezing, crashing, or simply very sluggish? Battery savers don’t help, and you suspect an app is to blame for that, or it’s a software issue. Don’t worry – we’ll teach you everything you need to know about recovering your Android phone after a factory reset.
What happens when you factory reset an Android phone?
When you factory reset your Android devices, all the data, except those that came with the device when you first got it from the company, will be erased. The residing data is generally just the Android OS files and any additional tweaks the manufacturer has done. Any custom data including your accounts, files, photos, videos, documents, apps, etc. will be removed once you factory reset your phone. If you have a memory card inserted, the files on that external storage may not be removed, though. So, your files that exist outside the phone storage will be safe.
What types of data you can recover after a factory reset?
Any of your files, photos, videos, contacts, documents, can be recovered after performing a complete factory reset. The only condition that the data shouldn’t be overwritten with something else. That means, you should immediately try to restore your data before using your smartphone for days. Overwriting data on your phone’s storage will significantly reduce your chances of getting those files back.
How to recover data on Android phone without a backup after factory reset?
First, we’ll cover the worst case scenario, as that’s something we’ve all gotten into at one point or another. True, it taught us a lesson and made us more wary of things that could happen to our precious data, but we’ve unfortunately had to learn the hard way. The process is a bit longer as you didn’t take precautions and requires a bit more effort on your part, but it’s nothing you can’t handle, we promise. We’ll guide you every step of the way, so without further ado, let’s present you with a first option.
Steps to recover data Using FonePaw Android Data Recovery
Unfortunately, both of these we’ll mention actually require one-time payment to get a license, but they’re quite successful in what they do. Plus, you won’t be going blind, as you can download a trial version of the program on your PC and let it search. Then, if you’re satisfied with the results, you can pay for a Pro version in order to recover them. Keep in mind – the less you do on your phone before running a scan, the bigger the chances of finding data you seek. Seems fair? If so, let’s go right ahead and see how it works.
- Connect your Android device.
- Open FonePaw Android Data Recovery on your computer. These are the first steps you need to take, in order for the program to read and verify your device is connected.
- Enable USB debugging. Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with the term – it’s essentially a developer tool, one you usually have no reason using. However, in order for the app to access your phone, you need to enable this option. Rest assured it won’t void your warranty or damage it in any way. Here are detailed steps based on the version of Android your device has.
- Android 2.3 and earlier: Open Settings > Go to Applications > Tap Development > Check USB debugging
- Android 3.0 up to Android 4.1: Go to Settings > Open Applications > Tap on Developer Options > Check USB debugging
- Android 4.2 and newer: Enter Settings > Tap About Phone > Now keep tapping Build number several times until You are a developer message appears > Go back to Settings > Choose Developer Options > Make sure USB debugging is checked
- Choose file types you want to be scanned for. This can be both media like pictures, videos or music, as well as contacts, SMS, WhatsApp messages and much more.
- Click Next to start the scan. All you have to do now is wait while the program searches.
- Preview the data found. There will be things you intentionally deleted in the past, and you don’t really need, of course. This is where you make a decision on what you want to keep, so tick the box in front.
- Click Recover.
We have reviewed Fonepaw Android Data Recovery if you are interested in knowing more about this tool and if it will fit your needs.
Steps to recover data using Gihosoft Android Data Recovery
Much like FonePaw, this one has a similar interface and is easy to navigate around as well. The only time you’d actually need to use this one is if the previous one hasn’t located the files you seek. As with the one above, you’ll need to pay to actually recover data, but all searches and results are free with a trial version. Keep in mind, you should do any transfers before running the scan. The steps are almost identical.
- Once again, connect your Android device.
- Open Gihosoft Android Data Recovery on your PC and select the file types you want to recover.
- Make sure USB debugging is enabled. Follow the steps based on your Android device above.
- Press Start to begin the scanning process.
- Preview everything the program has found. Keep in mind it’s compatible with Viber, WhatsApp, Messenger, so in case you’ve lost precious messages dear to you, this comes very handily.
- Click Recover at the bottom right corner. That’s it, the process is finished, good job.
Our Gihosoft Android Data Recovery review will be your best place to read more about this tool.
How to recover data on an Android phone with backup?
Okay, this is the best case scenario, of course. You’ve taken precautions, thought of the potential dangers and a big disaster beforehand, and are ready to jump back on your feet. Or, there is another option – your phone is fine at the moment, but you’d like to play it safe and do a backup beforehand. In both cases, props to you, but let’s see how to actually do it.
Steps to use Google backup to recover Android data
This is the backup that requires the least of action on your part. Google synchronization is usually set up by default without you even knowing, and if you’ve logged in to your Google account in the past via your phone, you’re in luck. In order to check, and possibly enable it if it isn’t by default, follow these steps.
- Open Settings.
- Go to Backup & Reset (on some devices hidden under Additional Settings.) Make sure Automatic Restore is turned on. In that case, after a factory reset, and logging back into your account, the data will start reappearing itself. Tap on Back up my data and enable it. Also, type your Gmail underneath.
- You can also utilize the Local Backups or Auto Backups features that you can see on the screen if you want to be sure about your data safety.
- Optional: Tap on Google. (On older Android versions it’s inside Backup & Reset, in newer it’s an option in the menu itself) This gives you full control over the options you need. As you can see, there is Google Photos backup, Restore contacts and various other things when it comes to your personal information you wouldn’t want to lose.
If you want a more advanced way of recovering data from your Google backups, you can try to restore your Android phone from the Google backup.
Of course, Google is just one of the most convenient backup services you can use without downloading additional applications. If you’re looking for an advanced backup, there are quite a lot of apps on Google PlayStore that allows Android recovery after factory reset. The process is quite easy, usually involving just tapping on file types you want to be backed up, and setting up a location. After that, it is best to keep the file on your computer, so it can be easily transferred back to your phone should something happen to it. It’s also a great choice if you’ve got a new device but would like to keep contacts, messages, photos, and videos. In the end, keeping your data safe doesn’t require a lot of knowledge or time to pull off, and we’d recommend it to everyone.
