How to soft- and hard reset your Windows Phone

Reset my phone

Resetting your Windows Phone will return it to the same state it was in the first time you turned it on. All your personal content will be erased, and the phone will be restored to its factory settings.

If you decide to reset your phone, you can back up apps, text messages, photos, and more to your Microsoft account in the cloud beforehand.

Warning

Be careful. Resetting your phone will erase all content stored on your phone, including apps and games (along with app data and game progress), text messages, call history, music, photos, and more.

To reset your phone

1. In the App list, tap Settings .
2. Tap About, and then tap Reset your phone.
3. You'll receive two warnings. If you're absolutely sure you want to restore your phone to its factory settings, tap Yes, and then tap Yes again.
   It might take a little while for the process to complete.

To reset an unresponsive phone

If your phone is unresponsive and you can't reach Settings , you may be able to reset your phone using the hardware buttons. On Nokia Lumia phones (and some others), do the following to reset your phone:

1. Press and hold the Volume down  and Power  buttons at the same time until you feel a vibration (about 10–15 seconds).
2. When you feel the vibration, immediately press and hold the Volume down  button until you see a large exclamation mark.
3. Once the exclamation mark appears, press the following four buttons in this order: Volume up , Volume down , Power , Volume down . Your phone should now reset and restart itself. (It might take a while for the reset to finish.