The Samsung Galaxy S24+ is a flagship Android phone, but even flagships freeze, boot-loop after updates, or need wiping before a sale. This guide covers all three reset paths in order of severity — from a safe force restart that keeps your data, to a full recovery-mode wipe. A factory reset is permanent, so read the backup note before starting.
Watch the procedure (video tutorial)
Method 1: Force restart (no data loss)
Try this first if the screen is frozen or unresponsive but the phone is otherwise working — it’s the modern equivalent of pulling the battery.
- Press and hold the **Side button** and **Volume Down** at the same time.
- Keep holding both for about 7-10 seconds, ignoring the power menu if it appears.
- Release when the screen goes black and the Samsung logo reappears. The phone will boot normally with all data intact.
Method 2: Factory reset from Settings (when Galaxy S24+ works normally)
Use this when the phone works normally and you want to wipe it — selling, trading in, or clearing persistent software issues.
- Open **Settings**.
- Tap **General management**.
- Tap **Reset**.
- Tap **Factory data reset**.
- Scroll to the bottom and tap **Reset**. Enter your PIN, password, or pattern if prompted.
- Tap **Delete all** to confirm. The phone restarts and begins the wipe.
Method 3: Hard reset via Recovery Mode (when locked or won’t boot)
Use this when you can’t get past the lock screen, the phone is stuck on the Samsung logo, or Settings is unreachable. This triggers Factory Reset Protection (FRP) — you must know the Google account that was signed in before the wipe, or you’ll be locked out of setup.
- Power the phone off completely. If unresponsive, hold **Side + Volume Down** for 10+ seconds to force it off.
- Connect the phone to a computer or wall charger using a USB-C cable. Recent Galaxy models require an active USB connection to enter recovery.
- Press and hold **Volume Up + Side button** at the same time.
- Keep holding until the Android Recovery menu appears, then release both buttons.
- Use **Volume Down** to highlight **Wipe data/factory reset**, then press the **Side button** to select.
- On the confirmation screen, select **Factory data reset**.
- When the wipe finishes, select **Reboot system now**.
After the reset
The phone boots to the Samsung Welcome screen, exactly like the day you unboxed it. You’ll be prompted to sign back into the Google account that was previously on the device — this is Factory Reset Protection and it can’t be bypassed. After sign-in, you can restore from a Samsung Cloud or Google backup, or set up as new. Note that some data (end-to-end encrypted chats, certain game saves, authenticator app tokens) is not in cloud backups and is gone for good.
Troubleshooting
I forgot the Google account that was signed in before the reset.
Go to accounts.google.com/signin/recovery on another device and recover the account using your backup email or phone number. Samsung cannot remove FRP. If the phone was previously owned by someone else, only that person can release it from their Google account.
Recovery menu won’t load — phone keeps booting straight into Android.
You’re likely releasing the buttons too early or the USB cable isn’t carrying power. Use the official Samsung USB-C cable plugged into a wall charger, not a laptop, and hold **Volume Up + Side button** firmly through the Samsung logo until the blue Recovery text appears.
The phone is stuck in a boot loop after the reset.
Re-enter Recovery (Method 3, steps 1-4), choose **Wipe cache partition** first, then run **Factory data reset** again. If it still loops, reflash the official firmware using Samsung Smart Switch on a PC — it will detect the phone and offer an Emergency Software Recovery option.
