The Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is a flagship Android phone, but even flagships freeze, get stuck on the Samsung logo, or need wiping before resale. This guide covers all three reset paths — from a no-data-loss force restart to a full recovery-mode wipe. Read the backup section first: a factory reset is irreversible.
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** button at the same time.
- Keep both held for about 7-10 seconds, until the screen goes black and the Samsung logo reappears.
- Release both buttons and let the phone boot normally.
Method 2: Factory reset from Settings (when Galaxy S24 Ultra works normally)
Use this when the phone works but you want to wipe it — selling, trading in, or clearing persistent software issues.
- Open **Settings**.
- Scroll down and 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 if you can’t unlock the phone, it won’t boot past the Samsung logo, or Settings is unreachable. Warning: this triggers Factory Reset Protection (FRP). After the wipe, the phone will demand the Google account that was previously signed in — there is no Samsung-side bypass.
- Power the phone off completely. If unresponsive, hold **Side + Volume Down** for 10+ seconds until it shuts down.
- Connect the phone to a computer or wall charger with a USB-C cable. Recent Galaxy phones require an active USB connection to enter recovery.
- Press and hold **Volume Up + Side button** at the same time.
- Keep holding until the blue **Android Recovery** menu appears, then release both buttons.
- Use **Volume Down** to highlight **Wipe data/factory reset**, then press the **Side button** to select.
- Highlight **Factory data reset** and press the **Side button** to confirm.
- When the wipe finishes, select **Reboot system now**.
After the reset
The phone boots to the Samsung Welcome screen, exactly as it did out of the box. You’ll be prompted to sign into the Google account that was previously on the device — this is FRP, the anti-theft check, and it cannot be skipped. Once signed in, you can restore from Samsung Cloud or a Google backup, or set up as new. Note that end-to-end encrypted messages and some game save data don’t restore from cloud and are gone permanently.
Troubleshooting
I don’t remember the Google account that was signed in before the reset.
Recover the account at accounts.google.com/signin/recovery using your recovery email, phone number, or security questions. Samsung cannot remove FRP. If the phone was previously someone else’s, only they can remove it from their Google account.
The phone keeps booting normally instead of into Recovery.
You’re either releasing the buttons too early or the USB connection isn’t being detected. Use the official Samsung USB-C cable into a wall charger (not a laptop USB hub), and keep **Volume Up + Side** held firmly through the Samsung logo until the blue Recovery screen appears.
The phone is stuck in a boot loop after the factory reset.
Re-enter Recovery (Method 3, steps 1-4), select **Wipe cache partition** first, then run **Factory data reset** again. If it still loops, reflash the stock firmware using Samsung Smart Switch on a PC, or book a repair through the Samsung Members app.
