The Samsung Galaxy S25 is a flagship Android phone running One UI 7 on Android 15. Even flagships freeze, get stuck in boot loops after an update, or need wiping before resale. This guide covers the three reset paths in order of safety — from a force restart that preserves your data, to a recovery-mode wipe of last resort.
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 and preserves all your data.
- 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 appears.
- The phone will boot normally in about 30 seconds.
Method 2: Factory reset from Settings (when Galaxy S25 works normally)
Use this when the phone works but you want a clean wipe — for resale, trade-in, or to troubleshoot persistent software problems.
- 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 wipes itself.
Method 3: Hard reset via Recovery Mode (when locked or won’t boot)
Use this when the phone is locked out, stuck on the Samsung logo, or won’t boot far enough to reach Settings. This will trigger Factory Reset Protection — you must know the Google account that was signed in before the wipe, or you will be locked out of the phone permanently.
- 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 One UI versions 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.
- 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 completes, select **Reboot system now**.
After the reset
The phone boots to the Samsung Welcome screen, just like out of the box. You’ll be prompted to sign in to the Google account that was previously on the device — this is Factory Reset Protection (FRP), Samsung’s anti-theft measure, and it cannot be bypassed. Once signed in, you can restore from Samsung Cloud or a Google backup, or set up as new. End-to-end encrypted messages and some game progress will not restore.
Troubleshooting
I forgot the Google account that was signed in before the reset.
Recover the account at accounts.google.com/signin/recovery using your recovery email or phone number. Samsung Support cannot remove FRP. If the phone was previously owned by someone else, only they can sign in or remove it from their Google account.
Recovery mode won’t load — the phone just boots normally or shows a black screen.
You likely released the buttons too early or the USB cable isn’t supplying power. Use an official Samsung USB-C cable plugged into a wall charger, not a laptop. Hold **Volume Up + Side button** firmly through the Samsung logo and keep holding until the blue Recovery menu appears.
The phone is stuck in a boot loop after the factory reset.
Re-enter Recovery (Method 3, steps 1-4) and run **Wipe cache partition** first, then **Wipe data/factory reset** again. If it still loops, reflash the official firmware using Samsung Smart Switch on a PC — connect the phone in Download mode (Volume Down + Volume Up while plugging in USB) and Smart Switch will offer Emergency Recovery.
