Last Updated on December 23, 2022 by Mathew Diekhake

It is common to perform a hard reset when you want to wipe all data at once and return a device to its default factory state. Sometimes Android users also swap stock Android for custom Android and a hard reset is required before switching. You can hard reset from the Settings app and also Recovery Mode. Those who install custom firmware will need a custom recovery image installed. The guide below shows how to hard reset via the Settings app and both stock and custom recovery images.

This tutorial demonstrates how to hard reset the Samsung SM-A515W smartphone.

Caution:

  • A hard reset wipes all data and resets the factory settings. You need to back up the Samsung SM-A515W smartphone to be able to restore the data after the hard reset.
  • You may need to sign in to your Google account after the hard reset before you can start using Android again. So you should know your Google email and password before resetting the smartphone. You can reset the Google account password at Googe.com on any desktop computer.

How to Hard Reset Samsung SM-A515W

You can hard reset the Samsung SM-A515W smartphone using Recovery Mode and the Settings app. We recommend the Settings app for most people. Only use Recovery Mode if there are bugs with the Android OS that make it unusable. Here is how to hard reset from Settings first:

  1. With the Samsung SM-A515W turned on, tap Settings > General management.
  2. Tap Reset > Factory data reset.
  3. Tap Reset > Delete all.
  4. The Android OS will restart after the data is wiped.

If your software is unresponsive, you can boot into the recovery partition, which is separate from the Android OS, and hard reset from there. Here is how:

Note: Use the Volume buttons to navigate to Recovery Mode and the Power button to confirm selections.

  1. With the Samsung SM-A515W turned off, press and hold the Power + Volume Up simultaneously until in Recovery Mode.
  2. From the Android Recovery menu, press Wipe data/factory reset.
  3. Press Factory data reset.
  4. Press Reboot system now.

The smartphone will boot out of the recovery partition and reboot Android.

If using custom firmware, you may have a custom recovery installed. Here is how to hard reset with TWRP:

  1. With the Samsung SM-A515W turned off, boot to TWRP with the Power + Volume Up buttons until you see TWRP.
  2. Tap Wipe.
  3. Wipe all cache options available and the data.
  4. Tap Reboot.

The smartphone will leave the recovery partition and reboot Android.