Turned on unlocked phone and now phone is locked and everything is wiped. What can I do?

[AC Question]

Turned on unlocked phone and now phone is locked and everything is wiped.

I have a Samsung Galaxy Note 2 that is unlocked. Ive had it for two years without any problems. Last night, I plugged my phone in as usual, but when I woke up this morning my phone had a "setup screen". It looked like the phone was brand new, and all my settings, apps, and files are gone. I am still able to use it as a wifi device and call and text, but am unable to use data. I've restarted my phone several times but it doesn't seem to be working. I don't need to recover my files, but just get my phone back to a working state. Please help me!!

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! By unlocked, do you mean it's carrier-unlocked, or rooted?

It sounds like the phone underwent a factory reset by itself, which can be due to some catastrophic glitch with the firmware or possibly hardware. Difficult to say more than that.

What carrier do you have? Check your APN settings to make sure they're correct.