Best way to factory reset and reinstall Galaxy Note 4?

[Ali Ashcroft-Spurr]

I've had more and more niggles building up on my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 since I bought it...

Initially it was battery life problems/overheating when in my pocket
Then I lost the ability to get my menu and back buttons to vibrate when pressed
Occasionally, it corrupts the notification sound some for some apps (like WhatsApp) and I need to reset it
Now I'm getting more crashes and glitches than I'd like

When I asked about the battery issues originally, I believe a full reset was the recommendation. I've been putting off performing a full reset and reinstall since almost day 1 due to the amount of custom vibrates/notification sounds and other app customisations I have configured. Now I'm resigned to the fact that I'll have to do it at some point, so I might as well get on with it.

What is the best way to do a full reset, to ensure I don't get these niggles back when I reinstall back to the latest version of Android?

Is there any way I can save myself some time with regards to reinstalling and reconfiguring apps?

(orignially, the advice was "no, it's all manual" but has that changed?)

Thanks

Ali

 

[H3aTeRzz]

Hi

You should look into Smart Switch by Samsung, in the Play Store. Also Helium backup. Both are great back ups. If you're not concerned with losing game progress data, then just use smart switch. It puts everything back as it was....all settings, wall paper, text with pictures, photos and call history.

Hope this helps!

Chris

 

[Ali Ashcroft-Spurr]

WHAT!?

That sounds amazing. My one concern though: could it put some bugs/glitches (such as the menu and back buttons not vibrating when pressed) back onto my phone too?

Also, some advice on the factory reset and reinstall process would be appreciated too - I've never done one but want to make sure it's a "clean install" if possible (I think).

 

[Rukbat]

Reflashing the ROM ("reinstalling Android") wipes the entire phone, so any software problems go away. (Hardware problems, like bad eMMC storage, don't get cleared by any means other than replacing the motherboard.)

Bottom line - factory resetting a phone you're about to reflash the ROM on is a waste of time resetting it.

 

[Ali Ashcroft-Spurr]

Okay, so what's the best way to do that? Is a PC involved?

 

[Ali Ashcroft-Spurr]

Reflashing the ROM ("reinstalling Android") wipes the entire phone, so any software problems go away. (Hardware problems, like bad eMMC storage, don't get cleared by any means other than replacing the motherboard.)

Bottom line - factory resetting a phone you're about to reflash the ROM on is a waste of time resetting it.

Is it safe to reflash the ROM? How do I do this?