Alternate factory reset.......

[Wopback]

I had the unfortunate experience of a dead razr. During this time I discovered another way to factory reset, if the phones dead and doesn't turn on, try this.

Hold volume up, volume down, and power at the same time. A screen will pop up prompting you to reboot or reset the phone....it works!! But use at your own risk.....

Sent from my Chuck Norris approved DROID RAZR....

 

[SallyC]

Sounds similar to what is described as Safe Mode by Motorola and has been mentioned here by FoxKat as a good way to test if any problems are the result of downloaded apps as it loads only stock.

Glad it worked! Nothing's more sad than a dead Droid Razr.:frown:

 

[jpcalhoun]

I had the unfortunate experience of a dead razr. During this time I discovered another way to factory reset, if the phones dead and doesn't turn on, try this.

Hold volume up, volume down, and power at the same time. A screen will pop up prompting you to reboot or reset the phone....it works!! But use at your own risk.....

Sent from my Chuck Norris approved DROID RAZR....

What happens when you hold down both the volume up and volume down keys while pressing the power on button is you're putting the phone in recovery mode. The Razr doesn't give you the option to do much of anything else in recovery mode except reboot or reset...which I believe is a Factory Reset...wipes your phone, but not your sdcard or ex-sdcard.

 

[Wopback]

Sounds similar to what is described as Safe Mode by Motorola and has been mentioned here by FoxKat as a good way to test if any problems are the result of downloaded apps as it loads only stock.

Glad it worked! Nothing's more sad than a dead Droid Razr.:frown:

Not really the same. My example is based on my phone not allowing me to even set up my phone....safe mode is something different

Sent from my Chuck Norris approved DROID RAZR....

 

[jpcalhoun]

Let me correct my last post. You're putting your phone into Stock Recovery which then gives you several options. Return to normal and several other options. I didn't see a reset option.

 

[Wopback]

Let me correct my last post. You're putting your phone into Stock Recovery which then gives you several options. Return to normal and several other options. I didn't see a reset option.

When you proceed with "recovery" it will reset the phone, just like a factory reset...

Sent from my Chuck Norris approved DROID RAZR....

 

[jpcalhoun]

When you proceed with "recovery" it will reset the phone, just like a factory reset...

Sent from my Chuck Norris approved DROID RAZR....

That sounds correct to me...makes sense.

 

[FoxKat]

Sounds similar to what is described as Safe Mode by Motorola and has been mentioned here by FoxKat as a good way to test if any problems are the result of downloaded apps as it loads only stock.

Glad it worked! Nothing's more sad than a dead Droid Razr.:frown:

Just clarification regarding safe mode. SallyC, you weren't that far off. You first power down the phone, then press the power button and hold it until the red m logo appears, then release the power button and press and hold both volume buttons until the lock screen appears.


Edit: I did some experimenting while on the way to work today... I found that the volume buttons can be pressed any time all the way up to the point at which the screen dims during the boot process, long after the initial animation sound stops. For instance, it typically takes MY phone about 24 seconds from the end of the boot sound to when the phone has a short haptic feedback (vibration). I tried waiting until 20 seconds in, pressed both buttons and held them, and sure enough, the phone booted into Safe Mode.

Another thing I discovered is that when booting normally, you get that short haptic feedback burst, but when it's booting into Safe Mode, it gives you both the initial short burst, and then a long one afterwards to confirm that Safe Mode has been implemented. I am pleased to know this because I have tried to do this before and thought I might have missed the opportunity so I let it boot normally and then started over. Now I know that there's a good 20-30 seconds from when the animation starts to actually still push Safe Mode booting. :biggrin:

So, although waiting until right before the initial haptic feedback (which is also when the screen dims a bit) does work, but to be "Safe" (pardon the pun), I suggest you hit the two volume control buttons some time either before or shortly after the boot animation sequence starts.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using DroidForums

 

[Wopback]

With all do respect...safe mode will restart your phone in a limited state.

My post is for an example of how to reset your phone without being able to access settings, set up, etc.

Good info though....thanks

Also find it cool, how the "regulars" on here stick together....Awesome!!

Sent from my Chuck Norris approved DROID RAZR....

 

[FoxKat]

With all do respect...safe mode will restart your phone in a limited state.

My post is for an example of how to reset your phone without being able to access settings, set up, etc.

Good info though....thanks

Also find it cool, how the "regulars" on here stick together....Awesome!!

Sent from my Chuck Norris approved DROID RAZR....

Yeah, I know. I wasn't actually replying to you so much as simply clarifying the Safe Mode booting process. Didn't mean to hijack the thread. Sorry.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using DroidForums

 

[Redbeaver]

With all do respect...safe mode will restart your phone in a limited state.

My post is for an example of how to reset your phone without being able to access settings, set up, etc.

Good info though....thanks

Also find it cool, how the "regulars" on here stick together....Awesome!!

Sent from my Chuck Norris approved DROID RAZR....

i'm confused. isn't what ur saying then is how to reset ur phone THROUGH safe mode described by FoxKat?

or u guys are talking about 2 different boot screen?


AFAIK, there are 2 boot modes in my RAZR (3 if u have CWM)
regular and recovery/safe mode.
safe mode gives u option to do stuff. such as reset ur phone. or go into AP Fastboot mode for RSD Lite


am i missing something?

 

[jpcalhoun]

i'm confused. isn't what ur saying then is how to reset ur phone THROUGH safe mode described by FoxKat?

or u guys are talking about 2 different boot screen?


AFAIK, there are 2 boot modes in my RAZR (3 if u have CWM)
regular and recovery/safe mode.
safe mode gives u option to do stuff. such as reset ur phone. or go into AP Fastboot mode for RSD Lite


am i missing something?

Yeah, I think we are confusing the term "safe" mode. This thread started out discussing Safe Mode, the mode you can enter...without root. This mode loads the OS and stock apps only...no third party apps are started. This mode can be beneficial in troubleshooting your phone if you suspect a third party app is causing problems.

 

[FoxKat]

Yeah, I think we are confusing the term "safe" mode. This thread started out discussing Safe Mode, the mode you can enter...without root. This mode loads the OS and stock apps only...no third party apps are started. This mode can be beneficial in troubleshooting your phone if you suspect a third party app is causing problems.

JP is correct. The thread actually started with what the OP titled the thread as - an alternate factory reset procedure. What we didn't realize is the OP was touting that option as a way to reach the factory reset via AP Recovery (hold power button and both volume controls from a full-off state), even if you don't have access through the normal channel - Menu, Settings, Privacy, Factory Data Reset.

Then SallyC mentioned a discovery I made of a little-known process of booting into a protected mode on the phone called "Safe Mode", which ironically also requires both volume controls to be held down but only after releasing the power button during initial power-up and before the full boot sequence is completed. It wasn't really a thread hijack (wasn't intended as my comment mentioned), but my replies in clarifying may make it seem it was. I apologize for any confusion it caused. :frown:

 

[Redbeaver]

so there are actually 3 (!!!) modes!

interesting. its good to know. then i've never tried this "safe mode".
1. regular (PWR)
2. AP Recovery/Motorola Recovery (PWR+VolUP+VolDWN)
3. Safe Mode (PWR --> VolUP+VolDWN)

did i get it right this time? dancedroid

 

[FoxKat]

i'm confused. isn't what ur saying then is how to reset ur phone THROUGH safe mode described by FoxKat?

or u guys are talking about 2 different boot screen?


AFAIK, there are 2 boot modes in my RAZR (3 if u have CWM)
regular and recovery/safe mode.
safe mode gives u option to do stuff. such as reset ur phone. or go into AP Fastboot mode for RSD Lite


am i missing something?

And to clarify your question, there are actually only two standard boot modes...Normal and Safe Mode. By definition a boot mode is the mode that the device is in once fully booted or in another operation mode such as a programming mode. However there is also the "Boot Mode Selection Menu" as it's titled at the top of the window (hold Power + Volume Up + Volume Down from full off), which really isn't a boot mode itself so much as it is a menu of selections of Boot Modes. This menu offers several options for booting or restoring the phone;

What's tricky here is that in the initial "Boot Mode Selection Menu" screen, the Volume Down button scrolls to the next menu choice (as you might expect), BUT...Volume Up actually selects the menu choice your cursor is on (or you've scrolled to). PLEASE BE CAREFUL to remember this unique fact. You can not scroll up, but you can scroll to the bottom and one more press of the Volume Down takes you back to the top again. If you do accidently scroll up on the wrong selection you could lead yourself toward an undesirable result.

Normal Powerup (self-explanatory)

• To execute, simply press Volume Up (or wait and it defaults to Normal Powerup)

Recovery - Also called "Stock Recovery". It provides selections for flashing update.zip from the SD Card (only Signed ROMs coming straight from Verizon/Motorola can be flashed), wipe data / factory reset and wiping just the Cache Partition.

• First Press the Volume Down button to scroll to Recovery,
• Then press the Volume Up button to select.
• This brings you to what is called the “triage” screen,
• You'll again press both Volume Up and Volume Down at the same time.
• A new menu will appear. (You may have to try this several times before it works)
• Now, using the volume buttons, toggle the selection to "wipe data / factory reset",
• Then press Power to select it.
• Finally choose Yes.
• The Droid RAZR will then start the factory reset process. Once completed, you will be prompted to select Reboot.

AP Fastboot (allows flashing of a Fastboot ROM that's been provided either through RSD Lite or via the command line fastboot interface)

BP SBF Flash (allows flashing SBF (Motorola/Verizon) Roms through RSD Lite)

BP Only (A Service Technician Programming mode typically used at the Verizon Phone Center Stores or the factory to change internals)
BP HW Diag & Boot AP (Another Service Technician Programming and Diagnostic menu, and again used by the Service Provider)
BP Tools (Yet another Service Technician Programming menu selection which is apparently supposed to force boot normally but also apparently doesn't work).

Note: The last three modes above are for various low level hardware and diagnostic access requiring proprietary software tools (such as RSD Lite or Android SDK) designed for use by technicians and developers for testing and/or fixing problems with the device and used during soft/hardware development diagnostics. It is highly recommended that unless you are already familiar with the RSD Lite or SDK software packages and understand the risks, that you stay away from those last three choices.

EDIT: And to further clarify as JP pointed out, Safe Mode is a fully functional boot mode which allows the phone to work pretty much the way it does out of the box, but with some very important exceptions. It will only load the stock applications and stock widgets. It will NOT load any custom applications that were user-installed (however if the icon is on the home screen, it may still allow it to run). It will also NOT show any user-installed apps in the app tray.

The reason this mode is helpful is that it can essentially bypass any user-installed applications during boot and give you an operating system that is unencumbered by any possible problems those user-installed applications may be causing. This is a very important and powerful troubleshooting option which can in many cases difinitively rule out the phone as the cause of erratic behavior, and instead point to a user-installed application or applications as the culpret in such problems.

There is no disadvantage to booting into Safe Mode or running the phone in this mode indefinitely (other than no access to user-installed apps), since in this mode, the processor and OS are running at the same clock speeds and with all the same subroutines that the Normal Mode offers (which is why if you have apps or shortcuts on your home screens while in Safe Mode, they can still run - even though they are nowhere to be found in the app tray). It just doesn't auto-run anything that didn't come with the phone. So if you're unsure about a problem, boot to Safe Mode, use the phone normally, including WIFI, Bluetooth, Internet, etc. *(minus any user-installed apps/widgets)*, and if the problem goes away you know the phone isn't at fault.

Hope this information is helpful. If anyone has additional helpful information or clarification/correction to what's above, please feel free to interject.