How to reset the OnePlus 8T

Whenever we use our device, we’re basically adding more information and data to it, like when we install apps, visit websites, open email attachments, sending or receiving messages, and so on. For the most part, these activities don’t pose any problems, but from time to time, we might encounter instances where our phones just stop responding or start reacting in unexpected ways that are detrimental to the user experience.

This is when we need to start looking into either restarting our phone or in more extreme cases, even resetting it to its factory settings in hopes that we can bring it back to normal functionality.

So what is the difference between restarting and resetting?

Restarting is a term that you are probably familiar with if you’ve used a computer. Basically, all you’re doing is turning it off and then back on. This process will kill all running applications so that when the phone is turned back on, any problematic apps running in the background are closed and your phone should go back to normal. It also gives you a chance to figure out what could have caused the problem.

Resetting on the other hand is also known as factory resetting. This wipes your entire phone of all its data (except the operating system) and brings it back to its original form when you first bought it. This is a more extreme process and you will lose all data like apps, messages, contacts, and photos that are stored locally, so usually this is more of a worst-case scenario.

How to restart your OnePlus 8T

If you’re finding that your OnePlus 8T is giving you problems where apps hang on startup, or it’s feeling sluggish and it’s not operating the way it should, the first thing you can do is try to restart the phone to see if that helps. It takes about a minute and is less destructive compared to resetting.

1. Press and hold the Power and Volume Up buttons on the side of the phone
2. When the power menu appears, tap Restart
3. Give your phone about a minute to power down and turn itself on again, and hopefully, your issues are now solved.

In the event that your phone has hung and the method above does not work, don’t worry because there’s another way you can force a hung phone to reboot itself.

1. Press and hold the Power and Volume Up button and hold it for ten seconds
2. Your phone will eventually turn itself off
3. Wait a few seconds and turn it back on

How to reset your OnePlus 8T

If the steps above don’t solve your problem and whatever issues you’re experiencing continue to persist, it might be time to consider factory setting your device. This is a destructive process where it will completely erase everything on your phone, so you’ll want to make sure that all your important files are backed up elsewhere like to an external hard drive or a cloud before proceeding.

1. Go to Settings > System > Reset Options > Erase all data
2. Tap Erase all data and tap Confirm
3. Enter the PIN associated with your phone to confirm the process
4. Tap Erase all data again
5. You might be prompted to enter your Google Account password to begin the process
6. Wait a few minutes for the entire process to be completed
7. Your phone will eventually reboot and turn itself back on
8. Follow the setup instructions