How to: Reset the Nokia Lumia 800 and 900

November 22, 2011 By Nirave 59 Comments

So you saw all the hubbub during launch day and decided to buy Nokia’s new Windows Phone device, the Lumia 800 or the flagship Lumia 900. Every so often, every phone needs a good battery pull now and then. Or something more sinister comes up and you need to factory reset the device.

Can’t work out how to do either when the phone won’t load up? Not to worry, I’ve got you covered. Here’s how to reset the Lumia 800 and the flagship Lumia 900:

Soft Reset

Soft Resets are sometimes also known as battery pulls, where pulling the battery out of a phone and replacing it can fix some minor issues with your phone.

Unfortunately with Nokia’s latest devices, the polycarbonate unibody shell means you can’t pull the battery out.

Here’s what to do instead:

As per the image, hold the Volume Down and Power buttons down until the phone vibrates three times. The phone should successfully restart with the Nokia logo after a few seconds.

Hard Reset

Sometimes a battery pull just won’t fix the problem. In these cases, it’s time to do a hard reset on the phone. Warning: All data will be lost from the phone when performing a hard reset.

If the phone powers on, navigate to Settings > About > Reset your Phone.

This will reset your phone to factory settings. If the OS won’t load up, use the method below.

Step 1: Backup all your data

The first step is to backup all your data. I personally use cloud storage with Google but you can also use SkyDrive and other solutions to backup your data.

Step 2: Switch the phone off.

Once again, make sure your phone is off whilst using this method.

Step 3: 3 button reset

Almost all Nokia phones have an infamous 3 finger reset and the Nokia Lumia 800 is no different. Similar to the soft reset above, the hard reset is performed by pressing the Volume Down, Camera and Power buttons. Hold all three buttons down until the phone vibrates then release power button and hold volume down and camera for a further five seconds.

Step 4: Phone is reset!

Success!! Your phone is now reset to factory defaults.

In case you missed that, here’s a quick infographic to explain it.

We hope this guide has helped!

About The Author: Nirave Gondhia

Founder of UK Mobile Review and MEA Mobile Review - I'm in my twenties and based in London with a passion for mobile tech, travelling and the Middle East. Connect with me using the links below.

Pingback: Enllaços útils per al Nokia Lumia » Sapere Aude
Luis

You totally got wrong on how to do the soft reset.
In order to do it properly, you just have to press and hold 10 seconds the power button until the phone powers off.
- Nirave
  
  I’ve updated the article, however sometimes just holding the power button will not do the trick. I’ve experienced issues where the power button will not work to reset the device.
Vishnu

@Nirave- ur right just holding the power button didnt worked for me… your trick worked… Thanks alot!!
jios

And what to do when the phone has no charge and only shows the battery warning signal…. 2 nor 3 finger reset work… warming it makes no diff. It just died on me….
- Nirave
  
  Leave it on charge for around 12-18 hours, using the official charger included in the box. Try leaving it plugged directly into the main, not via a computer.
  
  It worked for mine, let me know how it goes for you.
Pingback: markwilson.it » The day I thought my Nokia Lumia 800 had died…
jios

OK, my problem is solved – by itself it seemed.
I HAD it on the charger for a full 24 hours. Had already dusted off my old Philips Xenia…
Then I connected it to my car charger (different brand). That charger is rather powerful; it can charge my phone from 3-4% to 99% in just over 2 hours.

In this case I had the phone on the charger for approx. 15 minutes when it suddenly came to life again, and after rebooting itself 4 or 5 times it started again. I checked the battery charge at that moment, it was 2% and the remaining usage time was -5 min…
vsd

HI. I had very similar situation today. Had charged my new Nokia Lumia via PC at work and one moment it got so hot and it switched off and I couldn’t switched back again at all. When I back home I have tried so different ways (connect to PC , take out sim…etc)and even called already my phone provider. But eventually ( as I have read your comments )I connected to the official charger and my Nokia back to life again ! Thank you guys!!
Tacolinoqc

Well apparently NOKIA is really **bleep** people off. I will be joining that LARGE group of **bleep** off users! Not to say that I have 2 Lumias and BOTH are having this problem. Yesterday my wife’s Lumia completely shut off after an overnight charge – it was 2 hours after she unplugged from charger that the handset turned off. NOW the phone is showing a drained battery and when I hold the reset button for a at least 30 seconds it still DOES NOT turn on. Mine on the other hand just switches off whenever it feels like it. When I am on a call, it switches off, when I play a game it heats up and my hands catch fire. This IS TERRIBLE! Not to say that I have recommended this phone to all of acquaintances and I’ve done two market research projects for my MBA thesis on this damn campaign and handset!! I am HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY disappointed with what is going on.

How can you BACK UP your files when the phone doesnt TURN ON?!?!?! .. you do a hard reset then what? lose all numbers?.. rectify that instruction please!! Thanks

Can someone PLEASE recommend what we should do/where we should turn to resolve this irritating situation?.. Do we go to the place where we bought it? – because I got it from Dial A Phone, and I don’t trust them. Do I turn to NOKIA to send it for repair? DO I throw it in the trash and smash it with a hammer? I think Nokia should understand HOW **bleep** PEOPLE ARE WITH THIS G A R B A G E ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! :smileymad:
- http://dani2xll.com dani2xll
  
  Hi
  
  It does say in the instructions that if you do a hard reset you will lose ALL data.
  If your phone does not switch on then you have a limited amount of choices here.
  I would suggest that you send your devices to Nokia for repair and explaining the problems that you are having with your phone. I would suggest, that if possible, for the future, that you make regular back-ups of your phone information.
Pingback: How to: Reset the Nokia Lumia 800 | Nokia 800 the King of Smartphones
Pablo

Hello, for my Lumia 800 will not start completely. After following the instructions the only thing that achievement is to leave the NOKIA logo in white on the screen but does not go there. I can do??? thanks!
Pingback: Astuce : Réinitialiser un Nokia Lumia 800 | Blog de Cyril Lopez
Bruno

ok, mas como fazer backup do meu lumia? esse novo update não está fazendo minha bateria durar muito igual prometido, o consumo continua entre 175-320 mahz .. que merda!!
- http://dani2xll.com Dani
  
  Sorry, You will have to write in English as its an English website
lidia

hola,mi lumia 800 se paro y no se enciende, e provado de hacer esto apretar los 2 botones y los 3 y nada no se enciende ni carga ni nada, que puedo hacer’????
ideas innovadoras

Qu? tipo de sitio usas? wordpress o joomla? me encanta el dise?o, por favor responde cuando puedas, gracias y un cordial saludo.he puesto en mi web un link a tu site. Mi web tiene un PR de 5.saludetes!
mikey

when making a call from my lumia 800 i cant hear a dialing sound or anybody on the line when making a call or recieving a call?????? any help here
- http://www.ukmobilereview.com Nirave
  
  Hi,
  
  The first thing to try is a hard reset as there is a slim possibility that the issue is caused by a software bug. However, if that fails to resolve it, we’d recommend you contact either Nokia Care or your network depending on where you bought it from as it will need sending off for a warranty repair.
  
  Remember to back up all your data as invariably it will get deleted off your device during both the hard reset and warranty repair.
  
  Hope this helps. Let us know how you get on.
Katie Furber

Hi

Ive got an upgrade at the end of march with Orange and i love the look of the Noikia Lumia 800 so i went with it Ive had no problems with the phone until today. Went out with a full battery, I text a friend to come meet me outside a pub. When i got into the pub i went to show her something on my phone and it was dead. I tried to turn it on and no luck. I though it might be dead so when i got home i put the phone on charge and normally it will vibrate when its connect and nothing has happened. Ive tried the USB-PC but nothing. I cant turn it on

PLEASE help….i need my phone for work and im lost without it :’(

Thank
Kate
- http://www.ukmobilereview.com Nirave
  
  Hi Katie,
  
  Have you tried to hold the volume down and power buttons whilst putting the phone on charge? That starts a battery pull, which might fix the problem.
  
  Otherwise try the hard reset options as outlined in this post. These will wipe your phone of any data however.
  
  let us know if this helps.
asif warner

pls can you delete previous post and put this as i made a few mistakes thxs…
OMG hi all first of all i am happy and sad the soft reset worked for me,and to say i am over the moon is a understatement,and to nirave and all the ppl who left comments i tyvm… why i am sad now is that i know how inportant my phone and your phones are to us, and i felt lost when it would not switch on or charge, and it makes me angry that ppl are still in that position,and who are going through this with a phone that is new?? come on nokia fix up help us,just wanted you guys to know i feel your pain, as i was just in your position and hope you get your probs fixed.. >>FAST..a.w…
- http://www.ukmobilereview.com Nirave
  
  Done
Owen Davies

Hi, my nokia lumia 800 died and now only comes on when connected to the pc …… plus the touch functions on my phone do not work either ….. ive tried your method of a hard reset and this was not successful .. is there a way of carrying out a hard reset through the pc??

please let me know if you have any ideas as i’m using a £9.99 samsung at the moment

thanks Owen xx
steveied

yep my lumia is dead, it all started when the contacts deleted themselves, got hold of nokia, that dont even know their own phones, they told me to hold in the power button for ten seconds until the phone vibrates three times, now its locked totally doesn’t even make a good door stop, no one should get anything from nokia let them rest in peace goodbye cruel world, i am going to apple or samsung
http://nokiaforums beno

hi mate my lumia will just get stuck on the vodaphone start up screen and frezze on battry with 1 red bar i dnt have the orginal lumia charger and no resets will help wat do u suggest mate
http://ukmobilereview aldo

my nokia lumia 800 cut out and wont turn back on , when i put charger in it vibrates roughly every 30 seconds but screen stays black wont even go to a start up screen plus i have tried volume down button with power nothing worked and tried hard reset i take it my fne is really gubbed
- http://www.facebook.com/paul.vansteenkiste Paul Vansteenkiste
  
  I had the same but are you sure you are doing it right
  Hold down the 3 buttons until it vibrates and then let go of the power button and hold the remaining buttons for 5 more seconds. I did it that way and it worked. Ik had the same issue you had.
merrrie

hi it happened to me to i was listening to some music during charge my phone switched off and I couldn’t switch it back again I have tried so different ways to fix it (connect to PC , take out sim…etc) it finally got fixed after a hard reset (strange was that none of my files was deleted)
hope i’ve helped )
- http://www.ukmobilereview.com Nirave
  
  Glad to know you got it fixed and happy we could help!
  
  Definitely strange your files weren’t deleted but a definite bonus!
Karl

Hi my lumia 800 just packed up totally, wont charge wont turn on doesn’t do anything,tried charging with original charger tried hard and soft reset but nothing no screen no vibrate not a sausage, the battery didnt even die it just turned off packed its bags and all life vacated the phone leaving it a useless sealed unit with no soul,,,,,, GUTTED
- Jon
  
  twice this year I’ve had to send my Lumia back.Same problem both times.Frustrating isn’t the word.Trying to speak to customer service in India and then my network provider has resulted in me using some choice words.Oh and when I sent it to be repaired the second time they lost the phone for 4 weeks!!!!they couldn’t check the emie number as the phone is sealed so it just sat on a shelf waiting.I hope Nokia drowns in a sea of it’s own making as I will never buy a Nokia product again and after my contract finishes with 3 I will look elsewhere.I have been with 3 for 8yrs and the way I have been treated is a disgrace
  - http://www.ukmobilereview.com Nirave
    
    Its sad to hear you’ve had a lot of problems. I’d suggest reaching out to @ThreeUKsupport on Twitter to see if they can help as they’ve been pretty good at resolving issues where customer services can’t.
- http://www.ukmobilereview.com Nirave
  
  Hi Karl,
  
  Have you contacted Nokia Care to see what they can do to help? Also, where did you buy your Lumia from?
- Tba
  
  hey this happened to mine I took it to where I bought it and they sent it off for free I got it fixed after two weeks it was fine after <3
uttam

i have made a call ant talked for some time but could not end call. this problems repeate for many time can i be sugested.
Pingback: 800 locked up - Windows Phone Forums at wpcentral.com
Chris

My lumia has died.will not turn on or charge.tried pressing all button combinations but nothing has worked
- http://www.ukmobilereview.com Nirave
  
  Hi,
  
  Are you using the official charger that came with the device? If it won’t turn on and you’ve tried everything we’ve suggested, you’ll need to get it repaired.
  
  Your best bet would be to take it back to the place you purchased it from and ask them to repair it under the manufacturers warranty. Or you can contact Nokia directly to see if they can help.
kristof v

hello , my lumia 800′s batery wass empty , after 24hrs of cherging he does nothing , soft reset does nothing , hard reset does nothing …………..
- kristof v
  
  just dont wont to start up …….
Nikki

Hard reset worked for me … with no data loss !!!
got to be worth a try
craig

kiss my arse nokia, the lumia 800 is shit, how these phones are still for sale is beyond me, nothing but trouble since ive had it, now its dead completely, all of us are being robbed by you useless cunts.. fuck you and bye..
jgnland

problema solucionado muchas gracias!!!!!!
Mick

A word of warning to all.

Do NOT do a hard reset on your phone until you’ve tried to back up your data first!!!!

I tried all the tricks to try and get my phone out of the loop for days then finally I resorted to the Hard Reset and now I’m looking at a completely wiped phone with no way to restore my messages, contacts, call history, apps, pictures, music and ringtones.

There are a few unofficial apps around to back up your phone, I highly recommend looking at these first and please ONLY use the Hard Reset as a LAST RESORT as it is very likely that you will lose everything!
Frustrated by Nokia

OMG!!! I just tried the hard reset after 3 days of my phone not powering up and me getting terribly frustrated now my phone is back up but everything is gone!!!! Its a crazy brand new phone all over!! What do i do now!!?! This is crazy!
Pingback: Unresponsive Nokia Lumia 920 fixed by Lumia 800 soft reset guidance | 2big4twitter
Pingback: How to force reset Nokia Lumia 920 and Windows Phone 8 when frozen
http://www.facebook.com/joe.sain.14 Joe Sain

my phone also crashed whats the deal called in ins claim costing me $125 for another p.o.shit try everything to reset it lock on Nokia CJ.S from stillwater, oklahoma
Sunny

My Lumia 800 phone was fully charged after which i tried to put a call through. Two minutes later, the phone is completely dead. Tried Soft reset & hard reset but nothing seems to be working. What should I do?
http://twitter.com/MCoreBE Michaël

Thank you so much!
Ziad Mohamed

I want to Thanks you from my heart’s bottom because this article saves me…I live in Egypt and no officially support for my lumia 800 and I faced the sudden death while playing music during subwoofer… I really thought that this mobile will dead forever till I see this article…you made me love this site…THANKS VERY MUCH BRO
Sachin

Thanks from the bottom of my heart..u guys saved my phone..i thought my phone has died but whn i followed the process explained here..my dead phone got alive..thanx guys
jana

muy buena esta pag lo del principio me ayudo demaciado gracias
- http://www.ukmobilereview.com/ Nirave
  
  De nada!
k4tt

i system updated my 820 then it didn’t turn on and a ” ” face appears on screen and then i tried both resets but still the ” ” is showing on screen. Any ideas?
Ranjith

Really Suberb:)… Thank u very much
william 123

You are the man, soft reset worked for me on .Had to do it 3 times but it worked thanks.