Sony Xperia T Soft / Hard Reset Guide

December 3rd, 2013
Sony
hard resets
45 Comments

Sony stands out with its Xperia brand producing some attractive handsets which offer a number of useful features . The Xperia T is one of Sony’s best Android product yet. The company works through the alphabet with its Xperia range of Android phones, following the recent Xperia S, Xperia J and Xperia U. The Xperia T is equipped with 4.6-inch HD screen, NFC capability, dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon S4 processor and a 13 MP camera. The Android.1 Jelly Bean is a big update, and is powered by a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor with 1GB of RAM.

The Xperia T is a great mid-range device which had enough features to rival the best smartphones at that time, but with the passing of days it will occasionally develop a hiccup which needs to be fixed up. If your smartphone is simply frozen and won’t respond to your fingertips there is still a pretty powerful option available to fix the problem and that is to perform a factory reset. It’s also an option if you can’t get your device to power. But first you should charge your battery and backup your data. In order to do that there are a number of methods to try, so through this article we`re going to go over multiple ways to perform resets.

How to Hard Reset the Sony Xperia T

xperia

So if your device is refusing to reboot the old fashioned way  try this option  to soft reset. Due to this method you won`t lose any data.

  1. Press and hold the “Volume Up” key and the “Power” key, and count to five.
  2. Wait for your device to vibrate.
  3. As soon as you feel the vibration, release the keys.
  4. Your device should reboot as normal.

xperia2

Another method to try is the following but be careful, this will remove all data on the phone so you may need to perform a backup:

  1. From the home screen, press “Menu”.
  2. Than go to “Backup and reset”.
  3. Scroll and press “Factory data reset”.
  4. Next, press “Reset phone”.
  5. Than select “Erase everything” and your phone is back to factory settings.

If the phone is totally unresponsive, even after a reboot, then try the following method:

  1. While the phone is turned off, press and hold the “Volume Down” button.
  2. Then, while holding the Volume key down, press and then release the “Power” button.
  3. A menu should appear. Use the “Volume down” key to go to Clear Storage.
  4. Use the “Power” button to select the option.
  5. Then when asked to confirm, press “Volume Up” for Yes.

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  • Franske

    does not work with my Xperia T…it vibrates once then three times. If I release it after the first buzz it just boots as usual.

    • Alex Serban

      Hello Franske. Try the other methods as well, see if they work. I don’t know why the first procedure does not work in your case but that one is included in the official Sony log.

      Try the other two and let us know if we can help.

      • Franske

        Not needed anymore, I modded the phone succesfully, even though it took me two days (including a travel back where I could actually continue the research)

        • Robin Dexter

          Hi, ell mines still dead, not a flicker on the screen, I’ve now tried all methods, none of them work for me, i’ve only had this problem since the phone did a self update- bloody thing

  • sam

    my phone is locked…..someone locked it with pattern lock now i m not able to remove that pattern…….i cant even factory reset it….bcoz it asks for pattern der too….plus phone is not connectging to sony pc companion……everything is fucked up……..any solution for that…..i also used *#*#7378423#*#* but after few min it again gets locked

    • Alex Serban

      Hey Sam,

      Yes, of course there is a solution. Use the last method posted above, the one where you start with the phone turned off. This will activate recovery mode which does not need a lock key.

      • sam

        not working ……my phone model is Xperia T LT30p

        • Alex Serban

          Well, it should work, because most Xperia T models are LT30p. Can you explain what exactly is not working when you are trying to reset with that method? Is the phone going into recovery mode?

          Otherwise, you could also try to contact Sony directly, they have a support page right here: http://www.sonymobile.com/global-en/support/contact-us/

  • smileyreilly4

    Hi,I got my unlock code today for my Sony Xperia T from previous owner and it’s correct according to 02. But when I enter it it won’t unlock? If I factory reset it will it maybe work then? I know you only get so many tries and I am sure it’s 10 with Sony,as 02 are trying to say maybe I have permanently locked it.

    • Alex Serban

      Hello Reilly,

      I don’t believe that factory resetting has anything to do with carrier unlock, which is what you are trying to do here. In other words, I cannot say it will work afterwards. But, you can try, because it won’t do any harm.

      Back to the matter, you should try to ask someone from O2 about this problem, because from my knowledge there’s no such thing as a “permanently” carrier locked phone. This is simply a restriction which was imposed by the carrier and which can be removed at any times. They can manually remove it with a code or, if you don’t want to pay for such a thing, you can unlock your phone yourself (this may require rooting). But that’s a different thing completely and we don’t handle them at the moment.

      • smileyreilly4

        Hi Alex, thank you for your reply.I have contacted 02 about this and they have sent off a form for me.
        .I got the phone off a person on eBay and they were very kind to contact 02 on my behalf (as was advised by 02 to do this as I haven’t had the phone for 12 months yet) but the code is the correct one for my IMEI number but just comes up “phone can’t be unlocked” when I enter it? Worked with my previous experia ray though! !
        So just waiting on them getting back to me now.

        I did find a code online to try to see if my phone was hard locked and when I typed it in it said it was.
        Again,thank you very much for your reply and hopefully 02 will be able to sort this without me have to keep asking the person from eBay to do anymore? 02 said they think it should be him that enters the code? But I don’t get that? As I have had it since May last year and was using it on 02 till I changed provider last month ,plus it matches the phones IMEI so should have worked! Me thinks it’s something to do with 02, as I came out their contract one month early! But have honoured them with a fee for doing that:-)

        • Alex Serban

          Well, if O2 says the code is right and made just for your IMEI (which uniquely represents a device) that means the code is not the cause of the problem, but the phone itself.

          My knowledge to hard locking is very limited (frankly it’s the first time I’ve heard of it) but, if O2 replies and say there’s nothing they can do, you should perform a hard reset. If that doesn’t make it work, search online on ways to carrier unlock it (I believe this is only possible through rooting).

          Sorry that I can’t help out with more info.

          • smileyreilly4

            Thank you,I had never heard of it till I went online to see why my code never worked? And was told it just basically means That the code has been entered too many times and then becomes hard locked.
            I will look in to “hard reset” if they can’t solve my problem:-) .I love my phone and I am determined to get it unlocked and will remain positive lol 🙂
            Than you once again for your information,it is very much appreciated:-)

            • smileyreilly4

              Hi,02 are now telling me my phone is permanently locked(hardlocked) meaning I do have the correct code but it’s been entered too many times! :
              My only hope now is to contact the person off Ebay that I bought it off and they can request a new phone and have it sent to me,so fingers crossed as I await their reply?.
              or I will have to try your carrier unlock? but looks way too complicated for ME!! lol..:)

              • Alex Serban

                Well, good luck with the eBay guy, it would be nice if he could help but in case that doesn’t happen. try to find someone that knows a thing or two about Android phones and ask him to help you to carrier unlock the device 🙂

                The best of luck.

                • smileyreilly4

                  Thank you. He did send off for the code and emailed me that.so hoping he can sort this too!? .or I will be looking to carrier unlock and I’ll do my homework on the above 🙂

  • Todd

    I got a sony xperia z from a friend that has a lock code pattern on it that he doesnt remember. his son put it on there on accident. how do you reset the phone to get the lock code off the phone? ive tried the *#*#service#*#* trick and it doesnt work. ive also tried to recover it using “forgot code”. is there any other option to unlock the phone? he isnt being helpful with trying to get it unlocked.

    • Alex Serban

      Hey Todd,

      Try the second method from the guide above, the one that starts with the phone powered off. This way, you won’t need the lock code at all 🙂

  • Nadeem Dar

    I updated my xperia t to 4.3..After three days i normally shutdown the phone and when i restart it , it is now rebooting itself .I don,t know what to do ?? i have tried connecting it with the charger and also by using pc companion but same problem it is rebooting itself ? any suggestions please ?

    • Alex Serban

      Hello Nadeem. Your phone has now entered a booting loop, which usually occurs when you root the terminal and something goes wrong. If you haven’t rooted it, try the last method posted above to reset it 🙂

  • Md Al Amin

    Thanks boss. After long search I found a working solution.

  • Shannon

    Hi, I have forgotten my unlock pattern and cant remember the gmail account I used to set my phone up with. I have tried these options but known have work? I was wondering if you could help me please?

    • Alex Serban

      Hello,

      Can you please tell me what errors do you encounter when you are trying the second option? This one should work even without a password.

      • Caz

        I get a red flashing light then I tried again, it then turned green, but no menu option appears

        • Adan

          Same with me!
          I try the method at the bottom but all i get is one quick green light!

      • Pocket Rocket

        If I hold this reset method the phone vibrates 3 times and then boots to same LOCKED screen.
        Why doesn’t this go to factory reset?

  • Ali

    I have a sony xperia T LT30 P, bought an unlock
    code for the device then i descover that 0 tries left. whenever i enter the
    unlock code it says “wrong code”

    by the
    way i bought all levels codes but 0 tries left for all.

    help
    plz

    • Alex Serban

      Hello Ali. It’s something wrong with the code itself, and particularly with the source that you bought the code from. I’m afraid you’ve been tricked.

    • Symone Allijohn

      There’s nothing wrong with the code you bought. The problem is the 0 tries left – this means that you have no more tries to unlock the phone with any code as the phone lock has now become irreversible – you could try buying a contract or sim card from the network that you bought the phone from – e.g. if you bought the phone from t-mobile then you will only be able to use t-mobile contracts or sims – you can’t unlock the phone any longer to use it with a different network.

  • RORO

    I have a sony xperia T LT30 P , I have forgotten my unlock pattern and cant remember the gmail account I used to set my phone up with. I have tried these options (1and 3 cant do the third 🙁 ) but known have work? HELP PLEASE

    • Alex Serban

      Why can’t you perform the third option? This one would be suited for those that have forgotten their lock code. Your Google account is only required if you want to import data after the restore, like contacts and applications.

      • Adan

        As i said previously…at least what happend to me.
        Is,when i press the power button and then release,all i get is a quick greeen light!

  • moder399

    You pigs are useless. Die.

  • Talat Mahmud Sourave

    Dear, I am new user of SONY XPERIA T LT30P. It’s new mobile. In the time of buying, the camera worked clearly. Next day, when I poress camera button, after some time the camera become on, when I click ok, then it become hang. After some time, a notification is shown “UNKNOWN ERROR”. After 3-4 days, the camera totally closed the work. it’s not going to open. Whats the problem. I can’t understand. What can I do now???

  • Caz

    I changed my lock to face unlock, it asked for a password which I cant remember, and phone is now on emergency calls only. Can I still reset it?

    • Caz

      I still cant do it anyone have any ideas???

  • A.K Mallick

    3G PROBLEM….
    I am user of Sony Xperia t lt30p (GSM only)2g working but 3g not working. select network type (WCDMA preferred GSM )or( only WCDMA) airtel,Vodafone, reliance,(india)please solution

  • Robin Dexter

    I have exactly the same problem, the screen is black, I can the occasional red/green led on but nothing happens, and the phone now occasionally gives three vibrates in quick succession, I don’t know what this means but it must be significant.

  • Ehab

    I deleted the preloaded pic comes with my t3 .i made back up and restore i still cant get them .and i got more problem .the walkman is not working anymore and all preloaded video were deleted .any help please

  • NiggaWithoutAttitude

    Just in case you might reply; My phone froze yesterday when trying to close some apps, the LED works just fine, and I thought straight away of hard resetting it. No luck, it’s been running for about 35 hours without charge now, and still it’s going. The battery was at 57% and it was over 24 hours ago that it happened. Normally with no apps running it would have run out by now but it’s still going? Any ideas or do I just wait until it breaks down to charge it?

    • Alex Serban

      Hey there,

      Try removing the battery and inserting it back-in, see if you can get the phone running normal again. Or, let it power down, charge it, and turn it back ON again.

      • NiggaWithoutAttitude

        Lol, it doesn’t have a removable battery unfortunately. I have the M2, I did assume that all Sony Xperia models were just the same as I’ve seen another 3 models of my friends and they’re the exact same. In the end I had to wait 2 days until the battery packed up and then I charged it again. I couldn’t believe how long it took the battery to drain, seeing as it normally drains pretty quick with no apps running.

        Thanks anyway though.

  • Hamish Nelson

    Help me please! My brother changer my pattern password on my sony xperia T3 and I cannot get into it, I am trying the ways above but they are not reakly proving usefull at the moment ): please help!!

  • chirag jain

    hey my sony xperia it30p is not turing no itz jus rebooting again n again n not turing on nly wat should i do i cnt do factory reset also

  • Pocket Rocket

    None of these solutions work?
    My phone is locked and none of the hard resets do anything but reboot the phone?
    Is there no downloadable software that I can plug the phone into and force a reset?