Resetting your RCA tablet makes sense if you have been facing numerous issues with the device. Be it ruminating over a hard-to-recall password or responding to the tablet that has been acting up recently, resetting is probably the best option to get it back to the original internal state.
You can consider the Soft Reset if the issues are only limited to speed and performance. However, I would recommend a Hard Reset or rather a Factory Reset if you want to get rid of all the problems, like app freezing, slow internet, overheating, and more, once and for all.
But then, you must remember that a hard or factory reset wipes out every bit of on-device data, without giving any chance to recover the same. Therefore, it is advisable to get a backup at the earliest.
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Factory Reset Methods
Before you move ahead with the reset, you need to understand a few aspects. Firstly, RCA offers an exciting range of tablets, including Android and Windows-powered devices. Therefore, resetting the device while it’s turned on, depends on the type of operating system that the tablet boots.
I’ve written two methods for Android RCA Tablets and two methods for windows-based RCA devices. You can navigate using the below options:
- Android RCA Tablet (Powered Off)
- Android RCA Tablet (From Settings, when powered on)
- Windows RCA Tablet (Powered Off)
- Windows RCA tablet (Powered on)
Method 1: Android Tablet: Powered-Off
Prerequisite: Ensure that the RCA tablet is switched off and every accessory is unplugged or taken out, including the SD card.
Step 1: Switch off the tablet
If you find it hard to switch the tablet off via the conventional, on-screen instructions, there is a reset button at the back to do exactly the same. Remember that thhis button is only meant for the Soft Reset.
Step 2: Boot into recovery mode
Once the tablet is off, wait for a few seconds and then hold the power button and the Volume Up (+) key, simultaneously.
While you can find the power key adhered to the top rim of the tablet, the Volume keys can either be at the back or on the edge, depending on the RCA tablet model.
Keep holding the mentioned buttons till the time the RCA logo is visible. Within a second or two, you would be redirected to the Android Bot interface that comes with the caution symbol and takes you to the recovery menu.
The recovery menu looks more like a standard BIOS interface with several options available for booting, updating, or managing cache partition.
Once you get to the recovery menu, release the buttons immediately.
Step 3: Choose Wipe Data / Factory Reset in recovery mode
Once the command prompt lookalike interface is in front, you can scroll down to the wipe data/ factory reset version by scrolling up and down using the volume up and down keys.
You can select the command by pressing the power button once, which then asks for a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ prompt. Choose ‘Yes’.
Once the confirmation page is taken care of, you will see a ‘Wiping data’ notification at the lower end of the screen. This process might take 5 to 8 seconds, depending on the data housed by the RCA tablet.
Step 4: Reboot your Device from Recovery Mode
Once you see an intimation that says ‘Data Wiped’, you will be automatically redirected to the recovery page again, with the ‘Reboot System Now’ command at the top. You need to select the same to restart the device, by clicking on the power button.
After a few seconds, you will see the startup screen pop-up and you will have the old device in front of you with the software as good as new.
Method 2: Android Tablet: Powered-On
You can consider resetting the device even with the tablet turned on if you have minor technical glitches and cache build-up to take care of. Here are the steps that can help:
Step 1: Go to Settings and Find “Backup & Reset” tab
Unlock the device and access the settings tab, just like you would on any other android tablet. Once you scroll down the settings menu, you will find the ‘Backup & Reset’ tab.
Step 2: Click on “Reset Tablet” option.
Upon selecting the ‘Reset Tablet’ option, you would need to restart the RCA tablet, in case auto-restart isn’t turned on.
Method 3: Windows Tablet: Powered-Off
If you own a Windows-powered RCA tablet, you are in some elite company. While the Voyager series is basically meant for the Android ecosystem, you are most likely to own the Cambio 10.1. This means, it is expected that the tablet might be connected to an external keyboard, which then makes it easier to reset.
Step 1: Use the “Reset” rear panel to start soft reset.
You can simply press the ‘Reset’ button at the rear panel to simply initiate a Soft Reset of sorts, provided you can get hold of a pin to access the same.
Now, you need to turn it on by clicking on the power on button and press the Function key and the F9 simultaneously and repeatedly, till you get a ‘Please Wait’ notification.
Step 3: Go to Troubleshoot & find “Reset your PC”
You would then see the ‘Troubleshoot’ menu where you need to select the ‘Reset your PC’ as the preferred command.
Note: You can either clean a particular drive or simply remove certain files, depending on the preferences. Depending on the available data, the system might take 15 to even 60 minutes for getting the job done.
Also, the device might flash at times during the process but you need not worry and must not press any other key in the process.
Method 4: Windows Tablet: Powered-On
Once the tablet powers on, connect the same to the keyboard for accessing the controls better and faster.
Step 1: Go to Settings > Update & Security
Click on the Windows start menu and reach out to the settings. Then click on the ‘Update and Security’ option.
Step 2: Find the “Recovery” section to get the “Reset your PC” option.
Eventually, click on the ‘Recovery’ and you would be directed to the ‘Reset your PC’ option or the ‘Advanced Startup’ button for booting the software differently or restoring the Windows OS to its system image.
Step 3: Reset your PC and choose the reset option according to your needs
Once you click on ‘Reset your PC’, you will be prompted to choose an option, with one asking you to keep the files upon removing apps and saved settings and the other option prompting you to cleanse the entire system at once.
You can select as per preference and the device will then restart multiple times to finally bring you the original version of the OS, which came with the device.
Frequently Asked Questons
As RCA tablets are extremely affordable devices, you can expect the software to get obsolete pretty quickly. Plus, the new-age apps and programs are expected to add to the Bloatware, which in turn slows down the tablet, significantly, a problem that only Factory reset can solve.
Factory reset or hard reset doesn’t only delete the apps, files, and programs. Instead, it also cleanses the tablet of the wireless settings, Google accounts, saved formats, alarms, and wipes out every memory that device has of prior correspondence.
While a soft reset is a glorified version of a simple restart, especially for refreshing the cache memory and speeding up certain tasks, a hard reset refers to a factory reset, which wipes out every data set, housed by the RCA tablet.
Yes, factory reset is a completely safe technique to make your RCA tablet feel like its older self. However, you need to carefully follow the instructions and should not press any other key while the tablet is getting fixed.
Conclusion
As seen, resetting an RCA tablet to its factory settings isn’t difficult but detail-intensive. Also, once you restore the same to the factory format, you can also get hold of the apps and programs that originally came as a part of the tablet.
Regardless, you need to look at the steps carefully, depending on the state of the device and the concerned operating platform.
Hi Joseph,
Quick question of you would. I am performing the fully clean the drive reset on RCA model W101SA23T1. After several reboots I get message that it failed. Is there a site where I can d/l a new image of Windows 10 for my tablet?