How to do a TOTAL reset of Android phone?
 

My father renewed his cell phone contract earlier this year at a shop in Chinatown. He didn't use the new phone because his old one was still working.

This weekend we tried to setup the free phone from the store (Galaxy 5) when I booted it up it was in Chinese.
I found the option to set the language to English but when I went to update the Android version I got a message saying that the build is incorrect.

I did a factory reset and it again booted up in Chinese.

I believe the store must have put in an edited version of Android so thats why I cannot update it and so on.

Is there any way to get it restored with the real Android?

Thank you

It already has the real Android. It's just a Chinese version.

If the phone isn't "boot locked", a knowledgeable person can replace the phone's operating system with a different version of Android. What are the make, model, and carrier? Someone here can probably tell you if this will be possible.

Possibilities:
- Seller may have modified the phone to install malware disguised as typical bloatware
- Likely to be a gray market phone direct from China
- May already be rooted

Wonder if this would work for you (flash a new ROM):
http://www.howtogeek.com/162516/how-...ith-a-new-rom/

Note: I'm a "casual" smartphone user, so any talk of rooting and flashing new ROMs and foreign to me. I understand what those mean, but haven't the foggiest clue of how to go about doing it. Took me long enough to just figure out how to use Helium

Perhaps taking your phone to a cellphone repair shop would be your best bet and I would be inclined to think that the seller modified the phone and would be afraid to use it for fear that it could overcharge and cause a fire.

Go to "About Phone" in the system setup. Then you can see the version of Android and build.

My guess it is an imported Chinese version, so the default upon reset is Chinese language.