Solved! Factory reset vs. recovery mode (hard reset)

[w2tq]

My Google Nexus 7 tablet is running Android version 5.1.1 - the latest the hardware will accept. At times, the device is sluggish and Chrome, Firefox, and the Settings panel occasionally crash, even after a full charge. I have removed every app not in use and driven down the cache. Currently, the internal storage is showing 16.40 GB free out of a total of 27.56 GB. The tablet otherwise functions well.

I have seen advice on various sites about resetting by performing a factory reset or using the recovery mode. Everything of importance is stored elsewhere, so a complete erasure is of no concern. What is unclear is whether I would see a performance from either of these procedures.

Any advice, including potential downsides, would be appreciated.

 

[hang-the-9]

My Google Nexus 7 tablet is running Android version 5.1.1 - the latest the hardware will accept. At times, the device is sluggish and Chrome, Firefox, and the Settings panel occasionally crash, even after a full charge. I have removed every app not in use and driven down the cache. Currently, the internal storage is showing 16.40 GB free out of a total of 27.56 GB. The tablet otherwise functions well.

I have seen advice on various sites about resetting by performing a factory reset or using the recovery mode. Everything of importance is stored elsewhere, so a complete erasure is of no concern. What is unclear is whether I would see a performance from either of these procedures.

Any advice, including potential downsides, would be appreciated.

Both methods do the same thing, just one is done when you don't have access to the operating system (which is the hard reset using the device buttons). Since doing a clean wipe to factory new resets the device to how it was, it can't hurt to try to fix any issues, it won't get worse and good chance it will run better.