The buttons at the bottom of a phone's screen in the app, and the reset under its settings, do what they say. Here is what each one means for what is on the phone and for what you pay.
Power off and start
Power off shuts the phone down cleanly, like holding the power button on a physical one. Apps stop, and the phone cannot be streamed or reached by the file browser until it is started again. Everything on it stays exactly as it was.
A powered-off phone still costs what it costs. You are renting the hardware it occupies for the term you bought, whether or not it is running, so switching it off does not pause the clock. It does free up nothing you are paying for.
Restart
Restart reboots a running phone. Use it when an app has wedged or the phone feels sluggish. It takes a moment; the viewer reconnects when the phone is back.
Factory reset
Under Device settings, a factory reset puts the phone back to the condition it was in when you created it. Every app you installed, every account you signed into and every file on it is erased. The phone itself, its name, its subscription and its remaining term all stay, so a reset is the way to start again without giving the phone up and renting another. The phone has to be online or powered off, not in between.
A reset cannot be undone. Save anything you want to keep with the file browser first. There is no copy of what was on the phone.
Two messages you may see
- Operation in progress. A tap landed while the last one was still being carried out. Nothing is wrong; wait a moment and the phone's state updates on its own.
- Setup still in progress. A phone that is still being created cannot be deleted yet. It will either come online or be refunded and removed automatically. My phone is stuck or will not start explains.
Who can press them
Anyone you have shared the phone with can start, stop and restart it. Only you, the owner, can reset it, delete it, turn on root or change its subscription.
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