There is an another way to do this when it is really locked up (mine was when I first got it).  I don't have the process any longer (silly me, thought I wouldnn't need it again).  Well, unfortunately I do!  Mine hangs on the green Windows Mobile 5 Direct Push Technology screen.  Any ideas?

Did you try the manual way I mentioned above? From the Off state, you need to press and hold the softkeys and then press and hold the power button for a couple seconds. You should see a screen with 3 color bars on it when the device starts.  That means you're on the right path.

This method is done by a combination of key presses during startup so it can be done if the device won't start up fully.

Hi!
Just wanted to confirm that this worked great for me (T-Mobile Dash) -- you are a lifesaver.   T-mobile said there was no way to reset other than via software, after a 3rd party program (be careful of Pocket Player by Conduits!) totally trashed things.  Couldn't get into anything (phone still worked though) - even the start menu went blank.
Was literally getting ready to send this back for replacement when I came on your post.  Thank you!   -- Jake / Renton, Washington

Great news Jake! Glad I could help, and thanks for confirming it works.  

Which ones are the soft keys? The volume control or something else.

YOUR AWESOME

@ Chris - the softkeys are the "Start" and "Contacts" buttons when you're on the home screen.  So if your device is off they are the ones with the -- on them, located above the home and back buttons.

@ Andriy - Glad I could help you out.

hi mike sorry to say the step you given doesnt work!

hi mike! here is the step i try it and it work! so good my excalibur is hung-up and now its ok!
so take out the battery, put it back in(dont turn the phone on). Press the Two softkeys(the ones that look like they have a hyphen on them) keep holding them. press the power button for 1-3 seconds, when you let go of the power key, you should get a prompt on the screen to press the green send to reset the phone back to factory defaults, at this point let go off the 2 softkeys and hit the green send button, it should work.

Hi, I am following those steps and my excalibur does not unlock.
I got my new excalibur from e-mail and was working fine for few minutes, suddenly it got LOCKED (I might have done it myself by mistake). The phone now has the UNLOCK option on the left soft key. When I press it it asked me for a "device password" and then press the "DONE" key. I entered any imaginable defalut password it may have '0000', '1234', '9999' and none of them works. I also followed the steps you guys mentioned above and the phone does not do anything at all.
I would appreciate your help
Best

Carlos

@ Carlos - Your device is locked.  There's not much you can do with out knowing that password.  Is this a company device? Chances are they turned on enforcement of passwords.  You should still be able to hard reset.  Just pull the battery out, give it a couple minutes. Then insert the battery (don't turn it on!) and start the steps I mentioned above.

i agree with tina.

that method worked fine for my HTC S620.
However you have to be precise as to how long you hold the power key (it has to be 1-3 seconds)..not more.
When it prompts wether you want it reset to factory default,just hit send button(the green color phone).

-howver,when my phone was reset, i found that the language was changed to 'german'...heh

thanks for your help tina. and Mike.

I't worked for me %100 thank you very much I was about to send my dash to t-mobile
thanks again

WOW, thanks alot, i got scared crapless when i thought i bricked my phone, worked great on Tmobile Dash, need to be precise with timing like they said though, takes a little while but u will get it

Thanks soooo much. I was buggin' out! I am really shocked at how little online support there is for Windows Mobile apps. Pathetic really!!!! You're a life saver Mike... and Tina (your steps were easy to follow).

I follow the procedure sends by Tina and works for me.

thanks

Yeah, i used tinas procedure and it worked fine for my DASH....i could not get mikes procedur to work for me thanks for the info people

yes the *** worked but u have to specify that after letting go the power key continue to hold the soft keys even after the phone powers up, then the screen comes on

THANK YOU

life saver... thank you soo much.. works for t-mobile dash perfectly
and i messed up by regediting the phone and in my mistake deleting the startup dll instruction and replacinging it be *none* works fine on getting ride of the t-mobile animation display but i accidently did the dll and the system wouldn't start.. now it's perfect.. thank you

If you are locked up and can't get to the Clear Storage utility, turn the phone off; hold down the two softkey menu select buttons (above the home and <- buttons); press power on while still holding the buttons down and follow the prompts on the screen. Timing is critical on the latter option, so if you miss it once, try again.

1. Press and hold soft1 and soft2 keys.
2. Press and hold power button for around 1 to 1.5 seconds. Release power button. Keep holding soft1 and soft2 keys.
3. Instructions will be displayed and prompt the user to press '0' key to reset to factory default.
4. Press '0' within the timeout period (which is only several seconds).
5. If no instruction is shown on the screen, repeat steps 1 to 4.
The timing is critical.

whAT I HAD just posted really works, but hold the two soft key and press the power button, dont hold the power untill it come on.

just hold the 2 soft key and press the poer button for a very short time, CONTINUE TO HOLD THE SOFT KEY AND IN ABOUT 3 SECOND A BLACK SCREEN WILL APPEAR ASKING U IF U WANT TO RESET OR NOT.

PS. READ THE BLACK SCREEN.

This worked perfectly...thank you from a technology challenged girl who had a frozen Dash, no landline phone, and no t-mobile store open at 9PM :)

Just for the record - Worked For Me [TM]

Boss just came over very upset because his device had locked, but in Chinese character mode so he couldn't enter the English password.  I guess he'd then fiddled with it, because it had gone into an extra-locked mode, asking him to enter A1B1C1 or something - also impossible in Chinese mode.  Doing the hard reset as described above (boot holding down soft keys, basically) seems to have cleared it - thanks, folks!

ohhh my god thank u so much to all of u guys ..... i was about to trow my tmobile dash away i was trying too many differents ways of fixing my dash and it didnt work until i came to this forum at the beguinning didnt work but i didnt give up so i kept trying and trying until it worked


i was able to get my tmbile dash back so thank u soo much guys i really apreciate it....

thanks guys. I spoke with T-mobile custumer care and they told me that they can fix it. so they ship me one and ask me to ship mine .... the shipping cost is $30(both ways). Thanks a million... u guys are owesome

I have a Dash with a broken screen and am trying to reset the contact lists so I can sell the item on eBay and not have to worry about some stranger getting all my contacts.  Would this hard reset delete all my peeps from the address book?  Also, am I able to do a hard reset given that the screen is cracked?  Thanks for your help.

@Beth - Yup, this will wipe out all your contacts and any other personal data.  

But why sell it just because it has a broken screen?  You can get a replacement screen and have it back to new in no time at all.  Check out http://www.cnn.cn  The Dash is also sold under other names.  So if you look under Dopod c720, you should find the replacement screen.

here's the direct link to the screen: http://cnn.cn/shop/dopod-c720-screen-p-1683.html  

Is it hard to replace?  I've already purchased my replacement for this broken phone, but that might be something to consider in the future, maybe keep this one as a back up.  If I do the hard reset, can I just hit the green ok button to finish it since I can't read what my screen says at the moment?  How will I know when to hit the center button?  Does the SIM card have to be in for me to do the hard reset?  Thanks again for your help!  You rock!

No,it's pretty easy. I haven't done it myself, but I've talked with a number of people that found it pretty simple to do.

I didn't realize you can't see anything at all.  That makes it very hard to do a hard reset.  Usually people will be able to see the screen, just not clearly. Do you know anyone else with a Dash? You could always plug their screen into your device to do the hard reset.  

I can see about 15-20% of the bottom left corner and along the bottom.  I tried the reset and, on the fourth try, that corner showed very thin gray and white lines, unlike the normal boot-up screen.  I hit the green call button, hoping that was the reset screen.  The phone then went to T-Mobile's standard background with all the little 'T's floating around, not my normal home screen.

When I turned it off and then back on again, it now has a message that says something like "... device... ...shutdown(OFF)..." from what I can see in my little corner, with yes and no options on the bottom.  I don't have the phone activated anymore, so I don't know what screen I'm supposed to be seeing.  I can't turn the phone off now without taking out the battery, and don't know whether I should answer yes or no (since I can't see all of the question).  I think I might stop by T-Mobile this evening and see if they can identify what's up, but you have been so helpful that I thought you might have some insight, too?  Thanks - you've been a HUGE help!

There's a screen that says something to the effect of "Invalid or missing SIM.  blah, blah, blah...." and you have OK / Cancel as the softkeys.  I wonder if that is the screen you're seeing. Anyway, by the sounds of it, you've successfully hard reset it.  So you should be fine.

Cheers!

Thanks T-Mobile make me sick

Can anyone tell me why the Dash turns itself off? I have searched the internet and I really can't find an answer and of course T-Mobile doesn't know. The other thing is that when it shuts itself off, it takes a while for me to be able to get it to power up again. Any help is really appreciated!

my t mobile dash is showing windows mobile direct push technology on a green screen it just stays like that i cant do anything with my phone am so frustrated what can i do can any body help. av tried the soft keys n power keys is not pls i need ur help

Timing is critical on releasing the power button.  You need to keep holding the soft keys until prompted - stick with it.  This was a real lifesaver. THANKS!

thanks mike works great

HELP!!! I have the dash and i went to answer my phone one day and it made the low battery sound and just turned off. I plugged it back in for 20 minutes and it shows that it is fully charged but it will NOT turn back on!! PLEASE HELP!!!

@Gabriel - your phone is in flight mode.  It will switch over to that when the battery is extremely low.  However, it doesn't know to switch back once it's charged.  Just run the Comm Manager and turn off Flight mode.  You could also tap the power button and do it from the Quick List.

Hi Mike and everyone here - Thank you so much!!!

The key, at least for me, was to keep holding the soft keys after letting go of the power button.  As soon as I did that, I got the prompt to reset the device.  

Thanks Everyone!!

Yes! Thankyou!

Hello I dropped my T-Mobile Dash and now when I turn it on the Windows logo comes on and then it restarts itself again and again. Will a hard reset help this? Thanks in advance for your help.

Thanks for this site.  I was ready to drive in to the T-Mobile store, I was so frustrated.  But your instructions for a manual, hard re-set worked.
I appreciate it!!

Thank you so much for your site! I am so glad I don't have to but ANOTHER new Phone!, Your a life saver!!!!

I have the Dopod C 720.  The hard reset described above did not work.  I get to the point where it asks me for my SIM PIN, which I enter without problem and the phone accepts it.  It then goes to the main screen where it searches for my service provider and the left softkey is labled "Unlock".  When I press it to enter the phone unlock code it gives me a message stating that it appeard multiple letters were entered for the password and instructs me to enter A1B2C3 in a larger-than-password box.  The moment I hit hte "A" key the phone locks and instructs me to enter the device passwork and hit the softkey that says "done" except the #1 softkey is blank and the #2 softkey says "Cancel".  I then have to remove tbe battery to power it off.

Is there a manual reset on this thing?  Something I can poke a straightened paper clip into?

@JFC - There's no spot to poke a paper clip on this device.  The key sequence above will work for the c720 as well.  Don't give up too quickly, the timing is important.  Turn off the phone and follow the steps.  You'll get it and everything will be fine.

thanks to theo,my dash is back in business,tried all,even what he said ,but he explained it much better and it worked, now this is a site i can rely on,and will be bookmarked

just to reiterate other posters, just hold power a very short time (after holding the 2 softkeys) and let go of it while still holding the 2 softkeys. For me, 1 sec worked and anything longer went to normal boot.

ok so i tried thos steps like 100 times for like 2 hr straight n it still doesnt work!
when i hold the soft keys n the power button my fone turns on but it only goes to a the t-mobile screen n stops there does anyone kno wat i am doing wrong??? i need help!!!!!! email me if u have the answers
HCOkennizle@aim.com

i need help i used ur method and still dont work i dunno what the soft keys are but im gueesing the ones with the home pic and the arrow its not working can u help me plse

Yes, yes, yes!
It works!

Thank you!

Our companies Standard Issue phones were t-mobile dash's a couple of years ago.  After a while they switched to 'CrackBerries', which totally BITE THE BIG ONE... I went back to the IT department and raised hell about the CrackBerry, and they gave me back my dash...  

But I had to get rid of some of the funky company crap (I got a random phone from another employee out of the 30 we had).  I did as the directions said and what a happy man I am now... I have more corporate features on my phone (no locks by the company too) and it's just SO CONVENIENT!!!

Thanks again for your help!!!

I had tried about 40 times before it worked. I know I am hard headed, but I got it and it works. All of you guys are gr8!!!!!!!!!!!!          my advice to anyone hard-headed like I am, please keep trying becouse as hard-headed as I am, you can do it too. just don't give up.

all i have to say is thank you so much iv had my dash since last summer and it began freezing up on me around december and then it got really bad in january and feb and it wouldnt even let me do anything really just locked up so i had to get a new phone and i got a sidekick slide but now i fixed my dash and just thanks so much i had no idea what to do your the best!!!

This is a GREAT Forum. The people ar Tmobile PDA support are fools. They don't have a clue. The hard reset worked great, its all in the timing.