Expert: DebiN - 9/25/2011

Question
QUESTION: I wish to remove the Gmail account I have set up on my HTC phone. However I have to reset factory settings in order to do so. Will this remove my messages and contacts and pictures?

ANSWER: You shouldn't have to go back to factory settings to remove the Gmail account. All you need to do is to hide the icon and/or cancel the account. If you completely reset the phone, you can lose everything. It depends what you choose when you reset, i.e., either to keep the data or to not. Hope this helps.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I'm referring to my HTC Wildfire handset. There is an option to remove the account under the account settings. However whenever I click that option I'm told that since my account is still needed by some applications, I must reset factory settings. And that is a single option so I assume it applies  to everything. There is no other way of permanently removing my account from the phone, so do you know the nature of the factory settings reset?

Answer
Thanks for the clarification. You still shouldn't have to reset the device in order to remove the account. I might suggest removing the other programs that require the account or better yet, associating those with an account other than the Gmail one. If all else fails, I would suggest leaving Gmail on the device and just not downloading any mail to the account (which you dont' ahve to do). I definitely would not reset the device to factory settings just to remove Gmail. I hope this helps.