Playing with custom ROMs and kernels is fun, but sometimes a phone needs to be restored to its stock, vanilla state. With Google Nexus devices, this is extremely easy, as no additional tool other than fastboot is needed. With Sasmung, Sony, and other devices, the situation becomes more complicated and some guidance might be required.

To restore Samsung device, you can pursue two methods: Odin and Kies. You can find plenty of guides on how to use Odin, but using Kies may require some explanation. With a guide written by XDA Forum Member SadEff, you will learn how to fully restore your device with Kies.

The guide also shows you how to unroot your phone and fix various issues that may be encountered. SadEff carefully describes every step of the process, and includes various photos to make the process easy for even total newcomers. After the process is complete, your phone will look it's straight from the factory---or at least it's software will. The process can be applied to every Samsung device with firmware newer than Android 4.1 Jelly Bean.

To get started learning more about Kies, make your way to the guide thread. You can find all necessary information there.