If your iPhone or iPad is misbehaving and initial solutions are not working, a total reset may exist necessary. Taking your device back to how information technology was out of the box can often assistance resolve issues like abiding crashing, freezing or other serious issues.

It's something of a nuclear selection, though, and so before you have this route nosotros'd recommend restarting or force-restarting your device every bit these will get out your information and settings intact. Another pick is to ensure that the version of iOS or iPadOS on your device is up to appointment, equally it might be due to a problem that has since been patched by Apple. We explain how to practice this in our how to update iOS guide.

Of course, if you're selling your iPhone (or passing it downward to a family unit member or friend) information technology's absolutely vital that you delete all the sensitive data stored on it. If not, an unscrupulous buyer could gain admission to your social media profiles, financial data and even your personal photos and videos.

As with any activity that deletes engagement, we'd recommend (if possible) that you dorsum upwardly your iPhone or iPad before you lot attempt resetting the device.

How to reset your iPhone or iPad

Nosotros'll concentrate on iPhone for this tutorial, but the steps should exist the same for iPad.

To manufactory-reset an iPhone, get to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings.

(If you're moving to a newer device, you lot tin can as well make use of the Prepare for New iPhone instructions past tapping Become Started.)

How to reset iPhone or iPad: Erase all content

On the next page you'll encounter all the information that volition exist deleted, with the options Go on or Not Now at the lesser. Tap the sometime to complete the process (afterward confirming your Apple tree ID one time more).

How to reset iPhone or iPad: Factory Reset

Did you lot forget to back up your iPhone earlier yous wiped information technology?

If you're worried that your iPhone or iPad wasn't backed up, don't despair: there's a good run a risk there may be a backup of which you're unaware.

To discover out if you're backing up to iCloud go to Settings > Tap on your name > iCloud > Manage Storage. Here y'all should run across an entry called Backups with the corporeality of data it'due south taking up displayed to the correct of the name. Tap this and you'll encounter all of the diverse backups for your iOS/iPadOS devices. (There might even be one for an sometime iPhone that you lot could delete if you lot need more space.)

How to reset iPhone or iPad: Backups

One of the backups should say that it is This iPhone or This iPad. Tap on that and you can see what is, and isn't being backed up. You can basically plough things on and off so that they don't have up your full free 5GB iCloud allotment, or you tin can pay a few pounds/dollars a month for more storage.

You lot may think that some of those apps don't need to exist backed up; after all, y'all will exist able to download them once more from the App Store as y'all already own them. Simply note that the data may include saved data for games, and other settings and preferences you would prefer not to lose.

To check when your iPhone terminal backed up, go to Settings and tap your ID bill of fare at the meridian of the main screen (it'll have your name and/or a picture of your face). Now hitting iCloud > iCloud Backup and wait at the date and fourth dimension of the last backup. It should take happened automatically the terminal fourth dimension yous plugged your iPhone into charge and had Wi-Fi access available.

How to reset iPhone or iPad: iCloud Backup

If y'all're not currently using this method, nosotros recommend that you lot do and then. Go to Settings > [your ID bill of fare] > iCloud > iCloud Backup and set iCloud Backup to on (using the light-green toggle). This is the simplest way to back up and means that y'all can always recover the data on your phone no matter where you lot are - all y'all need is a connection to the web.

How to rescue data from a wiped iPhone or iPad

On the other hand, if you tin can't observe a backup, it's likely that you won't be able to retrieve data one time y'all accept deleted it.

The data on an iOS device is automatically encrypted, and wiping the device destroys the encryption fundamental, making it more than or less impossible to become anything back when it'southward been fully erased and reset without admission to a backup.

In an emergency y'all could endeavor speaking to someone at an Apple Genius Bar, but it's a long shot to say the least. (This applies to a full erase/reset, mind y'all - in other circumstances, such as information abuse, a malfunctioning device and so on, the experts may be able to help.) This also reinforces our frequent advice to back up regularly.

How to restore an iPhone

If, having erased the content of the phone, you intend to keep using it, you can restore the content to your phone from your backup. Hither's how:

...via iCloud backup

With the mill reset completed you lot'll demand to go through the setup of your iPhone once again from the start:

  1. Follow the onscreen instructions until yous accomplish the page with the headings 'Apps & Data'.
  2. Here you'll encounter four different options from which you lot should select Restore from iCloud Fill-in. How to reset iPhone or iPad: Restore iCloud
  3. Sign into your iCloud account then select the backup y'all want to restore.
  4. You may exist prompted to sign into various apps that you've already purchased, only other than that the procedure should now be pretty much automatic.

Plain this could have a while if yous take big backups or a slow cyberspace connectedness, so don't attempt this if yous're in a hurry. When the backup is completed your iPhone will reboot, and so it will start the larger job of downloading all of your apps.

...via Finder or iTunes fill-in

  1. Depending on the version of macOS you're running, you'll either exist able to use Finder (macOS Mojave and later) or iTunes (macOS Catalina or earlier) to restore a backup.
  2. Connect your iPhone to the Mac or PC.
  3. In the Finder window (or iTunes) you should encounter your device listed in the left cavalcade. Select information technology, so click on Restore Backup. How to reset iPhone or iPad: Restore backup from Mac
  4. Cull the backup you desire to use, then click Restore.
  5. The process should now automatically install the fill-in on your device.

There you have it. A quick guide on resetting your iPhone and then restoring it in one case more than. Of class, if you're moving on from that older device and fancy something newer, be sure to read our best iPhone deals roundup to see if you lot can salve some money in the procedure.