How to Factory Reset Your iPhone or iPad: Erase Your iPhone & Restore Factory Settings (2023)

How to restore your iPhone or iPad to factory defaults and what to do to prepare before hitting the button.

By Leanne Hays Updated 01/18/2023

If you're getting ready to trade, give away, or sell your iPhone or iPad, you're probably wondering how to erase your iPhone or iPad, then restore your iPhone or iPad to factory settings, so all your data and settings are deleted. If you want to know how to factory reset an iPhone or iPad, there are two methods for accomplishing this.

If you have a computer available, you can factory reset your iPhone or iPad with iTunes or the Finder. If you need to know how to reset your iPhone or iPad without a computer, you can still factory reset your iPhone or iPad from the Settings app. If you're wondering how to delete everything on your iPhone, it doesn't matter which model you have. A factory reset for an iPhone or iPad works the same way, whether it's a brand new iPhone 13 Pro Max or an older model with a Home button. Ready to learn how to wipe an iPhone or iPad and completely reset it? Let's get started.

Stop! What happens when you reset your device? A factory reset will erase all contents, settings, and data; it will be like your iPhone is restored as new out of the box. Unless you want to lose everything you delete, create either an iCloud backup or iTunes backup before deleting everything on your iPhone or iPad.

Before you restore your iPhone to factory settings, there are a couple of things we recommend doing first if you’re going to give away, sell, or trade the iPhone you’re resetting.

For more great free iPhone tutorials, check out our Tip of the Day.

How to Reset Your iPhone or iPad to Factory Settings from the Settings App

If you've been wondering how to do a factory reset on your iPhone, it's very quick and easy! To reset your iPhone to factory settings:

Open the Settings app.
Tap General.
Scroll down to the bottom and tap Transfer or Reset iPhone.
Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
Once you've checked over things on this information screen, tap Continue.
Confirm by entering your iPhone passcode.

You'll be asked to confirm that you really want to wipe your device; read the prompts carefully to make sure there’s nothing else you need to do or finish before resetting your device. Then confirm, and your iPhone will reset!

Restore Your iPhone

If you've factory reset your iPhone, you may want to restore your backup to the iPhone. You can use iTunes to restore your iPhone or iPad or restore your iPhone or iPad using the finder. These backups are always helpful so restore them often. Also, you can always just log into iCloud and restore your backup that way.

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Author Details

Leanne Hays

Leanne Hays is a Feature Writer at iPhone Life, and has written hundreds of in-depth how-to and troubleshooting articles. She's a former Associate Editor for iPhone Life magazine, and has written for the Iowa Source, as well as web content for education marketing. Leanne has an associate's degree in education, with a focus on curriculum development, as well as a bachelor's degree in science. She has over nine years of experience with SEO, social media management, and web development and writing. Despite years of web work, Leanne is by no means an early adapter; she's only owned a smartphone for five years, which makes her highly sympathetic to the learning curve of new iPhone owners. She enjoys making reader's lives easier and putting her education experience to work by walking them through the most practical ways to use Apple devices, step-by-step.

In off-work hours, Leanne is a mother of two, homesteader, audiobook fanatic, musician, and learning enthusiast.

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