What to Know

Wiping an iPhone or iPad before giving it away or selling it requires you to follow a specific procedure.
Before you reset your iPhone to factory settings, make a backup to save your data and settings.
After making a backup, you can factory reset your iPhone or iPad, which will erase all your data and settings from your device.

If you're getting ready to trade, give away, or sell your iPhone or iPad, you need to know how to erase your iPhone or iPad, then restore your iPhone or iPad to factory settings, so all your data and settings are deleted. Be sure you do this before selling your device, so no one else gets their hands on your data and personal information.

How to Reset Your iPhone or iPad to Factory Settings

Resetting your iPhone or iPad is quick and easy! And it works the same for either model and you can do it without a computer. Before you begin, it's very important to back up your device to iCloud or a computer so you don't lose any data.

Warning

Unless you want to risk losing your personal data, create either an iCloud backup or iTunes backup before you wipe your iPhone or iPad.

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.
If you have an iPhone with an eSIM and are to keeping it, tap Keep eSIM and Erase Data. If you are selling or giving away your iPhone tap Delete eSIM and Erase Data.
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 or iPad

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.

My favorite way to restore my iPhone, though, is to restore from my most recent iCloud backup, or a backup made before whatever glitch I'm trying to fix started if that's why I'm wiping my phone. After you've wiped your iPhone or iPad and it reboots, you'll see a hello screen. Follow the on-screen directions, and the screen below will appear. Tap From iCloud Backup, enter your Apple Account ID and password, choose the backup to use, and tap Restore. In a few more steps, all your settings and data will be back on your device.

restore iphone from icloud backup

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

FAQ

What happens when you reset your iPhone or iPad? When you factory reset your iPhone or iPad, all contents, settings, and data will be erased; it will be like your iPhone is restored as new out of the box.
How do you factory reset an iPhone or iPad that's been lost or stolen? If your iPhone or iPad is missing and you don't think you can get it back, you can wipe it remotely by selecting your iPhone in the Devices tab in the Find My App and tapping Erase This Device. We have a tutorial that will walk you through how to erase your device remotely in more detail.
How do I sell or trade in my iPhone once I've wiped it? You can trade in your iPhone to Apple for credit towards a new Apple device, or sell your iPhone on a site like eBay or Craigslist.