How to Factory Reset Your iPhone and iPad

Prepare Your iPhone or iPad for a Factory Reset

Whether you’re selling your device or want to give it a new lease on life, resetting your iPhone or iPad to factory settings is a straightforward but important task. Here’s a complete guide to factory resetting and how to do it safely.

There are a few steps you should do before resetting your iPhone or iPad to factory settings. You’ll need to back it up, turn off Find My iPhone, and unless you have another Apple device or a way to confirm your login disable Apple’s two-factor authentication.

How to Back Up Your iPhone or iPad

Before resetting your device to factory settings, you should back up your iOS data. This is so you can easily restore it or move your contacts, apps, and settings to a new iPhone or iPad.

You can back up your data directly on your iPhone or iPad, or by connecting your device to a computer with iTunes installed. The process on your phone is far simpler but requires a good amount of iCloud space.

iCloud Backup:

To back up your iPhone or iPad, you’ll want to make sure that you’re on a Wi-Fi connection. The method will differ slightly depending on which version of iOS you’re using.

If you’re using iOS 10.2 or earlier:

1. Go to Settings > iCloud > Backup.
2. If it’s not already toggled on, turn on iCloud Backup.
3. Tap Back Up Now.

If you’re using iOS 10.3 or newer:

1. Go to Settings and tap your name at the top of the list of options. Then select iCloud.
2. If you’ve backed up your device in the past, you should see a list of apps using iCloud storage. Scroll down to the bottom of the list and tap iCloud Backup. If you haven’t backed up before, make sure that iCloud Backup is enabled on this page.
3. Tap Back Up Now.

Your device will estimate how long the back up will take. Feel free to use your phone as normal as it backs up.

iTunes Backup:

If you prefer to use a wired connection, you’ll need to connect your iOS device to a computer that has iTunes installed on it.

1. Open iTunes on your computer, and plug your iPad or iPhone into the computer using a Lighting to USB cord.
2. If prompted, tap Trust This Computer on your phone and enter your passcode.
3. Click on the device icon to open up the device summary panel in iTunes.
4. Under Backups, you can select the backup method: iCloud or This computer.
5. After you make your selection, click Back Up Now.

Note: If you plan on backing up your Health and Homekit data, you’ll also need to check Encrypt [Device] backup and enter a password.

Disable Find My iPhone/iPad

Before you can move on with your wiping your device, you’ll need to disable the Find My iPhone feature.

If you’re using iOS 10.2 or earlier:

1. Go to Settings > iCloud > Find My iPhone (or Find My iPad).
2. Toggle Find My iPhone or Find My iPad off.
3. You’ll be prompted to enter your iCloud password to switch it off.

If you’re using iOS 10.3 or newer:

1. Go to Settings and tap your name at the top of the list of options. Then select iCloud.
2. Toggle Find My iPhone (or Find My iPad) off.
3. You’ll be prompted to enter your iCloud password to switch it off.

Restore to Factory Settings

Like backing up your device, there are two ways you can wipe your iPhone or iPad clean: either right on your device or using iTunes.

On Your iPhone or iPad

Like earlier, the easiest way to reset your iPhone or iPad to factory settings is to do so on your device:

1. Go to Settings > General > Reset.
2. To restore your device to factory settings, tap Erase All Content and Settings.
3. Since you should have just performed a backup, you can tap Erase Now. (If you haven’t backed up, now would be a good time to do so by tapping Backup Then Erase.)

If you have a passcode on your device, you’ll be prompted to enter it. In the dialog box that pops up confirming that you’re about to wipe your device, tap Erase [Device]. Up to this point, it’s still possible to exit the process without wiping your device.

Another dialog box will pop to confirm you want to continue. Once you tap Erase again, there’s no going back.

Using iTunes

If your device is working normally, getting back to factory settings using iTunes is also a pretty simple task.

Open iTunes on your computer and connect your device using a USB cable. If prompted, enter your passcode or accept the prompt that says Trust This Computer. Then click on the device icon to open up the iPhone or iPad summary panel.

In the summary panel, click Restore [Device].

You’ll be prompted to back up your device. If you’ve just backed it up, you can click Don’t Back Up. (If you haven’t backed up, this is a good opportunity to do so.)

Click Restore (or Restore and Update if there’s a new version of iOS available) to confirm.