Refresh Your Phone – A Step-by-Step Guide to Factory Reset iPhone

There comes a time when it becomes necessary to wipe your iPhone memory.

Maybe you want to reset it before selling or have a smoother experience by refreshing the entire system. In those cases (along with others), it’s a good idea to factory reset your iPhone. 

A factory reset means bringing your iPhone back to its original settings. It makes your device as good as new from the inside, leaving nothing behind.

If you’ve wanted to factory reset your iPhone to give it a much-needed refresh, then you’ve landed in the right place. We’ll review some of the best (and easiest) ways to do it.

Benefits of Factory Resetting Your iPhone

Depending upon your reason for factory resetting your iPhone, there can be several benefits to it. Here are some of them:

#1. Improves Overall Performance

Easily my favorite benefit and the most significant, when you reset your iPhone and turn it back on again, you’ll notice the device feels much better in terms of performance.

It’ll be smoother and lag-free. Also, the loading times will improve, almost like you purchased it 5 minutes back from the store.

The reason behind this is that performing a factory reset gets rid of the stored clutter from all the unnecessary data and uninstalled apps.

Also read: How to Clear Cache on iPhone With or Without Cleaner Apps

#2. Protects Your Sensitive Information

If you plan to sell your iPhone, it’s never a good idea to just hand over the device without wiping your data. A factory reset will clear the entire memory and protect you from any kind of data misuse.

The last thing you want is for your data to end up in the hands of a hacker.

#3. Solves Frustrating Problems

Problems with iCloud, Airdrop, or even your iPhone screen stuck on the Apple logo can be incredibly frustrating. The good news is that a factory reset can solve it most of the time, as it’s a great “last resort” option for solving specific minor or even major problems.

Things to Do Before Factory Resetting Your iPhone

Before you proceed with the factory reset, there are two main things you need to do.

#1. Backup Your Data

This is the elephant in the room. It’s important to backup your data before proceeding so that you can restore it after the reset is done. Even if you don’t need it, it’s a good practice to hold onto it for a while, just in case.

You can easily backup your data to your iCloud by going to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud and then toggle on the iCloud Backup option.

This will transfer all the data on your device into your iCloud.

#2. Sign Out of iCloud

If you’re planning to sell your phone, the greatest favor you can do for your future buyer is to sign out of your iCloud. If you don’t do that, your buyer will be unable to use it because the device will have an activation lock.

When you sign out of iCloud, it removes your account from the account. This way, your buyer could start afresh without any issues.

You can do this by going to Settings > [Your Name] > Sign Out.

This will remove your iCloud account from the device. Remember, only do this if you’re planning to sell or give away your phone to someone else. In all the other cases, it’s not required.

Now, let’s jump into the various ways to factory reset your iPhone.

Reset From Settings

This is the easiest way to reset your iPhone, and it takes no more than a few seconds. All you do is, go to Settings > General and then scroll down until you see Transfer or Reset iPhone.

Tap on Erase All Content and Settings.

You should see a screen like this.

Tap on Continue, and you should be done. This will erase all of your data.

Reset Remotely

If you’ve lost your device and you fear someone might misuse your data, you can easily erase all of it by going to iCloud.com and signing in using your credentials.

Before letting you access your account, iCloud will send a verification code to the phone number connected with your iCloud.

Go ahead and enter it. If you don’t have access to the phone number as well, you’d have to contact Apple support to find a solution.

Once you’re in the dashboard, click on Find My.

Click on All Devices and Select your iPhone.

Click on Erase iPhone.

Again, Apple will send a verification code to the connected phone number, or you can send it to another iPhone using the same iCloud account. That should be enough to erase all the data on the lost iPhone.

Reset Via Finder on Mac

If you have a Mac computer, you can erase all the data on your iPhone using Finder. Start by connecting your iPhone to your computer using a USB or USB-C cable.

On both devices, you’ll get a notification asking if you wish to trust this device.

Just click on Trust. Once the loading is complete, you should see a screen like this:

Click on Restore iPhone, confirm it in the next popup, and that’s it. Keep in mind if your Find My is turned on, you’d have to turn it off before you can proceed with the reset.

Reset Via iTunes

Irrespective of whether you have a Mac or a Windows computer, you can seamlessly do this. The best thing about this method is that you won’t need a password to wipe your memory. The only requirement is that you need to have synced your iPhone to iTunes once before.

It’s a very straightforward process. Start by connecting your iPhone to your computer using a USB or USB-C cable. Next, open iTunes, click on Summary, and finally, click on Restore iPhone.

On the popup that appears, click on Restore to confirm it, and that should be enough.

Reset Using Third-party Tools

There are a few third-party tools that let you factory reset your iPhone quickly and easily.

#1. Tenorshare 4uKey

Tenorshare has a huge collection of tools that solve almost every single problem of iOS users, and the 4uKey is no different.

Besides being a screen lock removal tool, it allows you to safely factory reset your iPhone without entering your password.

The process is simple and takes no more than a few minutes.

#2. AnyFix

An all-in-one tool to revive your Apple devices, AnyFix is packed with solutions to your frustrating problems. It helps you fix way more than 100 system issues and iTunes errors, and that is not even counting the possibility of seamlessly factory resetting your iPhone.

This tool is especially helpful when you forget the passcode and you wish to reset it. It allows you to wipe your data and bring your device back to the new one again without asking for a password.

It has a very responsive customer support team that is available every day and any time for the entire year, so you can reach out to them when you encounter any issues.

#3. Dr.Fone Data Eraser

Complete sweep off all your existing data using Dr.Fone Data Eraser, a dedicated tool for erasing the data from your iPhone permanently.

It helps you erase data such as:

• SMS
• Call history
• Media files
• Apps data and junk
• Browser data
• Voice memos

It takes just 3 steps and merely a few minutes to complete the process.

Closing Thoughts

Performing a factory reset on your iPhone doesn’t have to be a complicated process. Thankfully, the above methods keep it simple and easy for you to get the job done without breaking a sweat.

Next, check out the best tools to recover data on your iPhone and iPad.