You may be wondering, why would anyone want to delete the data and content from their iPhone or iPad. Well, there various reasons why people want to delete their information from their iPhones – maybe theyโre selling it or the iPhone is frozen. Regardless of the reason, if you want to reset your iPhone, youโre going to need to remove all your data and content from it. If youโre thinking that this is going to be difficult to do, itโs not. But there are a couple things you need to before you reset your iPhone to ensure that the process runs smoothly.
What to Do Before You Reset Your iPhone
So before you even think about resetting your iPhone, youโre going to need to do these things:
โขย You want to make sure that you backed all your data and information. This includes your contacts, photos and other media. You can backup your data and personal information onto iCloud or send it to your Gmail account. Though, since you have an iPhone, your iCloud is most likely easier to use since itโs a part of Apple. If you want to transfer your data to your new iPhone or Android, you can do that easily with various assisting apps.
โขย You want to make sure that you remove your SIM card from your iPhone after youโve transferred all your data and personal information from your iPhone to your iCloud.
โขย Make sure that you logout of services such as your email, iCloud, iTunes, and social media sites. That way, you have no opened accounts which could be used.
โขย If youโre using an external Apple device such as the Apple Watch, you want to make sure that you unpair it from your iPhone or iPad.
Before you reset your iPhone or iPad, backup your data. ICloud can do this automatically, you can set it up so that it backs your information up overnight. Just make sure that you have your iPhone or iPad plugged into its charger with the Wi-Fi turned on. Though, if you wish to do a manual backup, you can also do that as well.
In order to do a manual backup, you want to go into โSettingsโ on your iPhone/iPad home screen. Then tap on the โiCloudโ icon. Once in iCloud, tap on โBackupโ. Then, you simply have to tap on โBack Up Nowโ.
You can also manually backup your data through iTunes to ensure that all your data is properly backed. To do this, you plug your iPhone or iPad into your Windows or Mac PC. Then, youโre going to launch iTunes. Once itโs launched, click on the iPhone icon that will show on the menu bar. Once done, you click on โBack Up Now.โ Click on โEncrypt Backupโ and create a password – this provides your data with extra protection, making it inaccessible without the password. If asked to backup apps, click yes.
How to Reset an iPhone or iPad
Now that youโve properly backed up data and personal information, you can safely erase all the data from your iPhone or iPad. When you reset your iPhone or iPad, iOS will remove everything from your device, bringing you back to the setup process, as if it was brand new. So, from there, youโll be able to restart the setup procedure or sell your device.
Youโll want to go to the home screen of your device and open up โsettingsโ. Once in settings, youโre going to tap on โGeneralโ. Youโre going to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page where youโll see โresetโ, tap it. Itโll take you to a screen thatโll show you the various reset options you have to choose from, youโre going to tap on โErase all content settingsโ. Tap on โErase iPhoneโ. Itโll ask you again, youโll tap โErase iPhoneโ again to confirm. Then, youโll be asked to enter your 4-digit passcode. After that, youโll be asked to enter your Apple ID password which will turn off the Activate Lock and remove your device from Find My iPhone.
Once it resets the entire device, youโll be able to use the device as if it was new, restore a different backup or sell it.