Learn how to reset your iPhone safely with this step-by-step guide. Whether you're troubleshooting or selling your phone, we cover soft resets, force restarts, and full factory resets.
Here's a complete step-by-step guide on how to reset your iPhone—whether you want to soft reset, force restart, or factory reset. Each method serves a different purpose, so I’ll break them all down clearly.1. Soft Reset (Restart iPhone)
This is simply turning your iPhone off and on again. It’s useful when your device is running slow, glitchy, or laggy.
Steps:
For iPhone X, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and newer:
- Press and hold the Side Button and Volume Up or Down button together.
- When the power off slider appears, drag it to turn off.
- After the iPhone shuts down, press and hold the Side Button until the Apple logo appears.
For iPhone 6, 7, 8, SE (2nd/3rd gen):
- Press and hold the Side Button until the power off slider appears.
- Slide to turn off.
- Press and hold the Side Button again to turn it back on.
2. Force Restart (Hard Reset)
Use this if your iPhone is frozen, unresponsive, or apps are crashing.
Steps:
For iPhone 8 and newer (including SE 2nd/3rd gen):
- Quickly press and release the Volume Up button.
- Quickly press and release the Volume Down button.
- Then press and hold the Side Button until you see the Apple logo.
For iPhone 7 and 7 Plus:
- Press and hold the Volume Down and Side Button together until you see the Apple logo.
For iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, or iPhone SE (1st gen):
- Press and hold the Home Button and Power (Side/Top) Button together until the Apple logo appears.
3. Factory Reset (Erase All Content and Settings)
This wipes everything from your iPhone and is commonly done before selling, giving away, or if you’re troubleshooting major issues.
IMPORTANT: Back up your iPhone before factory resetting. This erases all photos, contacts, apps, etc.
Backup First (Optional but Recommended):
- Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup > Back Up Now, OR
- Use iTunes/Finder on your computer to back up manually.
Steps to Factory Reset:
- Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
- Enter your passcode, Apple ID password (if required), then confirm.
- Your iPhone will restart and display the Apple logo. After a few minutes, it will return to the setup screen.
4. Reset Using Computer (Finder or iTunes)
Use this if you can't access your iPhone settings (e.g. forgot passcode, iPhone is locked).
Steps:
- Connect your iPhone to a Mac or PC with a USB cable.
- Open Finder (macOS Catalina and later) or iTunes (older Macs or Windows).
- Put your iPhone into Recovery Mode:
- Follow the same force restart steps based on your iPhone model, but keep holding the final button until the Recovery Mode screen appears (with a cable and computer icon).
- On your computer, you’ll see options to Restore or Update. Choose Restore to erase and reinstall iOS.
Extra Tips:
- Forgot Apple ID password? Reset it at https://iforgot.apple.com
- Activation Lock Warning: After a factory reset, your iPhone will still be tied to your Apple ID unless removed.
- Reset Network Settings only? Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset Network Settings