How To Reset iPhone & iPad to Factory Settings in 1 Minute

What action passwords, in-app data, emails, videos, photos, and information-sensitive note have in common? Trust me, they are all saved by our everyday iPhone or iPad users on their mobile device. What’s bad about it, is these users are giving out potential identity theft data to an outsider or even after they might have sold there iPhone or iPad without resetting it. So if you are thinking of selling your iOS device, it’s a good idea for you to get rid of all your personal stuff in it before giving it out. Happily, deleting all the data from your iPad and iPhone can now be done with just a few clicks by carrying out a factory reset and reset iPhone or iPad and I will be showing you how to accomplish that

Resetting Your iPhone or iPad to Factory Settings

Performing a factory reset will take back your device to its original settings by resetting the whole system. All your data files and apps will be erased due to the hard drive in the device gets reformatted. To perform a reset on your iPhone (you can do same for your iPad because the steps are almost the same) to erase all the data in it, follow these simple steps below:

1. Go to your device settings and scroll down till you see the “Reset” tab. You will be shown some few other options of what you can reset, which include the keyboard dictionary or the home screen layout settings.
2. To restore your iPhone back to its original settings, click on the option “Erase All Content and Settings” and then click again “Erase iPhone”. If you have a Passcode or a Restrictions Passcode set on your device, you will be prompted to input it before you will be able to reset your device.
3. After you have inserted your Passcode you will also be asked to input your Apple ID password. You just need to enter it and all the data on your device will start erasing.
4. The reset process should begin and shouldn’t take up to two minutes. As soon as you see the welcome screen, it means the factory reset was successful and none of your personal data will be left on the device.

Performing Reset with no Passcode on the device using iTunes

There is another method to reset your device besides the method above, and it can be done using iTunes. This is good because there are times when you can’t be able to switch on your iPhone or iPad because it has been disabled ( reason because of too many wrong password attempts) or when you can’t remember your Passcode. Here are the steps to follow:

1. Open your iTunes app. To avoid any unwanted obstacles during the reset, you must make sure your iTunes version is currently up to date – you can check that by simply clicking on the “check for updates” in the drop-down menu.
2. Now connect your iPhone or iPad to your computer. If you will like to keep some of your files, you can simply do a backup by clicking “Back Up Now”. If you just want to erase the whole device without saving it first, you can skip the backup process.
3. Lastly, click on the “Restore iPhone or iPad” option inside iTunes and then confirm your decision by clicking “Agree”. If in the near future you would want to restore your data back on your device, all you need to do is click “Restore from Backup…”.SS

Step To Hard Reset a Device without Prior iTunes Sync

The method above can be used for both iPhone and iPad even when you don’t remember your device passcode, which is very necessary when using the option in the device menu. But if you have never synced your device with iTunes before then, follow the steps below to perform a factory reset on it:

1. You need to connect the USB cord to your computer but don’t connect your iPhone or iPad yet. And don’t start iTunes either.
2. Take your device and Press down the “Sleep/Wake” button for some few seconds. After you see the slider appear now, perform a finger swipe to switch the device off.
3. Connect the USB cord to your iPad or iPhone while you are still holding the “Home” button to switch the device on.
4. When you see “Connect to iTunes” message on the screen, you can now release the button.
5. Launch iTunes now. It will show up a message that it has detected your iPad or iPhone in recovery mode. Click “OK” and then click “Restore” to begin the reset process.

Reset iPhone or iPad using Find My iPhone

An alternative method, you can as well use Find My iPhone. This is very convenient if you have misplaced your iPhone or it got stolen, and you want to make sure no one will have access to your data on the device. To accomplish this, follow the steps below:

1. Visit the Find My iPhone website and sign in using your Apple ID.
2. If you are having more than one device in the account you are signed in to, make sure you choose the right device you want to reset from the list of devices available.
3. Now click “Erase iPhone or iPad” option shown in your device’s information box. You will be prompted asked to confirm your decision. After doing that, the reset process will start. If your device is in offline mode, the process once the device becomes online.

Have it in mind that if your “Family Sharing” setting is set up, then you can as well reset your family members devices back to their original settings too. When you are resetting any iOS device, you will be prompted to input a mobile number and a message or a note which will be shown on the screen after the reset has been completed.

Do you have an alternative method to factory reset your phones or tablet or restoring your data files in a quick and easy way Please share with us in the comments below!