To factory reset an iPhone, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings, tap Continue, enter your passcode and Apple Account password, then tap Erase iPhone. When the Hello screen appears, the phone is back to factory settings.
This deletes everything on the phone, so back it up first. If you’re locked out and don’t know the passcode, you can still erase the iPhone from the lock screen (iOS 17 and later) or with a computer in recovery mode, but you’ll need the Apple Account password that was used on the phone to set it up again. There’s no way to factory reset an iPhone with the buttons alone.
Which reset method fits your situation?
| Situation | Method | You need |
|---|---|---|
| You can unlock the iPhone | Erase All Content and Settings in Settings | Passcode and Apple Account password |
| Forgot the passcode, iOS 17 or later | Forgot Passcode? on the lock screen | Wi-Fi or cellular connection, Apple Account password |
| Forgot the passcode, other cases | Recovery mode with a Mac or Windows PC | Computer, cable, Apple Account password afterward |
| Phone is lost or already given away | Erase remotely from iCloud.com | Apple Account sign-in |
| Just fixing a settings problem | Reset All Settings (no data deleted) | Passcode |
Before you erase: back up and check a few things
A factory reset can’t be undone, and anything that isn’t in a backup or synced to iCloud is gone afterward.
- Back up the iPhone. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup and tap Back Up Now, or back up to a computer. Our iCloud backup guide covers running out of space.
- Move authenticator codes and anything else stored only in an app.
- Unpair your Apple Watch if you’re getting rid of the phone.
- Sort out your eSIM if you’re moving your number to another phone.
Selling or trading in? Our trade-in erase checklist goes through each item, including iMessage deregistration and AppleCare.
How to factory reset an iPhone from Settings
This is the same on every iPhone that runs iOS 15 or later, including the iPhone 14 and iPhone 17 series on iOS 26 or iOS 27. On iOS 14 and earlier, the menu is called Reset.
- Plug the iPhone into a charger and connect to Wi-Fi.
- Open Settings and tap General.
- Scroll to the bottom and tap Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
- Review the summary of what will be removed and tap Continue.
- Enter your iPhone passcode.
- If the iPhone has an eSIM, choose whether to keep it or erase it. Keep it if you’re resetting the phone for yourself; erase it if the phone is leaving your hands and your number has already moved.
- Enter your Apple Account password when asked. This turns off Find My and Activation Lock.
- Tap Erase iPhone.
The screen goes black with an Apple logo and a progress bar, and the phone may restart more than once. When you see Hello, it’s done. From there you can set the phone up as new, restore your backup, or turn it off and hand it over.
Note: If Stolen Device Protection is on and you’re away from a familiar location such as home or work, the iPhone asks for Face ID or Touch ID, with no passcode fallback, before it erases. If Face ID or Touch ID isn’t working, do the reset at a familiar location, where your passcode is accepted.
Erase vs. Reset All Settings
The Reset button on the same screen offers several resets that don’t delete your content. Pick the smallest one that fixes your problem.
| Option | Deletes photos, apps and messages? | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Erase All Content and Settings | Yes | Full factory reset back to the Hello screen |
| Reset All Settings | No | Returns settings such as Wi-Fi, keyboard, privacy and Apple Pay cards to defaults |
| Reset Network Settings | No | Forgets Wi-Fi networks and passwords, VPN and cellular settings |
| Reset Keyboard Dictionary | No | Clears words the keyboard learned |
| Reset Home Screen Layout | No | Puts built-in apps back in their original places |
| Reset Location & Privacy | No | Makes every app ask again for location and privacy permissions |
How to factory reset an iPhone without the passcode
You can’t bypass a forgotten passcode and keep your data. Every method below erases the iPhone, and afterward Activation Lock asks for the Apple Account and password that were on the phone. These methods are for your own iPhone. If you bought a used iPhone that’s locked to someone else’s account, only that person can remove it.
Option 1: Reset from the lock screen (iOS 17 or later)
This works if Find My was on, the iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi or cellular, and you know your Apple Account password.
- Enter a wrong passcode until the iPhone shows an iPhone Unavailable or Security Lockout screen.
- Tap Forgot Passcode? at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Start iPhone Reset.
- Enter your Apple Account password to sign out.
- Tap Erase iPhone. On iOS 17 and later you can choose to keep or delete an eSIM.
Changed your passcode in the last 72 hours? Tap Forgot Passcode? > Enter Previous Passcode instead. Apple’s Passcode Reset feature lets you use your old passcode to set a new one without erasing anything. On iOS 15.2 and iOS 16, the lock screen shows Erase iPhone instead of Forgot Passcode?. Apple’s steps are in reset your iPhone without a computer.
Option 2: Restore with a computer in recovery mode
Use this if the lock screen option doesn’t appear or the iPhone won’t start normally. You need a Mac or a Windows PC with the Apple Devices app (or iTunes on older systems), a cable, and up to an hour.
- Unplug the iPhone from the computer and turn it off. On an iPhone with Face ID, press and hold the side button and a volume button until the power off slider appears, then drag it.
- Find the right button for your model in the table below.
- Hold that button while you plug the iPhone into the computer. Keep holding through the Apple logo until you see a computer and cable on the screen.
- On a Mac, open Finder and select the iPhone in the sidebar. On Windows, open Apple Devices.
- When asked to Update or Restore, choose Restore.
- Wait for the computer to download the software and erase the iPhone, then set it up.
| iPhone model | Button to hold |
|---|---|
| iPhone with Face ID, iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and iPhone SE (2nd and 3rd generation) | Side button |
| iPhone 7 and 7 Plus | Volume down button |
| iPhone 6s and earlier, iPhone SE (1st generation) | Home button |
If the download takes longer than about 15 minutes, the iPhone leaves recovery mode on its own. Let the download finish, then repeat steps 1 to 3. Apple’s full instructions are in use a computer to reset your iPhone and passcode. For more on getting back in, including when a backup can save your data, see what to do if you forgot your iPhone passcode.
No. Unlike many Android phones, an iPhone has no button combination that erases it on its own. The button presses people search for do one of two things:
- Force restart: quickly press and release volume up, then volume down, then hold the side button until the Apple logo appears. This restarts a frozen iPhone and deletes nothing. See how to force restart a frozen iPhone.
- Recovery mode: the buttons put the iPhone into a mode where a computer can erase it, as in Option 2 above. The erasing itself happens on the computer.
Erase an iPhone you no longer have
If the phone was lost, stolen or already given away without being erased, sign in at icloud.com/find, choose the iPhone from your devices, and select Erase This Device. It erases the next time the phone connects to the internet. Apple’s guide to preparing an iPhone for sale also recommends changing your Apple Account password in that case.
If the erase won’t start or finish
- Apple Account password rejected: check which account the screen shows, and reset that password if needed before trying again.
- Stuck on the Apple logo or progress bar for more than an hour: keep it charging and wait a little longer, then force restart. If it still won’t finish, use recovery mode.
- Settings won’t open or the phone keeps restarting: go straight to recovery mode with a computer.
- Asked for a previous owner’s Apple Account after the reset: that’s Activation Lock. The previous owner has to enter their password or remove the phone from their account.
Factory reset questions
How long does a factory reset take?
Erasing from Settings usually takes a few minutes. A recovery-mode restore takes longer because the computer downloads iOS first; Apple says to allow up to an hour.
Does a factory reset remove the iOS update?
No. Erasing from Settings keeps the installed iOS version. A computer restore installs the latest iOS version available for your model.
Can I get my data back after a factory reset?
Only from a backup or from services that sync to the cloud, such as iCloud Photos. Data that lived only on the iPhone can’t be recovered once it’s erased.
Matthew Roberts is the founder and editor of ARS Digitech. He started the site to answer the iPhone questions his friends and family kept asking him, and it has grown into a library of iPhone and iOS how-to guides. Matthew writes and maintains every tutorial on the site, checking steps and menu names against Apple’s official support documentation and updating guides when an iOS release moves a setting.