If you need to restore your iPhone from an iTunes backup or from iCloud, or if you just want to perform a hard reset, here’s how: ..
If you have an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch, there are a few things you can do to keep your device running smoothly and looking like new. One of the most common issues people face is restoring their device to its original condition. This can be done in a few different ways, but I’m going to walk you through the various types of resets, restores and backups you can do for your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. First off, let’s take a look at how to reset your device:
- Open up Settings and select General > Reset > Reset Device. This will take you to the Reset Device screen.
- Select Erase All Content and Settings and press Reset. This will erase all data on your device including your settings and photos.
- Select Restore Data and Press Reset again. This will restore all data on your device including your settings and photos back to their original condition.
- Select Done when prompted and press OK to confirm the reset process. Your device should now be back up and running as if it never happened!
iOS 9 is the latest version of the operating system for Apple devices. This article is going to be using iOS 9 for all the examples as that is the latest version of the OS as of now. If anything changes in a later version, I’ll be sure to update this post.
Backup iPhone, iPad, iPod
Before you reset or restore anything, you should always make a backup just in case there is something you need at a later point or something goes wrong. I suggest making a backup to both iCloud and to iTunes. If you don’t have enough space in iCloud, then making just a local backup to iTunes will be fine. Let’s start with iTunes backups.
iTunes Backups
If you use iCloud to back up your phone, then you no longer need to back up your iTunes library. However, if you keep a local backup of your phone every couple of months, it can be helpful to have a backup of your iTunes library as well.
iCloud is great, but it has some glitches that can cause it to fail when you need it the most. Plus, Apple is so stingy with their whopping 5 GB of free storage space. You can’t even store a single backup of a full 16 GB iPhone with that much space, so definitely use iTunes if you’re not sure if your phone is being properly backed up to iCloud. ..
Open iTunes, connect your Apple device and then click on the Back Up Now button.
When you choose not to encrypt your backup, sensitive data like your health data, homekit data and saved passwords will not be stored in the backup. You can also just check the Encrypt iPhone Backup box to ensure the backup is encrypted.
If you have ever restored an iCloud backup as opposed to a normal iTunes backup, you might not have to type in all your passwords again after the restore.
The only thing you need to remember about encrypted backups is that you will need to use a password to encrypt the backup. In order to restore the backup, you’ll need that same password. If you forget it, then you won’t be able to restore that backup, so be careful and keep the password written somewhere.
If you have any questions about your iTunes library, you can click on the “iTunes Help” link in the menu bar at the top of the window. This will take you to a page with instructions on how to use iTunes. ..
If you want to have your phone automatically backup to iCloud, but you also want to manually back up your phone every so often, you can do that by going to Settings, iCloud, Backup and then tapping on Back Up Now.
Now that you have your device properly backed up, we can go ahead and reset it. There are a couple of different ways to reset an Apple device, so let’s talk about that. There are two main ways to reset an Apple device: by using the hardware buttons on the device or by using the Apple Support website. Let’s look at each method in more detail. ..
Reset iPhone, iPad, iPod
A hard reset is when you press and hold the Home button (circle button) and the Power button located at the top or on the right at the same time until the phone restarts.
This is a guide on how to reset your phone. After a hard reset, there are various options to reset various settings on your phone.
Settings > General > Reset
Reset All Settings is the most common option. It clears all your content and settings, and resets your network settings. ..
This will reset all of the settings under the Settings app. If you want to keep some of these settings, you can create a new account or use one that has been created before.
Apple is releasing a new update to the iPhone that will allow users to reset all settings on their device. This means that all of the user’s data, including music, videos, photos, apps, iMessages, email accounts, calendars, etc., will be removed. However, users will receive warnings before this happens and their data will be safe. ..
This option just resets anything related to your Wi-Fi and LTE connections. If you’re having connections issues, this is a good option to try. Reset Network Settings: This will reset all your network settings, including Wi-Fi and LTE connections. If you’re having problems with your internet connection, this may be the solution. ..
This option will erase all content and settings on your iPhone, iPad or iPod. If you do not want to lose any data, use this option instead of the factory reset option.
If you are upgrading from an older version of iOS, you can backup your device before upgrading and restore the backup after upgrading. ..
If you upgrade to iOS 10 and then erase your iPhone, you won’t be able to restore your iOS 9 backup since your phone is now running iOS 10. To do a clean install of iOS 10 when it comes out, you would have to upgrade first, then backup, then erase and then restore.
If you lose your iPhone, you’ll need to turn off Find My iPhone first in order to erase it. You’ll also likely have to enter your iCloud password too. Your phone will then restart and once it has been erased, you’ll see the Hello or Welcome screen.
- Choose your language
- Choose your country
- Choose a Wi-Fi network
- Enable or disable location services
- Add a passcode if you like
Restore iPhone, iPad, iPod
If you have reset your phone to factory default settings, you will be asked how you want to restore it. You can either restore your device without having to erase it by using iTunes, which I’ll explain further below.
If you ever want to restore from an iCloud backup, you always have to erase your device completely. It’s a little scary, but that’s the only way to restore an iCloud backup.
If you’ve lost your iPhone or iPad, you can restore it from an iCloud backup or an iTunes backup. You can also setup your iPhone or iPad as a new device and move your data over from your Android device. ..
If you choose the second option, you’ll need to enter your Apple ID and password and then you’ll get a list of available iCloud backups that are specific to your account.
If you choose the second option, you’ll need to connect your computer to iTunes and then you’ll see a drop-down list of available backups on the computer once you sign in with your Apple ID. ..
Setting up as a new iPhone will create a new iOS installation that you can use to restore from an iTunes backup later if you like. However, iCloud won’t be available once you set up as a new iPhone.
You can restore your iPhone or iPad from iTunes if it has been lost or damaged.
Restore Backup will allow you to choose from a local backup stored on the computer and restore that. It will simply restore the data and apps and not the iPhone firmware.
If you choose to create a backup, iPhone will then ask you to choose a location to save the file. You can either save it on your iCloud account or on a USB drive. If you don’t want to create a backup, iPhone will ask you if you want to restore your device from the backup that you previously created. This is also up to you. If you choose this option, iPhone will then guide you through the restoration process. ..
If you don’t have the latest version of iOS, then you’ll see an option to Restore or Update. If you do have the latest version, you’ll just see the Restore button. ..
If you want to restore your device, you can use the Restore All Content and Settings option. This will restore your device to its factory settings, just like if you were to go to Settings, General, Software Update. Your data would remain intact, iOS would just get updated.
Apple has released a guide on how to backup, reset and restore your Apple device. This guide covers the basics of how to backup, reset and restore your device. If you have any questions, feel free to comment below or contact us at support@apple.com.
