So your iPhone is acting up, or maybe you’re selling it and need to wipe it clean. Either way, you need to reset it. But here’s the thing — “reset” means different things depending on what you’re trying to fix. A soft reset won’t delete anything, but a factory reset wipes everything. Pick the wrong one and you could lose photos you didn’t back up.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through every type of iPhone reset, from a simple restart to a full factory wipe. Whether you’re rocking an iPhone 6 or the latest iPhone 16, I’ve got you covered.
Quick Overview: Which Reset Do You Need?
Before we dive in, here’s a quick cheat sheet so you can jump straight to what you need:
- Soft Reset (Restart) — Your phone is sluggish or a specific app is misbehaving. No data loss.
- Force Restart — Your phone is frozen and won’t respond to anything. No data loss.
- Factory Reset (Erase All Content and Settings) — You’re selling, trading in, or starting fresh. Everything gets deleted.
- Reset Settings — You want to restore default settings without losing your data. Photos, apps, and messages stay.
Still not sure? Start with a soft reset. It fixes 80% of iPhone issues and takes about 30 seconds.
How to Back Up Your iPhone Before Resetting
This step is non-negotiable if you’re doing anything beyond a soft reset. Even if you think you don’t need a backup, make one. I’ve seen too many people lose years of photos because they skipped this.
For a detailed walkthrough, check out our complete guide on how to back up your iPhone to iCloud or your computer.
Quick iCloud Backup
- Connect your iPhone to Wi-Fi
- Open Settings → tap your name at the top
- Tap iCloud → iCloud Backup
- Tap Back Up Now
- Wait for it to finish (don’t lock your phone or leave Wi-Fi)
Quick Computer Backup
- Connect your iPhone to your Mac or PC with a USB cable
- Open Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows)
- Select your iPhone from the sidebar
- Click Back Up Now
- Wait for the process to complete
Got your backup? Good. Let’s move on to the actual reset methods.
Method 1: Soft Reset (Regular Restart)
This is the “turn it off and on again” of the iPhone world. It won’t delete a single thing — your photos, apps, messages, and settings all stay exactly as they are. It’s the first thing you should try when your phone feels slow or an app crashes repeatedly.
For iPhone X, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 (Face ID models)
- Press and hold the Side button and either Volume button at the same time
- Wait for the “slide to power off” slider to appear
- Drag the slider to the right
- Wait about 30 seconds for the phone to fully shut down
- Press and hold the Side button until you see the Apple logo
For iPhone 6, 7, 8, and SE (Home button models)
- Press and hold the Side button (or top button on older SE models)
- Wait for the “slide to power off” slider
- Drag the slider to shut down
- After 30 seconds, press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears
That’s it. Your iPhone will restart and hopefully run smoother. If it doesn’t, move on to a force restart.
Method 2: Force Restart (Hard Reset)
Sometimes your iPhone freezes so badly that the screen won’t respond to anything. The power off slider doesn’t appear. Nothing happens when you tap. That’s when you need a force restart.
Again, this doesn’t erase any data. It’s basically a more aggressive way to restart your phone when the normal method won’t work.
For iPhone 8, X, XS, XR, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, and SE (2nd gen+)
- Press and quickly release the Volume Up button
- Press and quickly release the Volume Down button
- Press and hold the Side button
- Keep holding until you see the Apple logo (this can take 10-20 seconds)
- Release the button once the logo appears
The quick press-release-press pattern trips people up sometimes. The key word is quickly on the volume buttons — don’t hold them. Only hold the side button.
For iPhone 7 and 7 Plus
- Press and hold the Volume Down button and the Sleep/Wake button at the same time
- Keep holding both until the Apple logo appears
- Release both buttons
For iPhone 6s, 6, SE (1st gen), and older
- Press and hold the Home button and the Sleep/Wake button simultaneously
- Keep holding until the Apple logo shows up
- Release both buttons
Method 3: Factory Reset (Erase All Content and Settings)
This is the big one. A factory reset wipes your iPhone completely — every photo, message, app, and setting goes back to how it was when you first unboxed it. You use this when:
- You’re selling or trading in your iPhone
- You’re giving it to a family member
- Your phone has persistent issues that nothing else fixes
- You just want a completely fresh start
Before you do this: Make absolutely sure you have a recent backup. Once you factory reset, there’s no going back without one. Also, if your iPhone has Find My iPhone enabled (which it probably does), make sure you know your Apple ID password. You’ll need it after the reset.
Speaking of which, if you’re not sure whether Find My is on, check out our guide on how to use Find My iPhone.
Step-by-Step Factory Reset
- Open Settings
- Tap General
- Scroll all the way down and tap Transfer or Reset iPhone
- Tap Erase All Content and Settings
- Tap Continue
- Enter your passcode
- Enter your Apple ID password to sign out of iCloud and disable Find My
- Confirm that you want to erase everything
The whole process takes a few minutes. Your iPhone will restart, show the Apple logo with a progress bar, and eventually boot up to the “Hello” screen — just like a brand new phone.
If You’re Selling or Giving Away Your iPhone
Don’t just factory reset and hand it over. You also need to deregister it from your Apple ID:
- Before resetting, go to Settings → tap your name
- Scroll down and tap Sign Out
- Enter your Apple ID password and confirm
- Now go ahead with the factory reset
If you reset without signing out first, the next person who gets the phone might be stuck on the Activation Lock screen — and they (or you) will need your Apple ID to get past it.
Method 4: Reset Specific Settings (Without Losing Data)
Sometimes you don’t need a full wipe. Maybe your Wi-Fi is being weird, or your notifications are a mess, or you just want to start fresh with your settings without losing years of photos. Apple gives you several targeted reset options.
How to Reset Specific Settings
- Open Settings → General
- Scroll down and tap Transfer or Reset iPhone
- Tap Reset (not “Erase All Content”)
- Choose the type of reset you need:
Here’s what each option does:
- Reset All Settings — Returns all settings to defaults (Wi-Fi passwords, notifications, display settings, etc.) but keeps your apps, photos, and data.
- Reset Network Settings — Deletes saved Wi-Fi networks and passwords, Bluetooth pairings, and VPN settings. Great for fixing connectivity issues.
- Reset Keyboard Dictionary — Clears all the custom words your iPhone learned from your typing.
- Reset Home Screen Layout — Puts all your apps back in their original order. Good if your home screen is a disaster.
- Reset Location & Privacy — Resets all app permissions for location and privacy. You’ll get asked again next time you open each app.
What Happens After a Factory Reset?
Once your iPhone finishes erasing everything, here’s what to expect:
- Hello screen — You’ll see the initial setup screen, just like when the phone was new.
- Language and region — Pick your language and where you live.
- Wi-Fi setup — Connect to Wi-Fi to activate the phone.
- Apps & Data — You can restore from an iCloud backup, restore from a computer, or set up as a new iPhone.
- Apple ID — Sign in with your Apple ID (or create a new one).
- Face ID / Touch ID — Set up biometric authentication again.
- App restoration — If you restored from a backup, your apps will start downloading automatically.
The whole setup process takes about 10-15 minutes if you’re restoring from a backup, or 5 minutes if you’re setting up as new.
Troubleshooting Common Reset Problems
iPhone Won’t Turn On After Reset
Plug it into a charger and wait 15 minutes. Sometimes the battery is just dead. If nothing happens after charging, try a force restart.
Stuck on Apple Logo After Reset
This happens sometimes. Try a force restart first. If that doesn’t work, connect your iPhone to a computer and try restoring it through Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows). If even that fails, you may need to put it into recovery mode.
Forgot Apple ID Password Before Resetting
You’ll need to recover your Apple ID at iforgot.apple.com before you can sign out of iCloud and factory reset properly. Without the password, Activation Lock will prevent anyone from using the phone after the reset.
iPhone Keeps Asking for Previous Owner’s Apple ID
This is Activation Lock doing its job. If you bought a used iPhone and it’s asking for someone else’s Apple ID, the previous owner didn’t sign out properly. You need to contact them and ask them to remove the device from their Apple ID account at icloud.com/find.
Reset Option is Grayed Out
If Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Erase All Content is grayed out, it usually means you have a Screen Time passcode enabled. Go to Settings → Screen Time and turn it off first.
How to Reset a Locked iPhone (Forgot Passcode)
If you can’t unlock your iPhone because you forgot the passcode, you can’t reset it through Settings. You’ll need to use a computer:
- Connect your iPhone to a computer with Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows)
- Put your iPhone into recovery mode:
- For Face ID models: Press Volume Up, Volume Down, then hold Side button until you see the recovery mode screen
- For Home button models: Hold Home + Side/Top button until you see the recovery mode screen
- Your computer will detect an iPhone in recovery mode and offer to Restore it
- Click Restore — this will erase everything and install the latest iOS
- After it’s done, set up your iPhone and restore from a backup if you have one
Final Tips
- Always back up before any reset — even a settings reset, just to be safe.
- Keep your phone charged — a reset dying halfway through can cause serious problems. Aim for at least 50% battery.
- Know your Apple ID password — you’ll almost certainly need it after a factory reset.
- Sign out before selling — don’t just factory reset. Sign out of iCloud and your Apple ID first.
- Be patient — factory resets can take 5-15 minutes depending on how much data you have.
Resetting your iPhone isn’t complicated once you know which type of reset you need. Start with the gentlest option and escalate from there. And always, always have a backup.