How To Turn Off Activation Lock and Reset Your iPhone to Factory Settings

Whether you’re trying to sell it, protect your information while it’s being repaired, or troubleshoot software problems yourself, you might find yourself needing to reset your iPhone.

Resetting your phone to its factory settings will take it back to the basics it came with: no contacts, playlists, pictures, password memory, or anything else you’ve added since the day you bought it. Once it’s reset, the phone’s default settings will be restored and your home screen will have only the apps it came with.

First, it’s important to back up your data so you can restore it later, or at least be able to access it on another device. Backing up your iPhone is a painless process, whether you chose to do it through iTunes or iCloud. Your precious information will be stowed away safely on your Mac until you get your phone up and running again.

If you’re handing off your phone to someone else, you’ll also need to disable Apple’s Activation Lock so the next person can actually use it. You can do this by disabling iCloud and the Find My iPhone feature on your device.

Disable Activation Lock

1. Find “iCloud” in your “Settings” and select the top menu, labeled with your name.
2. Select “Find My iPhone” and select “off”. You’ll be prompted to enter your Apple ID password.
3. At the bottom of that page, select “Sign Out,” and then you may return to “Settings” for the next step.

Reset your iPhone to its factory settings

1. In “Settings,” select “General.”
2. At the bottom of the “General” page, find and select “Reset.” Don’t worry: there are still a few steps before your info is wiped from the phone.
3. You can choose between an array of resetting options. Here, you can reset features such as your home screen layout or dictionary, but to restore its factory settings, “Erase All Content and Settings” will do the trick.
4. You’ll be prompted to enter your passcode, then your device will double check that you want to erase everything and if you do, then select “Erase.”

This could take a few minutes, depending on how much you have stored on your iPhone, but once the deletion is completed, your device will restart as new.