What Happens When You Reset Your iPhone: The Complete Guide

iPhone comes with a host of features and settings inside the hood. Some are made to help us be more productive, others to help us communicate. Deep in the settings there is another option called reset which is rarely used. What happens when you reset your iPhone?

You won’t be using the reset option very often, but it can be a life saver when you do. Let’s understand what it is, how to use it, why and when you need it, and the precautions you should take before using it.

Let’s start.

What is Reset?

The reset option can be found under Settings > General.

The reset option is further divided into 6 sub-options.

Basically, a reset returns the selected settings to default. Just like when you first bought your iPhone. Some users also refer to it as factory settings, because that’s how it is when they first leave their home (manufacturing facility). Press this reset button and you will lose all your personal settings, data and changes.

Why or When Should You Reset Your iPhone?

There could be many reasons behind this drastic step. First, you are about to sell your iPhone. You buy a new one, but you have to delete it before selling. You do not want the new recipient to have access to your personal data, photos, files and more.

The fastest and easiest way to do this is to reset your iPhone. Delete it and return it as you received it.

Another reason could be bugs, bugs or malware that won’t leave you alone. While there are ways to fix common iPhone problems, sometimes all that’s left is a reset.

We will discuss individual reset options in more detail below.

Precautions to Take Before Resetting iPhone

In one word: Backup. Now we know what happens when you reset your iPhone. It erases (erases) everything which means losing all your data and settings depending on the reset option selected. The most logical thing to do here is to take a backup before continuing.

Apple makes it a lot easier to take backups, especially when compared to Android where different OEMs offer different half-baked solutions.

To access Apple ID details, open Settings and tap your username or profile picture. Select your iPhone model from the bottom.

iCloud gives you 5GB of free storage, which may or may not be enough for backups, depending on the amount of data you have. You can always buy more or look for an alternative.

Make sure the option is turned on under iCloud Backup.

You can see when the last backup was taken in small fonts at the bottom. If you are not satisfied or have made some changes, you can take a manual backup by tapping Back Up Now. This much.

Go back to the Apple ID screen and tap iCloud here. You can see a list of all the apps that use iCloud to store backups here. Change these options as you prefer before backing up.

Apple takes incremental backups, which means only changes made are backed up. This saves a lot of time.

iPhone Reset Options Explained

This is. There is no turning back after taking this step. Make sure you want to do this. Check your backups and check again. Ready? Ok then.

Open Settings and tap Reset under General.

Let’s understand what each reset option does.

reset all settings

This reset option will delete all settings except your personal data. It includes all Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and other network settings, display settings like dark mode and brightness, sound settings, home screen layout, system settings, etc. you will lose. Files, email accounts, photos, etc. Your personal data is not touched. To promise.

Erase All Content and Settings

This will format your iPhone and erase all settings as well as personal data. Everything will be as it was when you first bought your iPhone. Do you remember when her eyes were moist when you first held her?

It’s useful when your iPhone crashes, works erratically, and nothing else is working. It’s also useful when you’re considering selling it to someone else.

Network Settings Reset

It deletes all Internet and mobile network settings such as Wi-Fi, VPN, Bluetooth and associated passwords. You will have to enter them again. Useful when you have too many networks resulting in slow behavior, slow internet or not being able to connect to a network.

Reset Keyboard Dictionary

If you’re using a keyboard app like Gboard, you don’t have to worry as it works across platforms and saves all your favorite words to the cloud. iOS keyboard users beware! iOS learns from your typing behavior to suggest words. You will lose all this data. Use when iOS learns too many typos or the keyboard doesn’t work properly. Oh, you’ll also lose all the shortcuts you’ve created over the years.

Reset Home Screen Layout

You will lose all the folders you created. All apps will be arranged in default format. No apps will be uninstalled. You will have to rearrange everything on your home screen. Frankly, I’m not sure why anyone would use this. If I want to rearrange my messy home screen, I can do it directly without losing all the folders.

Reset Location and Privacy

As the name suggests, you will lose all location and privacy based settings here. Open Settings and tap on Privacy.

You will see a list of applications. These apps will over time recover contacts, messages, location, camera, etc. It will ask for various permissions to access the data. You will lose these settings.

Therefore, when you open an app, you will be asked to give permission again for it to work properly. Useful if you are unsure about privacy and need to reboot from scratch. Apple takes user data and privacy seriously.

How to Reset

Very easy. Tap on the corresponding reset option, enter your passcode or passcode and you’re done.

Always make sure your iPhone is charged or plugged into a power source. You don’t want to brick it.

Reset Repeat

The reset option will give you a clean slate so you can start from scratch. An opportunity to start over. Using the reset options at your disposal, you can troubleshoot, fix critical errors and bugs, and more. Just make sure you have a backup first.

Next: Are you using dark mode in iOS 13? Click the link below to learn some great tips.