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How can I wipe my old Apple iPhone clean of data?I just bought a new 3G Apple iPhone and now want to give my old iPhone to my brother-in-law. He's even ready to pay for it. Problem is, I want to wipe it clean so he gets a pristine phone. How do I do that? When I bought my fancy new 16GB Apple iPhone 3G phone I too had an older iPhone (an ancient, tiny 4GB original first wave iPhone) that I wanted to jettison, so I can completely understand your plight. Mine was also going to a friend, but I still really wanted to wipe it clean rather than have him poking through my pictures and address book. Further, having my iPhone applications on the phone would just cause heartache anyway because he wouldn't be authorized to use them so almost 30% of what was on the iPhone would be dead and just wasting space. Not so good. Here's how my phone looked when I started this process: 
You can see custom apps, custom bookmarks, a restructured home screen (notice that I have Twinkle on the bottom bar rather than Safari) and 57 messages in my Mail inbox that I haven't read as of yet. To wipe everything, I went to Settings: 
If you scroll down to the bottom, you'll see what we want: Reset: 
Once you're into the Reset area you'll see that there are rather a lot of choices: 
To start, I chose "Reset All Settings", which prompted me for a security code: 
Luckily I knew it (if you don't have parent restrictions set up I don't think you'll be prompted) so proceed to the warning prompt: 
With a small, quiet prayer to the patron saint of gizmos, I pressed "Reset All Settings" and waited. After a few seconds I was taken back to the home screen, but it was just a bit different: 
So that reset the icon locations, etc, but notice that it didn't actually delete my inbox, nor, after some investigation, did it clear my address book, SMS text message history, etc. To clear out my email settings, I went to Mail, Contacts, Calendars on the Settings menu: 
Again, scroll to the very bottom and you'll see the "Delete Account" option: 
I tapped on that button and, no surprise, got a confirmation window: 
Yeah, I really did want to delete all of this personalization, so I again tapped "Delete Account". Next time I got to the home screen there was no mail: 
Further, the contacts list was wiped and the calendar was erased too. But those pesky apps were still hanging around, which I didn't want either. I could have gone into the Safari settings and also erased that data selectively, as shown here: 
But in fact, it was time to go to the big guns, to do what I should have done in the beginning, skipping all the little sub-reset functions that had wasted my time. Before when I went to Settings --> General --> Reset I should have picked "Erase All Content and Settings" rather than "Reset All Settings". This time that's what I'll do: 
Another short prayer to the patron saint of gadgets and I tapped on "Erase iPhone". This time it took quite a bit longer, but when it was done, the phone was completely clean, like pristine out-of-the-box clean: 
In fact, when I plugged it into my Mac and checked with iTunes it showed up as a brand new phone too: 
And that, as they say, was that.
Categorized:
iPhone and Cell Phone Help
(Article 8451,
Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: apple iphone, erase iphone data, iphone 3g, reset iphone Previous: How can people hack my Apache server with Rewrite rules? Next: How do I forget a wireless network on my Mac? Subscribe!
Perfect timing, Dave! I just bought a new iPhone and was about to surf for instructions to properly wipe the old one before donating it. Much appreciated! Posted by: Tammy at August 21, 2008 1:56 PMWondering how you take those crystal clear screenshots of the iphone screens :) Posted by: Amit Bhawani at August 22, 2008 2:49 AMAmit, a screenshot capability was added in the 2.x version of the iPhone firmware . Simply hold down the home button (the button on the face of the iPhone on the front), push the reset button on the top right edge of the unit, then let both go. Voila! You just took a screenshot. :-) Posted by: Dave Taylor at August 22, 2008 6:36 AMHello, To fix the problem - first switch the phone off by holding down the home key & power button until it switches off. Unplug USB cable, hold down home key & plug USB cable in while still holding down home key - that will put it into recovery mode, in which you can restore your iphone. Posted by: bunker at September 23, 2008 4:41 PMDo you know if the erased all content and setting button is equivalent to hard reset your iphone? what if you phone is already jail broke... will I have to jail break it again? Thank you. I want to know b/c I am giving my 1st gen iphone to my cousin and he has an itune acct already. Posted by: Edamame at October 29, 2008 1:25 PMThanks! I appreciated the EXCELLENT info. what do i do if i erased all data it took 2 days and all i get is the apple symbol it doesn't go back to anything i have tried resetting it several times please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Posted by: ronnie at May 27, 2009 7:15 PMThis does a "delete" but not a true delete. Your stuff is still on the phone even though you can't see it through the iPhone interface. I would be more comfortable with a DoD wipe of the disk. Posted by: spoonyfork at June 22, 2009 12:09 PMI wiped my old G3 and now all I get is a prompt showoing the usb cable pointing upward toward the itunes insignia. When I slide the bottom it takes me to an emergency call prompt and thas all I get. I have tried turning it off and inserting the usb as I depress the home key and no luck.....any thoughts? Posted by: Randy at July 26, 2009 6:29 PMI erased all settings and data on my iphone 3g s all i have is a black screen with white apple logo what can i do.....help meeeeeee Posted by: adecomm at August 10, 2009 8:54 AMplug it in to your computer and choose "Restore" from within iTunes. That should resurrect it. Posted by: Dave Taylor at August 10, 2009 8:57 AMThank you! You saved my life!!! The last thing I want is a little 13 year old going thru all my stuff. This was clear and concise. Thanks again!!!! Posted by: Jenn at November 19, 2009 12:11 AMwhen i do erase all contact and sitting the i phpne never swittch on againe why ? how long does it take though, mines been going for almost 2 hours at least, and it just shows the apple with the little loading circle then itll go black like its rebooting come back to that apple and do it again, and it just keeps doing that over and over, for about an hour and a half now.... Posted by: gallagher at January 18, 2010 9:53 PMI have selected reset all content and data - now the iphone just shows the Apple symbol (sometimes with the cog and sometimes without) - nothing else is happening! - been like it for 18 hours now - any suggestions? - I have tried forced restart Posted by: Paul Southctt at February 15, 2010 5:32 AMUgh, not sure what to suggest, Paul. Perhaps plug the phone into a different computer?? You might end up having to pop into an Apple Store and/or call Apple for help on this one... Posted by: Dave Taylor at February 15, 2010 9:03 AMThank you for the reset info it worked great..... Posted by: Eric at February 17, 2010 5:04 PMI was having the same problem as Oren A on September 7, 2008... THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!! your suggestions worked like a charm!!!! Posted by: endlsdremr at February 23, 2010 8:12 AMTo respond to spoonyfork's problem, you need to reactivate the iPhone with iTunes after c complete wipe out as just described. Start your iTunes program and connect your iPhone to the computer. After a short synchronization process, your iPhone will be activated and can now function normally. Posted by: Stan at February 24, 2010 1:19 AMsame question as below...please help !!! "how long does it take though, mines been going for almost 2 hours at least, and it just shows the apple with the little loading circle then itll go black like its rebooting come back to that apple and do it again, and it just keeps doing that over and over, for about an hour and a half now...." Thanks for the great information! Can you tell me why I'm getting bids on ebay for my iphone 3Gs that are far over what I paid for it? I mean they are no longer THAT rare are they? John, it's possible. Be leery of anyone who is bidding more than a brand new one would cost if you just walked into the Apple Store and bought it. Then again, yours will be contract free, so it's not exactly the same thing. Still, skepticism is a critical element of working with the eBay buyer or seller community. Posted by: Dave Taylor at February 28, 2010 8:37 PMif i did the 1st step will it have deleted my pictures as well? Posted by: crangel222 at March 2, 2010 9:14 PMhow i can delete all my contact list from my spoonyfork mentioned a DoD wipe. Is that necessary? Or will "Erase iPhone" completely wipe the phone with no way to recover anything previously on the system? Perhaps he did not read the entire post and see that you suggested that option at the bottom... I ask because I posted mine for sale yesterday and got several near-immediate responses for an original 8gb priced at $100. I thought this was a fair price, but the number of responses I received led me to be suspicious that maybe there is a way to access data even after using the erase feature. Does anyone know? Posted by: midds44 at June 8, 2010 8:39 AMGreetings. I have an old jail broken iPhone, and I would like to delete all personal information including all contents and reset all settings because I would like to sell it. I followed your advice and the steps you provided in your previous posting. Did a "erase all content & settings" on 3G. 24 hrs later, I have a picture of a usb pointing towards ITunes. The only option I am allowed is to make an emergency call. Please help! Thanks! Posted by: Niki at September 13, 2010 6:34 AMNiki, that's exactly right and is what should happen. Now the new iPhone owner can start from "step zero" with the phone. Posted by: Dave Taylor at September 14, 2010 5:00 PMMy new iphone 3GS is completely dead, I will be getting a replacement from Apple, what I'm worried about is all the data and my private data still being on the phone, obviously because it's dead I can't reset it to factory settings, HELP!!! Posted by: Gill Church at September 16, 2010 2:57 PMThanks for the detailed instructions. Sometimes I need a translater for step by step instructions. Posted by: Missy Bonner at October 4, 2010 6:36 PMHi, I also have a picture of a usb pointing towards ITunes and the only option I am allowed is to make an emergency call. My problem: sounds like it is now good to sell but just on a hunch when I installed a fresh set of itunes on a computer I have never used and hooked up the phone to it, the itunes store remembered my phone, registered it back to my name, and brings back my settings including the option for the new owner to restore from my backup which itunes also saved. I didn't hit restore or anything--the phone automatically registered. Looks like to prevent this one would have to get the itunes store to disable your account for the iphone--any ideas? thanks Keith Posted by: Keith Dale at October 6, 2010 7:29 AMHi, I'm also having problems with the logo-only-after-the-erase-thing. Aside from that, my iTunes or my computer can no longer detect my iPhone 3GS. What should I do? I could not turn it off either. Posted by: David at November 13, 2010 11:35 PMHey DAVE! Thank you VERY, VERY MUCH for your GRRrRrrrrrEAT HELP! You're the "BOMB-DIGGITY"! The resetting of the iPhone worked to a "T". Maybe you should put the LAST part, FIRST, though??? Just a thought... (wink, wink,nudge, nudge!) You know what i mean? Pamela ( 0: very helpful Posted by: amit at November 29, 2010 5:35 AMThis was so perfectly outlined and so easy to follow! Thank you so much!!! Posted by: Michelle at December 12, 2010 9:27 AMafter erase data and setting...it got 1 apple logo only during 2 hour..wat can i do?? thx for help Posted by: aaron at December 15, 2010 9:01 AMThank you! So easy! I got the random 'call emergency number' thing as well, but I just plugged it in to my computer, told it to ignore it and it set itself right again. Posted by: Karen at January 7, 2011 4:02 AMThank you so much for the info. Crystal clear and did the job. Posted by: lvo at January 7, 2011 10:34 AMI got an iphone 4 and i wanna sell it so i tried erase all content and setting, now it stuck on apple logo on black page, i just format my laptop because it's too messy so i couldn't have the back-up anymore. It's been 6 hours now, how to take 'him' back to lifeee?? Posted by: Steven at January 12, 2011 4:40 AMWhen I go to “reset” in settings, the only option i get is “reset home screen layout”. Please help! Posted by: Artem at January 15, 2011 11:40 AMSteven, sometimes it takes a ridiculously long period of time. Let it sit another few hours. If that's not working, pop by an Apple Store and ask them for advice. Artem, that's baffling. I have no explanation of why you'd only see that on the Reset screen. Posted by: Dave Taylor at January 15, 2011 10:58 PMHey Dave Great info. Thanks Posted by: tine at January 28, 2011 2:23 AMHi Dave; I first want to say the informatin you have provided is very helpful. Thank you. But I have noticed there are 9 posts here asking what to do after erasing data and settings and after hours of waiting all they are getting is the apple logo and the computer unable to read or see the iPhone. My son's phone is doing the same thing. Is there nothing we can all try before going to the Apple Store and being frowned upon for either having on older model iPhone or the phone has been jailbroken/unlocked. Shall I ask it this way, has any new developed on the problem of deleting and resetting that causes the Apple logo to stay on the iphone, that half of us are experiencing, has been found? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you! does erase all content and settings, requires me to get it Jail Break again? Posted by: FALLON at March 11, 2011 10:00 AMThanks for the help dude! Excellent instructions. Super simple. Posted by: Zach Broussard at March 21, 2011 3:14 PMIf i dont have the password to reset the iphone how can i do it to erase all settings? please email me irodqp@gmail.com Posted by: ivan at March 31, 2011 1:07 PMI am getting rid of a iphone 3G and got it to the usb screen pointing to the itunes logo. What I am concerned with I took it to apple yesterday because I was having trouble loading itunes. There was a software glitch and they deleted the old software and installed new software and firmware. I did not plug it into and deleted all media and data. Does the software still exist in the phone and if I restore am I restoring the old software glitch? Posted by: jon at April 1, 2011 3:04 PMThanks for the info i just wanted to know if its possible to reset the whole iphone from the lock screen? please and thank you Posted by: Joe at April 7, 2011 8:39 PMMillion thanks, I was stuck with a calendar info I didn't want and couldn't get rid off! ;-) Posted by: Annie at May 23, 2011 6:12 AMThank you so much for the easy directions. Used this to wipe and prep for sale of phone. Posted by: Brian at June 23, 2011 6:46 PMThank you for this - am donating my ancient original gen 1 iPhone and had no idea how to clear it!! :) Posted by: Adria at July 8, 2011 12:14 PMhi dear, i need help Hi, I've done this but in iTunes, I get the screen that you have but it still shows the phone number. Any way to get rid of that? Posted by: JJ at July 14, 2011 2:03 PMQuestions, once the data is erased and one only sees the usb plug pointing to the itunes, it is new owner ready right? These phones seem to be in demand and I think it is because essentially, one still has a little laptop with them right? One can go to any wi place like book stores, McDonalds, Starbucks etc, and actually connect to wi and the internet. Nice job Apple! Posted by: Aaron at August 2, 2011 5:23 AMI went in and erased all content and settings. Was that a mistake? Now everything is wiped. Including the original icons and apps. ? Thanks Posted by: Sunny at August 28, 2011 8:11 AMThanks for the help followed the instructions and took everything off just like desired. Ready to sell! Posted by: Peter at August 31, 2011 1:13 PMGreetings, nice cleaning data concepts ... Hi, I did the 'Erase all content and settings' which seems to have worked, but now there is a grey background with 'iPhone' and the phone has 'No Service'. Please help!! Posted by: Pete at November 9, 2011 6:15 PMI have something to say, now that you mention it, but ...
I do have a comment, now that you mention it!
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