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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?


Dave's Answer:

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:

iphone reset 1

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:

iphone reset 2: Settings

If you scroll down to the bottom, you'll see what we want: Reset:

iphone reset 3: Settings: Reset

Once you're into the Reset area you'll see that there are rather a lot of choices:

iphone reset 4: Settings: Reset: Options

To start, I chose "Reset All Settings", which prompted me for a security code:

iphone reset 5: Settings: Enter Restrictions Passcode

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:

iphone reset 6: Settings: Reset: Reset All Settings

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:

iphone reset 7: Edit Home Screen

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:

iphone reset 9: Mail, Contacts, Calendars

Again, scroll to the very bottom and you'll see the "Delete Account" option:

iphone reset 10: Mail, Contacts, Calendars: Delete Account

I tapped on that button and, no surprise, got a confirmation window:

iphone reset 11: Deleting Email, Contacts, Calendars on Apple iPhone

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:

iphone reset 12: Mail Wiped, Apps Still Present

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:

iphone reset 13: Reset: Safari

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:

iphone reset 14: Erase All Content and Settings on Apple iPhone 3G

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:

iphone reset 16: no contacts!

iphone reset 17: no music at all on my iPod/iPhone 3G

In fact, when I plugged it into my Mac and checked with iTunes it showed up as a brand new phone too:

iTunes with a brand new, never configured Apple iPhone 3G cellphone

And that, as they say, was that.


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Categorized: iPhone and Cell Phone Help   (Article 8451, Written by )
Tagged: apple iphone, erase iphone data, iphone 3g, reset iphone
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Reader Comments To Date: 69

Tammy said, on August 21, 2008 1:56 PM:

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!

Amit Bhawani said, on August 22, 2008 2:49 AM:

Wondering how you take those crystal clear screenshots of the iphone screens :)

Dave Taylor said, on August 22, 2008 6:36 AM:

Amit, 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. :-)

Oren A said, on September 7, 2008 11:39 PM:

Hello,
I did a full "delete contents and reset all settings" function and now my phone won't respond at all. It won't open and my computer doesn't even recognize it. Any advice/guidance would be appreciated. (I have the regular iPhone lately updated to the latest version and unlocked).

bunker said, on September 23, 2008 4:41 PM:

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.

Edamame said, on October 29, 2008 1:25 PM:

Do 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.

tim said, on March 24, 2009 9:39 PM:

Thanks! I appreciated the EXCELLENT info.
Cheers!

ronnie said, on May 27, 2009 7:15 PM:

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

spoonyfork said, on June 22, 2009 12:09 PM:

This 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.

Randy said, on July 26, 2009 6:29 PM:

I 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?

adecomm said, on August 10, 2009 8:54 AM:

I 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

Dave Taylor said, on August 10, 2009 8:57 AM:

plug it in to your computer and choose "Restore" from within iTunes. That should resurrect it.

Jenn said, on November 19, 2009 12:11 AM:

Thank 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!!!!

roro said, on December 25, 2009 11:56 AM:

when i do erase all contact and sitting the i phpne never swittch on againe why ?
now i can not use it what should i do ?

gallagher said, on January 18, 2010 9:53 PM:

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....

Paul Southctt said, on February 15, 2010 5:32 AM:

I 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

Dave Taylor said, on February 15, 2010 9:03 AM:

Ugh, 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...

Eric said, on February 17, 2010 5:04 PM:

Thank you for the reset info it worked great.....

endlsdremr said, on February 23, 2010 8:12 AM:

I was having the same problem as Oren A on September 7, 2008... THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!! your suggestions worked like a charm!!!!

Stan said, on February 24, 2010 1:19 AM:

To 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.

Udit Khanna said, on February 25, 2010 2:33 PM:

same 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...."
Posted by: gallagher at January 18, 2010 9:53 PM

John Parillo said, on February 28, 2010 1:50 PM:

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?
Am I about to be had?
Thanks!

Dave Taylor said, on February 28, 2010 8:37 PM:

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.

crangel222 said, on March 2, 2010 9:14 PM:

if i did the 1st step will it have deleted my pictures as well?

Prathap said, on March 30, 2010 4:54 AM:

how i can delete all my contact list from my
3g iphone

midds44 said, on June 8, 2010 8:39 AM:

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?

Help! said, on August 20, 2010 10:02 AM:

Greetings. 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.
Now the phone should turn on, but all I see is the pineapple logo. When I pressed down the home key together with the off switch, it turned off, and I also unplugged the USB cable. I tried to plug it in with and without holding down the home button, but besides seeing the pineapple logo, nothing is happening (no clicking sound that it’s plugged in, my computer doesn’t recognize it, etc.). What could I do to put it into recovery and restore the phone? Thank you!

Niki said, on September 13, 2010 6:34 AM:

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!

Dave Taylor said, on September 14, 2010 5:00 PM:

Niki, that's exactly right and is what should happen. Now the new iPhone owner can start from "step zero" with the phone.

Gill Church said, on September 16, 2010 2:57 PM:

My 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!!!

Missy Bonner said, on October 4, 2010 6:36 PM:

Thanks for the detailed instructions. Sometimes I need a translater for step by step instructions.

Keith Dale said, on October 6, 2010 7:29 AM:

Hi, 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

David said, on November 13, 2010 11:35 PM:

Hi, 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.

Pamela Pacheco said, on November 19, 2010 10:09 AM:

Hey 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?

HEhehe thanks again! Take Care and lots of blessings to you and your family during the Holidays!

Pamela ( 0:

amit said, on November 29, 2010 5:35 AM:

very helpful

Michelle said, on December 12, 2010 9:27 AM:

This was so perfectly outlined and so easy to follow! Thank you so much!!!

aaron said, on December 15, 2010 9:01 AM:

after erase data and setting...it got 1 apple logo only during 2 hour..wat can i do?? thx for help

Karen said, on January 7, 2011 4:02 AM:

Thank 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.

lvo said, on January 7, 2011 10:34 AM:

Thank you so much for the info. Crystal clear and did the job.

Steven said, on January 12, 2011 4:40 AM:

I 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??

Artem said, on January 15, 2011 11:40 AM:

When I go to “reset” in settings, the only option i get is “reset home screen layout”. Please help!

Dave Taylor said, on January 15, 2011 10:58 PM:

Steven, 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.

tine said, on January 28, 2011 2:23 AM:

Hey Dave

Great info.
I got a 1 month old iphone and it had so many apps that I got very confused - I deleted everything and when finish it said I had to put in a new sim card (with no pin). Great, that was easy - or so I thought.
Got myself the new sim card (China mobile - as I am in china) but now my itunes tells me the iphone might be broken and can not be aktivated.
What do you suggest I do?
The iphone itself look real, but if it have been jailbroken before, does a wipe-cleaned have any affect?

Thanks

Kim said, on January 31, 2011 3:42 PM:

Hi 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!
KIM

FALLON said, on March 11, 2011 10:00 AM:

does erase all content and settings, requires me to get it Jail Break again?

Zach Broussard said, on March 21, 2011 3:14 PM:

Thanks for the help dude! Excellent instructions. Super simple.

ivan said, on March 31, 2011 1:07 PM:

If i dont have the password to reset the iphone how can i do it to erase all settings? please email me irodqp@gmail.com

jon said, on April 1, 2011 3:04 PM:

I 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?

Joe said, on April 7, 2011 8:39 PM:

Thanks for the info i just wanted to know if its possible to reset the whole iphone from the lock screen? please and thank you

Annie said, on May 23, 2011 6:12 AM:

Million thanks, I was stuck with a calendar info I didn't want and couldn't get rid off! ;-)

Brian said, on June 23, 2011 6:46 PM:

Thank you so much for the easy directions. Used this to wipe and prep for sale of phone.

Adria said, on July 8, 2011 12:14 PM:

Thank you for this - am donating my ancient original gen 1 iPhone and had no idea how to clear it!! :)

Mushy said, on July 9, 2011 5:03 AM:

hi dear, i need help
i've done the erase iphone 4 this morning at arnd 8am
its already 3pm and am still having the apple logo n the loading circle at times
i've seen many people got this problem from earlier post
i need help asap
what should i do??? plz help me
thks in advance

JJ said, on July 14, 2011 2:03 PM:

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?

Aaron said, on August 2, 2011 5:23 AM:

Questions, 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!

Sunny said, on August 28, 2011 8:11 AM:

I went in and erased all content and settings. Was that a mistake? Now everything is wiped. Including the original icons and apps. ?

Thanks

Peter said, on August 31, 2011 1:13 PM:

Thanks for the help followed the instructions and took everything off just like desired. Ready to sell!

Steven Tate said, on October 13, 2011 3:38 PM:

Greetings,
Having the hours of apple logo and circle of doom problem. Wondering how long it takes. Just shows the apple with the little loading circle then goes black like rebooting, back to the apple and over and over, for about 3 hours now. Is there something I should do? Will it ever end? Thanks for your input and advise.
Best, Steven

Subrama Nyamp said, on October 14, 2011 11:23 AM:

nice cleaning data concepts ...
thanks for the information

Pete said, on November 9, 2011 6:15 PM:

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!!

Sandra Cain said, on February 29, 2012 8:01 PM:

Saved my life!! Was selling phone and sure didnt want any of my personal stuff hanging around!!
THANKS

Amie said, on March 6, 2012 6:49 PM:

You were very helpful i followed your instructions and it worked however my phone number still shows up and i am currently using that number with my new i-phone so when i sell my old one I do not want the person who buys it to know my number or to try and use it when i still am. Any way to erase that?

awua evans said, on March 7, 2012 11:45 PM:

i have clicked on 'reset all settings' in my iPhone 3 but,it has take more than 20hrs and still has not been done yet.am worried...

srini said, on May 6, 2012 9:17 PM:

Hi,
I am using iphone 3G.Two days back i given reset option( Erase all contents and settings). from 2 days it is still not responding.

Even i try to switched off but not working i connected to laptop but it is not recognized by laptop(itunes are there in laptop).

Please suggest me how can i proceed now.

Sylwia said, on May 9, 2012 7:55 AM:

Hi! Could you tell me what should I do if I dont have delete account option available? I lost synch in my mailbox want to delete account and add again ( as server is shows wrongly).

jay said, on May 15, 2012 4:16 PM:

hi dave
u might be the right person to ask for help i have a iphone that was last synced in april but i sold that computer i have a new computer now.my problem is i have a iphone 3gs i usually delete my sms often but this time i need some sms back i search i phone its there i cannot read all of them completely as they limit me i need some of the messages urgently and i dont know what to do how can i restore them or copy them on my computer so i can save them or print them ,someone told me if i sync my phone i will loose all the sms on iphone memory forever
plase help
jay

Igor said, on October 4, 2012 8:45 AM:

Great help! Thank you Dave. I wiped out my phone a minute ago after I found your article. And just want to make sure it's 100% formating of my phone.

Helen said, on February 5, 2013 10:03 AM:

That was very helpful, thank you.

Ivonne said, on May 14, 2013 3:18 PM:

Thanks Dave

Was so easy to do thanks for the help!

Starbucks coffee cup I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!











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