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How to factory reset iPhone without password - 5 Options

No idea on how to reset your iPhone to its factory settings without knowing your passcode? Apple has made it a little easier since iOS 15.2, and you have other reliable options to factory reset it.

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Katrin Gray
Updated on Oct 16, 2024

Doing a factory resetting on an iPhone will wipe your iPhone completely and reinstall a clean version of iOS.

As with any Android phones, sometimes your iPhone goes wrong and you will want to try a factory reset. This can clear software glitch and give the device a fresh start. It will also reset the iPhone to factory settings, wipe all your data completely, and reinstall a clean version of iOS. Doing a factory reset on iPhone can also be a safe way to protect your privacy before deciding to sell or trade your device.

Another reason why you need to factory reset an iPhone is you forgot the lock screen passcode. There is no way to unlock a security lockout iPhone without erasing data and resetting the iPhone completely. The reset process has been the same for years — via iTunes or iCloud. With the release of iOS 15.2, Apple introduces the "Erase iPhone" or "Forgot Passcode" (iOS 17 or later) option to erase all content and settings on the iPhone for a full factory reset without passcode and computer.

So, in this article, we'll show you how to factory reset an iPhone without password. By the way, our tips work for iPad models. If you're looking for a quick way to unlock your iPhone when forgetting the passcode, consider iPhone Unlocker.

Table of Contents

Preparation: Back up your data

If you know the passcode, before you start the iPhone factory reset process, spending a couple of minutes making backup is a small price to pay to ensure you don't lose any important data.

Backing up to iCloud

The simplest backup option is Apple's iCloud service, which is built into iOS.

1. Open Settings app. Make sure your iPhone is connecting to a Wi-Fi network.

2. Tap your name at the top.

3. Tap "iCloud" and then "iCloud Backup."

4. Turn on the "iCloud Backup" toggle switch.

5. Tap "Back Up Now" to initiate the backup process. The backup process can take awhile to complete if you haven't backed up before.

Backing up to your computer

1. Plug your iPhone into your Mac or PC with a USB cable.

2. Launch iTunes (or Finder in macOS) on your computer.

3. When you see the device icon appear in the top left corner of the window, click it.

4. Look for an option that says "Back Up Now" under the "Manually Back Up and Restore" section, select it.

5. Wait for iTunes to back up your iPhone on computer.

How to factory reset iPhone via Settings (with passcode)

Once you have a backup of your iPhone that you can recover everything later, you're ready to perform a factory reset, which erases your personal information, data, apps, and preferences, and restores the device to factory settings. Make sure your Wi-Fi connection is working properly. Here's how to reset iPhone in Settings app.

1. Open Settings app.

2. Go to General, then select Transfer or Reset iPhone.

3. Enter your passcode or Apple ID password when prompted.

4. Tap Continue to confirm.

5. Tap Erase iPhone. wait a few minutes for it to fully wipe.

If you don't plan on keeping your iPhone, you can stop here. Otherwise, your next step should be to go through the setup assistant to re-set up the iPhone, reinstall iOS. You can now restore your data when you reach App & Data as part of the setup process.

Also see: How to unlock iPad without password

How to factory reset an iPhone without passcode in iOS 15.2 and later

Newer iPhones running iOS 15.2 and later have an "Forgot Passcode" or an "Erase iPhone" tool for factory resetting iPhone when you forgot your passcode.

Preparation

  • Your iPhone has a connection with cellular or Wi-Fi network.
  • You remember your Apple ID and password

Steps to reset iPhone without a passcode

Step 1. To reset the iPhone to factory settings, keep entering any random passcode several times to the lock screen until iPhone displays iPhone Unavailable error. It should appear at 6th attempt. Haven't seen it yet? Try the next method.

Step 2. Tap Forgot Passcode? option at the bottom right corner. It will be shown as Erase iPhone in iOS 15.2 up to iOS 16.

Step 3. In the iPhone Reser screen, tap Start iPhone Reset.

Step 4. Enter your Apple ID password to sign out of your account. This will disable location services, remove Apple Wallet items and delete Face ID biometric recognition.

Step 5. Choose Erase iPhone, then let the erase process finish. Your iPhone will eventually be returned to original settings, along with your personal data, apps, media, and all settings will be wiped completely.

After the factory reset, your iPhone should reboot and ask you to go through the setup process. Don't forget to use your earlier backup to restore data to your iPhone.

how to reset iPhone to factory settings without password using iPhone Unlocker

In case you haven't updated your iPhone to iOS 15.2 or later, or the built-in Forgot Passcode option doesn't respond, you can use the dedicated third-party app to factory reset your iPhone once you have forgotten your password, even if the phone is disabled permanently.

iPhone Unlocker is our favorite due to its simplicity and efficiency. It keeps the whole experience simple; opening up the app gives you quick actions you can use to get rid of different types of password/ -code related problems for your iPhone and iPad. To factory reset an iPhone you don't have the passcode, simply select "Wipe Passcode," let it download appropriate firmware for you, click "Unlock" and you're off.

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You can also use it remove your forgotten Apple ID, reset Activation Lock, and even bypass screen time codes.

This method requires that you run the app on your computer and has a stable Wi-Fi or cellular network. Here's how to do it.

1. Open iPhone Unlocker app once it's installed on your computer. Then Select "Wipe Passcode" from its interface. It's capable of clearing any kind of lock screen codes, such as 4-digit, 6-digit codes, Face ID, and Touch ID.

Next, plug your iPhone into the machine and boot it into Recovery mode if not recognized. You may click the link onscreen to learn how to do. It's pretty easy and quick.

2. Check your phone information to continue.

3. Click "Start" button to let the app download the proper iOS software for your iPhone. It will be used to reinstall on your device later and return it factory settings.

4. Once downloaded, click "Unlock" button. When a dialog box opens, read the warning messages carefully, then type in 0000 to confirm.

5. Again, press the "Unlock" button.

After it finishes your iPhone factory reset without passcode, you will no longer see lock screen anymore. Follow the instructions to set up your phone as new or restore your data from a backup.

How to factory reset an iPhone with iTunes

For many users, iTunes is still a solid way to share files between computer and iPhone. If you have ever synced iPhone to your computer with iTunes, you can factory reset your iPhone without knowing the passcode. This will remove your lock screen, and reset the iPhone to factory settings and wipe your phone clean of everything.

1. Connect your iPhone to your computer that you have ever synced and launch iTunes.

2. If there is a newer version of iTunes available to install, update it.

3. When iTunes detects the phone, click the phone icon in the upper left corner of the window.

4. Navigate to Summary section, click "Restore iPhone."

5. Click "Restore" to confirm that you want to factory reset the iPhone.

6. Wait for the factory reset to complete. After that, you can use the iPhone and restore all of your data from a backup.

Related: How to bypass iPhone passcode without iTunes

How to factory reset an iPhone with Recovery mode

If iTunes doesn't recognize your iPhone for restore, never mind. You can also get the device into Recovery mode, which is an advanced mode available to use for installing updates and wiping data. How you do this depends on the phone model you have.

To use Recovery mode to factory reset iPhone when you forget the passcode, follow these steps:

1. Ensure that you have iTunes installed on your Windows computer. If you use a Mac, Finder app is already pre-installed.

2. Turn off your iPhone completely and then connect it to your computer.

3. You need to put iPhone into Recovery Mode by pressing the specific button.

  • For iPhone 8 and newer models: Side button
  • For iPhone 7 with Home button:Volume down button

Press and hold the corresponding button while connecting to the computer immediately. Keep holding the button until you see an image of a computer with a cable. Release the button and allow the iPhone to get into Recovery mode.

4. Open iTunes on your PC, or open Finder on your Mac.

5. A window will pop up, asking you to do an update or restore of your iPhone, click the Restore option.

6. Select the Restore and Update option to confirm that you want to reset your iPhone to factory settings without a passcode.

Done! After your iPhone is reset, you're ready for a fresh start. The Hello screen will walk you through the steps to set up the device again. While in the process, you can use your earlier backup to recover your data in App & Data screen.

How to factory reset an iPhone with iCloud

To do a factory reset on iPhone, you will also want to use iCloud's Find My tool, which is automatically available for all iPhone and iPad devices — it's enabled by default. The Find My tool is useful if you can't get into the iPhone at all because you forgot your passcode.

Keep in mind that you will need to sign in with the same iCloud account. This is to locate your iPhone remotely and reset it without needing a password.

Here is how to use iCloud to reset your iPhone without password.

1. Use a computer or another phone to sign in icloud.com with the same Apple account used to set up the locked iPhone

2. Select Find My from the menu.

3. Select the iPhone to be reset by clicking "All Devices" at the top.

4. Click on "Erase iPhone" option on the next menu that appears.

5. Click the "Erase" option to confirm.

The only downside of using iCloud to reset an iPhone without a passcode is you need to enable Find My—which you probably did during the initial setup—and it needs to have a network connection to start the reset process remotely.

Bonus: use your recent backup to restore all of your data after reset

After your iPhone has been reset, the next step is how to deal with your device. If you plan to sell it, you can stop here and let the new owner set it up with personal preferences and reinstall new iOS. If you decide to restore your backup made before at this time, you can follow these steps:

  • Select your language and region.
  • Connect to your Wi-Fi network.
  • set up a 4-digit or six-digit passcode
  • Set up Face ID for added security.
  • Restore from an iCloud or iTunes backup. In App & Data screen, you can choose to Restore from iCloud Backup, Restore from Mac or PC, Transfer Directly from iPhone, or Move Data from Android.
  • Sign in with your Apple ID and password.
  • Enable Siri and Screen Time.
  • Set display settings, such as True Tone, Display Zoom.
  • Agree to the terms and conditions and complete the setup process.

That's it! Learn more about factory reset for iPhone from FAQs.

FAQs

How can I factory reset my iPhone?
For iPhone factory resetting, you have several different options to take, depending on the situation with your device. If you can unlock the iPhone, then you go easily reset the iPhone via Settings app; if you have no passcode, you have to use your Apple ID, or enter the phone to Recovery mode, or use iCloud Find My to get the device wiped.
Can I factory reset my iPhone without a computer?
Yes, you can erase all your data and restore the iPhone to original defaults by using the "Erase iPhone" button on the phone screen. This works when your iPhone is running iOS 15.2 software and later. You don't need to requires a computer as a part of the process.
Does factory resetting my iPhone delete everything?
Yes. This is a fully erase process that will permanently wipe your data, media files, apps, preferences, and other information on the iPhone. It will also reinstall a new version of the iOS. Make sure create a backup of your data before starting the reset.
Can I cancel a factory reset once it has started?
No, once you start factory resetting your iPhone, you can do nothing but wait for it to complete. But you can then set the phone up and restore your data if you have recent backup to choose from.
Can I factory reset my iPhone using iCloud?
Yes. Even if your iPhone runs an earlier version of iOS, or iTunes doesn't help restore the device for you, you can remotely erase the iPhone. The factory reset on your computer essentially does the same thing, just not remotely.
Will factory resetting my iPhone remove my Apple ID?
No. But if you're factory resetting an iPhone without password, you need to use Apple ID password to sign out of iCloud so that it disable Find My feature and you won't be stuck at iCloud Activation Lock during setup process.
Can iTunes help factory reset an iPhone when forgetting passcode?
Yes. If you have ever synced the iPhone on computer, you can connect the phone to iTunes and use its Restore iPhone feature to reset it. If not, put the device into Recovery mode to perform a full restore.
About Katrin Gray
Katrin Gray is the Junior Editor at HigoSpot. With a bachelor's degree in Computer Applications, he has been covering Microsoft Windows, Apple macOS, iOS, Android, Social Media, Gaming, and more as a professional writer for over 5 years.
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