Resetting Your iPhone

Sometimes your iPhone needs to be reset. If it crashes too often or is running very slowly, just reset it to return it to its normal functioning.

Resetting an iPhone works as a rollback to the device's reliable default factory settings, which will surely work. Here's how to accomplish that.

1. Back up all your data

The resetting procedure will pretty much erase all of your personal and application data from the iPhone.

So, before restoring the device, make sure you have performed a backup procedure using iTunes.

So, before restoring the device, make sure you have performed a backup procedure using iTunes.

Basically, all your content needs to be backed up in one way or another.

If you have jailbroken your iPhone, back up your jailbroken contents manually and your Cydia apps using the AptBackup application.

2. Start the reset

After you have made all the necessary backups, do the following:

1.   Make sure your iPhone is connected to a computer that is running iTunes software.

2.   Click on your iPhone device in the "Devices" pane of iTunes.

3.   Go to the iPhone information page of iTunes. It will show you two buttons: "Check for Updates" and "Restore".

4.   Press the "Restore" button. Resetting is called "restoring" in Apple's terms.

5.  .   iTunes will give you a warning messages asking if you know that all of your data will be erased. If you have performed a backup and synchronized your iPhone with iTunes just before starting the resetting procedure, just go on and click "Restore". If you have not, we advise that you cancel and backup your data first.

6.  Once clicking the "Restore" button, go and make Yourself some coffee or whatever you would like; it may take quite some time before iTunes finalizes the resetting procedure.

7.  After restoring (resetting is finished), a message saying that iTunes has done restoring your iPhone will appear. Just click "OK," and iTunes will reboot the iPhone, the final step in restoring.

After your iPhone is reset and done rebooting, do not unplug it. After rebooting, iTunes needs to activate the iPhone. After activation is complete, iTunes will prompt you to set up a new iPhone or restore from a backup.

It is highly advisable to restore from a backup. Setting up a new iPhone is a good option when the previous setup from which you want to back up contains some really messed up settings that got your iPhone into trouble. In this case, you can use an earlier backup or just set up your iPhone from scratch and then synchronize your personal info back using iTunes.