Q&A for How to Restore an iPhone

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Question

How do I reset my iPhone to factory settings?

Gonzalo Martinez
Computer & Phone Repair Specialist
Gonzalo Martinez is the President of CleverTech, a tech repair business in San Jose, California founded in 2014. CleverTech LLC specializes in repairing Apple products. CleverTech pursues environmental responsibility by recycling aluminum, display assemblies, and the micro components on motherboards to reuse for future repairs. On average, they save 2 lbs - 3 lbs more electronic waste daily than the average computer repair store.

Gonzalo Martinez

Computer & Phone Repair Specialist

Expert Answer

You can either go into the Settings menu on your phone or restore it remotely from the iCloud website.

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Question

My old photos from my iPhone galley cannot be sent to anyone and are getting blurry. I can't even transfer them to my laptop. What can I do?

Community Answer

Check your storage! If it's low, try deleting some things. Go into Settings and click "iCloud", then go to Photo Library and click the "Optimize Storage" option. Reset your iPhone and try again.

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Question

Why does my iPhone take so long to restore after choosing "Restore iPhone"?

Community Answer

The restoration process is long, so you just have to be patient.

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Question

Will my pictures and music be backed up to the iCloud if I do a factory reset?

Community Answer

Whatever information you keep synced with your iCloud account or other internet accounts will only be deleted from your device when you reset it. You'll get the prompt to restore your data once the reset has finished.

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Question

How long does a restore take on an iPhone?

Community Answer

It depends on the amount of storage you've used and how much information you're intending to sync later when you're restoring your device. Your iPhone should take no more than a few minutes to be restored.

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Question

How can I tell when my iPhone is fully restored?

Community Answer

When you turn on your phone, the apple will come on the screen, and then a "hello" will pop up on a different screen.

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Question

How do I turn off the iCloud backup?

Community Answer

Go to 'settings,' then 'iCloud,' then 'backup,' then 'iCloud backup,' then slide to the left to turn it off.

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Question

Will all my contacts and apps disappear when I restore an iPhone?

Community Answer

They will disappear from your phone. Make sure they are saved to your iCloud account or your computer, so you can transfer them back to your phone.

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Question

What should I do if I get errors when I try to restore the phone?

Community Answer

Make sure you've typed in your iPhone passcode or Apple ID password correctly. Also, ensure you don't have any backups or software updates being done in the background (or anything else that might prevent your iPhone from being restored). Check out support.apple.com or book a Genius Bar appointment if you're still having trouble.

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Question

How do I turn off iCloud when my iPhone is not working?

Community Answer

Head over to appleid.apple.com and sign in with your Apple ID. Under Devices, you'll see all the Apple devices on which you've signed into with your Apple ID. Click on the name of whichever device you want to remove from your iCloud account; then you'll be given the option to remove it.

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Question

Someone got into my iCloud account and emptied my folders! What can I do?

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Community Answer

If you made a backup on your computer, you can still access those files. if you did not, you cannot do anything.

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