How to factory reset an Android phone or iPhone

A factory reset erases everything and returns the phone to how it left the factory. It cures stubborn software faults and is essential before selling a phone.

What a reset does

Erased: every app you installed, all photos, videos, files, messages and chat histories on the phone, accounts, settings, saved Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices.

Not erased: the system version (updates stay), anything stored in your Google, Apple or other online accounts, files on a removable memory card (unless you choose to format it), and your SIM.

It does not remove a network lock, an unpaid-instalment block, or the anti-theft account lock described next.

The account lock: read this first

Phones are tied to the owner's account so that a thief gains nothing by erasing them.

• Android: Factory Reset Protection. After a reset, the phone asks for the Google account that was on it.
• iPhone: Activation Lock. It asks for the Apple Account password.

If you reset from Settings while signed in, the phone handles this properly, and before a sale it removes the lock. If you reset from recovery mode or remotely, the lock stays and you must sign in with the same account afterwards. Make sure you know the account email and password before you start.

Before you reset

1. Back up. See back up your phone, including WhatsApp and authenticator apps.
2. Charge above 50 per cent, or keep it plugged in.
3. Connect to Wi-Fi.
4. Know your screen lock and account password.
5. If you are keeping the phone, note your apps and home-screen layout with screenshots.
6. Remove the memory card.

Try the lighter resets first

For a fault, a full erase may not be needed.

• Reset network settings: fixes Wi-Fi, mobile and Bluetooth faults.
• Android: Settings › System › Reset options › Reset app preferences.
• iPhone: Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Reset › Reset All Settings. Keeps all data and apps; returns settings to default.

Factory reset: Android

From Settings

1. Settings › System › Reset options › Erase all data (factory reset). Samsung: Settings › General management › Reset › Factory data reset. Xiaomi: Settings › About phone › Factory reset. If you cannot find it, search Settings for "reset".
2. Read the list of what will be erased. Tap Erase all data, enter your PIN, and confirm.
3. The phone restarts and erases itself in a few minutes.

From recovery mode (when the phone will not start or is locked)

1. Switch off. Hold the recovery key combination for your make, commonly Power + Volume Up (see phone will not turn on).
2. Use the volume keys to highlight Wipe data/factory reset, press Power, confirm.
3. Choose Reboot system now.
4. Sign in with the previous Google account when asked.

Factory reset: iPhone

From Settings

1. Settings › General › Transfer or Reset iPhone › Erase All Content and Settings.
2. The phone shows what will be removed, offers a last iCloud backup, and asks for the passcode and the Apple Account password to turn off Find My and Activation Lock.
3. Confirm Erase iPhone.

With a computer (when it will not start or is locked): put the iPhone in recovery mode and choose Restore in Finder, the Apple Devices app or iTunes. See phone will not turn on.

After the reset

1. Go through set-up and sign in with your account.
2. Restore when offered: from your Google backup (Android) or iCloud or computer backup (iPhone).
3. Open WhatsApp, verify your number, and tap Restore when it finds the backup. This offer appears only once, at set-up.
4. Install system and app updates.
5. Re-register banking, UPI and authenticator apps.

If you reset to fix a fault: before restoring everything, use the bare phone for an hour. If the fault is gone, restore. If it returns only after restoring, an app or setting in the backup is the cause; set the phone up as new and add apps one by one. If the fault is present on the bare phone, it is hardware.

Before selling or giving the phone away

1. Back up.
2. Unpair a smartwatch, so that it backs up and releases its own lock.
3. Sign out of accounts: on Android, Settings › Passwords & accounts › remove the Google account (and Samsung or Mi account) first. On iPhone, erasing from Settings signs out for you.
4. Erase from Settings, as above.
5. Check: the phone should restart at the "Hello" or "Welcome" screen and must not ask for your account. If it asks for the previous owner's account, the lock is still on.
6. Remove the SIM and memory card. Remove the device from your account's device list online.

For a second-hand phone you are buying, ask the seller to do this in front of you, and check the IMEI on the government's Sanchar Saathi portal.

For Android phones and iPhones. Written in November 2026 for Android 13 to 15 and iOS 17 and 18. Phone makers rename menus; use the search box in Settings if a name differs. Back up before any reset. This is an independent guide, not connected with Google, Apple, Samsung or any phone maker or operator.