How to reset or restore your iPhone and iPod

Posted on August 1, 2009 at 5:24 am

If you’re one of the few that have jailbroken their iPhones or iPods and now want to go back to the original legal version of the Apple OS, then you can perform what is called a Restore.

Restoring your iPhone or iPod will erase everything on the device, including all music, videos, and apps. Before you perform a restore, make sure you backup your iPhone or iPod.

How to restore iPhone or iPod

Step 1: First connect your iPod or iPhone to your computer until it appears in the Source or Device panel in iTunes.

restore iphone

Step 2: Select your iPod or iPhone and click on the Summary tab if you are already not there.

restore ipod

Step 3: Now click on the Restore button under the Version heading. You may be given the option to backup the software on the device before the restore procedure begins.

iphone restore

Step 4: Click the Restore button to begin the restore process. Note that iTunes will download the latest version of the firmware and install that onto the device. If you clicked Backup earlier, you will have the option to restore contacts, calendars, text messages, etc.

backup iphone

Step 5: Now just wait for the restore process to finish. You’ll get a message stating the iPhone or iPod has been restore to factory settings when complete.

how to restore iphone

Step 6: Finally, on your iPhone, you will see a message that says “Connect to iTunes”, so keep it connected to the computer until it goes away and the screen says “iPhone is activated”.

activate iphone

Step 7: Finally, you can choose which backup to use to restore your iPhone or iPod Touch.

restore backup iphone

That’s it! Your iPhone or iPod should now be back in working order and all your data intact! If you have any issues restore your iPhone or iPod, post a comment here. Enjoy! [via Apple]

» Filed Under Computer Tips

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Comments

22 Responses to “How to reset or restore your iPhone and iPod”

  1. louis said on :

    hi there, just having some trouble uninstalling ielegance. I deleted the files through cydia and uninstalled winterboard, and i rebooted my iphone 2g (OS 3.0) and it won’t turn on again . Do you guys know what’s happening, i tried to restore my iphone through itunes and it doensn’t work, and tried to put it in DFU mode and doesn’t work either. Please someone help.


  2. david said on :

    Heres a free ebook to help you fix all your ipods…

    ipodtipstrickshacksrepairs.blogspot.com/

    Peace,
    David


  3. anonymous said on :

    Restoring the back for my iPod didn’t work! What do I do now?


  4. CHOCOLAT8 said on :

    hey, I seem not to be able to restore my ipod nano first generation. I have tryed using iTunes, but it keeps telling me to use iTunes to restore! Weird! Help!?


  5. Bob said on :

    What if I want to restore my iPhone to a previous state and not to factory default settings? How do you choose a specific backup?

    Also, whenever my iPhone is synced with my computer, does it automatically create a backup?


  6. jim said on :

    i need help on how to get my ipod to work after i have jail broken it it doesnt pop up when i plug it in to my computer and it wont do anything when i hold the sleep and home buttonsit does nothing it shows a usb cord and the itunes symbol


  7. Brian Fuselier said on :

    My ipod nano 2nd generation doesnt show up on itunes. why doesnt itunes let my ipod nano pop up on it? it always shows me a list of programs like window media player. Help!! skate_boy284@yahoo.com


  8. Sarah said on :

    Hi.

    If i restore my iphone 3G then restore it to my back up and not set it up as a new phone,will any new buyers that purchase my phone be able to set it up as their own? Or will they be able to get the details of my itunes account.I wanted to sell the phone on ebay and reset it,but keep my purchased apps.

    Can you help me please?

    Thanks.


  9. leonardo ranito said on :

    fui atualizar o softwere do meu iphone pelo itunes, e quando terminou a atualizacao o meu iphone não quis entrar no menu ele ficou fazendo so emergencia.quando eu conecto ele no itunes aparece uma frase assim:THE SIM CARD INSERTED IN IPHONE DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE SUPPORTED.

    eu usava esse mesmo cartao antes de da esse problema. por favor me ajude!!!!o meu iphone nao e 3g e ele esta todo ingles,obrigado…


  10. sarith sophon said on :

    hi can you help me? when i reset content for my iphone 3G, I found that my phone was giving an error and then I tried to connect it to iTunes and restore it, but it still doesn’t work at all, so what can I do for my iphone 3G?

    Thanks


  11. Haseeb Mohammed said on :

    hey there….i recently restored my iphone 3G….when it reaches step 6 itunes attempts to connect to the itunes store….and then it shows me an error telling me that my network connection is idsabled…even though i am surfing through the net in the mean time…pleez help….thnx


  12. Paul Jardin said on :

    I had to turn in my Iphone because of a battery that was loosing its charge and I no longer can see my apps that I purchased. How can I get them restored on the replacement IPhone they gave me?


  13. Ben said on :

    If you restore your iphone will all the data (music, apps etc) still be on your itunes?


  14. Daniel said on :

    Why is it that when i connect to the itune store in order to try to restore my iphone (because when i connect that the only thing it asks for) it says that the sim card install can’t be surppoted. I manually downloaded its firmware but don’t know how to install it, some help please


  15. amber said on :

    my friend got ketchup in my ipod touch and i cleaned it out and all but it keeps telling me to plug it into itunes and when i do it says i need to restore it, but i’ve restored it twice already. idk what to do and i just got it for christmas….


  16. Rob said on :

    After I do a Reset (as listed above) all my text is in Russian and Greek once it restarts!!??

    Example:
    “Переведите к русскому/Russian · Μεταφράστε στα ελληνικά/Greek”

    Is this a virus?


  17. maria said on :

    hi,
    i did all that but my phone did not get the activation screen it just stayed at the itunes screen where you see the plug band disc with the blue itunes logo.

    so now what do i do, i call at&t and spoke to apple tech but was directed back to att so then apple tech then was closed so can anyone help!

    thanks,
    maria


  18. Sandy said on :

    I have an 8GB iPod and I cannot get the slide-to-unlock to operate to turn on/off the device!!!

    Hope you can help me!


  19. Emmanuel Isakov said on :

    I need to restore my new iPhone 3gs to the state my previous iPhone 3gs was in. I do have a backup of it. I can see it is there when I go into preferences, and click on the Devices tab. But, when I right click on my device in the sidebar, and click on Restore from backup, the backup I need is not in the choices.

    Help, please!


  20. ahmed said on :

    please help me, my iphone pasword is not working so please advise me what software i need to reset or to break the password please advise me. Thanks


  21. CliffordTheITGuy said on :

    I seems to have lost some purchased apps after restoring my iphone. How do I restore these apps incl the licenses on my iphone?


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