There are times when we simply wish to erase all the saved data from an iOS device and restore it to factory settings. You might wish to troubleshoot an issue with your iPhone or would like to wipe your data before reselling your device. The good news is that there are all kinds of solutions to do an iPhone factory reset. Here, I will let you know how to factory reset on iPhone in four smart ways.
Part 1: How to Completely Wipe iPhone 4/4s Data with Dr.Fone – Data Eraser (iOS)?
A while back, when I wanted to know how to clear my iPhone 4 (before reselling it), I gave Dr.Fone – Data Eraser (iOS) a try and the results were really good. You might now know this, but when we wipe our data the usual way, anyone can extract its content using a data recovery tool.
Therefore, if you are concerned about your privacy, then using Dr.Fone – Data Eraser (iOS) would be the best approach. It will wipe all the stored data like your photos, videos, contacts, third-party app content, and so much more without any further recovery scope. If you also want to completely wipe your device and learn how to factory reset on iPhone 4/4s, then follow these steps:
Step 1: Connect your iPhone and launch Dr.Fone – Data Eraser (iOS)
To start with, you can simply connect your iOS device to the system and launch the Dr.Fone toolkit > Data Eraser application.
Afterward, you can go to the “Erase All Data” section from the sidebar to check the snapshot of your device and click on the “Start” button. As you can see, there are other options to erase only private data or free up space on iPhone that are provided by the application.
Step 2: Select a Level to Delete your Data Permanently
Now, to proceed, you have to select a level to delete your data from the connected device. Ideally, there are three levels that you can pick – low, medium, or high. The “Medium” level is mostly recommended that can wipe your iPhone’s data without recovery scope, but you can also pick any other level as per your requirements.
Step 3: Completely Wipe all Data from the Connected iPhone 4/4s
Afterward, you need to enter the displayed code to confirm your choice (as the action would permanently delete all the stored data and settings on your iPhone). Before you click on the “Erase Now” button, make sure that no apps are running on your iPhone.
As you would commence the process, the application will perform a complete iPhone factory reset on your device by getting rid of the stored data, third-party content, settings, and more. As the application would erase your iPhone’s data, you can simply wait, and make sure that the device stays connected to the system.
Step 4: Reboot your iPhone and Complete the Process
That’s it! Once the data erasing process has been completed, the application will let you know. You can now reboot your iPhone the usual way and can later safely disconnect it from your system.
Apart from iPhone 4 and 4s, the application can also entirely wipe all data on any other iPhone model such as iPhone 5, 6, 6s, 7, 7 Plus, 8, X, 11, and more.
Part 2: How to Factory Reset an iPhone from its Settings?
If you want, you can also factory reset your iOS device by visiting its settings. The only drawback is that it will simply erase your data once and any other user can later restore it with a data recovery tool.
The good thing about this method is that is it the easiest solution to factory reset your iPhone. All you need to do is unlock your iPhone and go to its Settings > General > Reset. From here, tap on the “Erase all Content and Settings” option and enter the passcode of your iPhone to confirm it.
You can now tap on the “Erase iPhone” button again and simply wait as your iOS device would be restarted with no saved data or settings.
Part 3: Factory Reset your iPhone 4/4s with iTunes
If you want, you can also follow the same approach and learn how to factory reset on iPhone using iTunes. The desktop application provides a free solution to erase all kinds of data on your iPhone and restore it to factory settings.
You can just connect your iPhone to the system, launch iTunes on it, and select the connected device. Now, go to its Summary tab and click on the “Restore iPhone” button to perform an iPhone factory reset.
Simply confirm your choice and wait as your iPhone would be restarted with default settings. Though, you should know that this method will only work if the Find my iPhone option is disabled on your device. You can go to its iCloud Settings > Find my iPhone and manually turn it off from here.
Part 4: How to Factory Reset your iPhone 4/4s with iCloud?
Lastly, you can also use the iCloud’s Find my iPhone service to locate or hard reset your iPhone. Unlike the above method, this approach will only work if the Find my iPhone service is enabled on your device. To completely wipe your iPhone 4/4s, just go to the iCloud website and log in to your account.
Now, just select the “Find my iPhone” service from its welcome screen and choose your device from the respective list from the top. Once your device is selected, its location will be displayed with a few other options. From here, click on the “Erase iPhone” button and confirm your choice as it would hard reset your iPhone.
There you go! As you can see, performing an iPhone factory reset can be pretty easy. I have listed not one, but four smart ways on how to factory reset on iPhone 4/4s, but they can also be implemented on other iPhone models. Besides that, if you wish to completely wipe your iPhone 4/4s, then a tool like Dr.Fone – Data Eraser (iOS) would be the best fit. All the other methods would hard reset your iPhone, but your files can be restored with a recovery tool. With Dr.Fone – Data Eraser, your content would be permanently wiped out without any recovery scope.
