How to Restore Your iPhone

If your iPhone is having problems, you can restore it to a backup. You will lose all your data.

Restore before you restore

Apple recommends you upgrade your iPhone to the latest version before you can make any repairs.

Open Settings > General > Software Update on your iPhone. If your software is up-to-date, continue to the next step.

How do I restore my iPhone from Finder?

If you have macOS Catalina on your computer, you can back up and restore your iPhone with Finder. We explain what features you’ll get and how to do it.

1. Plug your iPhone into your computer.
2. Open Finder and select your iPhone from the left sidebar. Check the Sidebar tab and then the box next to DVDs and CDs.
3. Next click Manage Backups. We have a guide for backups of your iPhone.
4. Click Restore Backup. You will find the Restore Backup button under the Backups tab.
5. If asked, disable Find My iPhone. If Find My was enabled during a restore, Finder will prompt you to turn it off. Here’s how it works:
   • Open Settings > Apple ID to access your iPhone.
   • Tap Next to Find My, then Find My iPhone.
   • Disable Find My iPhone.
6. Wait until your device reboots. You will see the Apple logo as well as the progress bar. After the sync completes, your iPhone should be ready to use the backed-up information.

If you have not updated to Catalina, or if your iPhone is running Windows 7, you can restore it with iTunes. After restarting your iPhone, click on Restore Backup. All of your data will be automatically restored.

How do I restore iPhone from iTunes?

1. Plug your iPhone into your computer.
2. Open iTunes, and select your iPhone.
3. Next, select Restore Backup.
4. Click on Restore Backup under Manual back up and Restore. This will restore the factory settings to your iPhone.

iCloud is able to back up any computer.

Before you restore from an iTunes backup, double-check that your iPhone has one.

How do you check for iCloud Backups?

1. Open Settings > Apple ID to see your name and a circle picture.
2. Click iCloud, scroll down, and then tap iCloud Backup. This will show you if there are backups and the date that your iPhone was last successfully backed up to iCloud.
3. If you don’t have backups, click Backup Now.

Backups are a smart thing to do. All your data will be lost if this happens.

How do you restore your iPhone using iCloud Backup

If you know that your iPhone has an iCloud backup, you can restore it from that backup.

You will need Wi-Fi to complete the restoration process.

1. To delete all of your iPhone’s content go to Settings > General > Reset.
2. Once your iPhone has been restarted, choose your country and select a WiFi network to set up Face ID.
3. Click on Restore from iCloud backup to get to the Apps and Data screen.
4. Sign in to iCloud with your Apple ID. Type your Apple ID password, then click Next.
5. Verify your identity. Apple sends a code to an email address or to an iOS device. Click Allow to enter the passcode and then agree to the terms.
6. Enter the password to log in to an iOS device.
7. Choose a backup that you want to restore. To view all backups, tap Show All Backups.
8. Follow these instructions until your phone is fully repaired. A backup time estimate will be displayed.

We can help prevent future problems with your iPhone by following our guide to how to remove viruses from the iPhone.