How to Factory Reset an iPhone 13

If you're sending your iPhone in for service, or you are selling or giving away your iPhone, you should factory reset it to protect your data and privacy. This article explains what you need to know about how to factory reset an iPhone 13.

How Do I Force My iPhone 13 to Factory Reset?

To factory reset an iPhone 13 running iOS 15 or higher, just follow these steps:

1. Start by backing up your iPhone. As we'll see, this is a step in factory reset process, it doesn't hurt to be extra safe. This is your priceless data, after all. Learn how to backup to an iPhone.

2. Tap Settings.
   

3. Tap General.
   

4. Scroll to the bottom and tap Transfer or Reset iPhone.
   

5. Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
   

6. This screen explains what data will be removed from your iPhone, including your Apple ID and the Activation Lock for this iPhone (crucial when you're selling the phone!). Tap Continue.
   

7. Enter your iPhone's passcode or your Apple ID, if prompted.
   

8. Your iPhone will back up data to iCloud. Again, a backup is key since you'll probably want to restore your backed-up data onto your new iPhone (or when you get the current one back from being repaired).

   Once the backup is done, follow any remaining onscreen prompts.
   

   If the backup doesn't start automatically, make sure you backup your iPhone manually before completing the remaining steps.

9. Your data will be deleted from the iPhone. When the iPhone restarts and presents you with the first setup screen, you have finished the iPhone 13 factory reset.

How to Factory Reset iPhone 13 Using a Computer

If you prefer, you can also factory reset iPhone 13 using the computer you sync your iPhone to. Here's how:

1. Turn off Find My iPhone on your phone by going to Settings > [your name] > Find My > Find My iPhone > move the Find My iPhone slider to off/white.
   

2. Connect your iPhone 13 to your computer using a USB cable.
3. • On Macs running macOS 10.15 (Catalina) and higher, open a new Finder window and click your iPhone under Locations.
   • On PCs and older Macs, open iTunes.
     

4. On the main iPhone management screen, click Restore iPhone.
   

5. Choose whether you want to back up your iPhone. We strongly recommend it!

6. Click Restore.
   

7. When the iPhone restarts and returns to the setup screen, your iPhone 13 is factory reset.
   

Is There a Factory Reset Button on iPhone 13? 

There is not is a physical button, or combination of buttons, to press to start a factory reset. This is intentional—you wouldn't want to be able to accidentally factory reset your iPhone by pressing the wrong set of buttons.

That said, you can do some important kinds of iPhone maintenance by pressing buttons, including restarting or hard resetting an iPhone and going into Recovery Mode.