The Reset menu allows you to set various other options to their defaults without fully erasing your iPhone.

Once you tap this, you'll see an Erase This iPhone page with a summary of what will happen when you continue. Importantly, erasing your iPhone turns off Find My and Activation Lock as part of the process. Unlike older versions of iOS, you don't need to sign out of your Apple ID separately to avoid Activation Lock preventing the new owner from using the phone.

When you tap Continue, you'll see an option to Keep or Delete any eSIMs on your phone. If you're keeping this phone, keep them; if you're selling it or trading it in, erase them. Consult your carrier for guidance on how to move your eSIM to your new phone.

The next steps will prompt you to create a backup, which you can skip if you've already done so.

Finally, you'll need to enter your iPhone's passcode (and Screen Time passcode if applicable), then enter your Apple ID password to sign out of your account. Provide final confirmation with the last Erase iPhone/iPad prompt, and your device will start the factory reset process. There's no going back once you've tapped this.

As your phone resets, you'll see an Apple logo with a progress bar. Once your data has been wiped, your iPhone or iPad will restart.

How to Reset Your iPhone or iPad Using a Computer

In case you need to factory reset your iPhone and the convenient on-device method doesn't work, you can use Finder (on a Mac) or the Apple Devices app (on Windows) to reset.

When using this method, you'll first need to sign out of Find My on your device to disable Activation Lock. To do this, go to Settings, tap your name at the top, then choose Find My. Select Find My iPhone/iPad, then turn off the slider on the following page. Confirm your Apple ID password, then you're ready to reset using a Windows PC or Mac.

Connect your iPhone to your computer using a USB cable. You may need to approve the connection on your iPhone/iPad if you've never used it with this computer before.

On a Mac, open Finder and select your device from Locations in the sidebar. Make sure you're on the General tab and hit the Restore iPhone/iPad button under the Software section.

On Windows, open the Apple Devices app, expand the panel with your device's name on the left side, and make sure you're on the General tab. In the top box under Software, click Restore iPhone/iPad.

If you didn't turn Find My off, you'll see a warning that you must do this before proceeding. Assuming that's done, click Restore (or Restore and Update if there's a new OS update available) to confirm. This will start the reset process on your device.

After Resetting Your iPhone: Shut Down or Restore

Once the reset finishes, when you see the Hello screen, you're clear to turn off the device if you're not keeping it. It's ready for the next owner to set up.

If you're keeping your phone or tablet, go through the steps of setting up the device again. During this process, restore your iPhone backup to pick up where you left off.

That's all it takes to factory reset your iPhone or iPad. With a backup, you don't have to worry about moving to a new phone or resetting yours to fix problems.