Apple

How to Factory Reset iPhone 13

Published

9 months ago

01/12/2023

If you want to wipe everything from your iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, or iPhone 13 Pro Max and start from scratch, you’ll need to perform a factory reset.

Factory resetting your iPhone 13 will wipe your device’s data and revert it back to its original settings. This is useful if you’re planning to trade-in your phone, sell or donate it, or if you’re having issues and you think starting over might help improve its performance.

Before you factory reset your iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, or iPhone 13 Pro Max, there are some steps you’ll want to take in order to prepare yourself and your device for the process.

The first thing you’ll want to do is update your Mac with the latest version of macOS. This is an optional step, but it could certainly help. If you own a Windows computer, you’ll want to update the software.

If you’re currently running macOS Mojave or older on your Mac, and you don’t want to upgrade, you’ll want to download the latest version of iTunes.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll want to backup all of the information stored on your iPhone. If you don’t want to keep the data saved on your phone, you can skip this step.

Finally, you’ll want to turn off Find My iPhone. Here’s how to do that:

Head into the Settings app.
Tap your name/account at the top.
Tap Find My.
Tap Find My iPhone.
Toggle Find My iPhone to off.

With those steps complete, you’re ready to factory reset your iPhone 13, iPhone 13 mini, iPhone 13 Pro, or iPhone 13 Pro Max.

How to Factory Reset iPhone 13

If you are using a Mac that’s running macOS Ventura, macOS Monterey, macOS Catalina, or macOS Big Sur, you’ll now want to open up Finder on your Mac. If you’re running older software, open up iTunes. From there, follow these steps.

Connect your iPhone to your computer.
If you receive a message asking for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer, follow the steps on your screen. You’ll need to complete this before you can initiate the reset process.
Select your iPhone from the sidebar in Finder or iTunes.

Click Restore iPhone.
Click Restore again to confirm that you want to proceed. From here, your computer will erase the data on your iPhone and install the latest version of iOS 16.
Wait for your iPhone 13 to restart.

Once your iPhone 13 restarts, it will have reverted back to its factory settings and you’ll be ready to do whatever it is you plan to do.

4 Reasons Not to Install iOS 16.7 & 10 Reasons You Should

Install iOS 16.7 for Better Security

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If security is important to you, think about installing Apple's iOS 16.7 update on your iPhone X, iPhone 8, or iPhone 8 Plus right away.

iOS 16.7 isn't a huge upgrade, but the software has three security patches on board and you can learn more about them right here.

As for older updates, iOS 16.6.1 brought two important security patches to iPhone. If you're interested in what they patch up, here's Apple's guide.

The iOS 16.6 update delivered 16 security patches. For more information about the changes, check out Apple's rundown.

iOS 16.5.1 brought two security patches to iPhone users If you want to learn more, head on over to Apple's website.

The company's iOS Security Response 16.5.1 (c) update also included a security update and you can learn more about it right here.

iOS 16.5 brought a ton of security patches to the iPhone. You can find out more about them over on Apple's security site.

iOS 16.4.1 included two security upgrades . You can learn more about the pair right here.

Apple's iOS 16.4 update had a substantial number of patches on board. You can read about them in detail over on Apple's security site.

The iOS 16.3.1 update had three security patches on board including one for an actively exploited vulnerability. For more on the security contents of iOS 16.3.1, check out Apple's security page.

iOS 16.3 brought 10+ new security patches with it and you can learn more about all of those right here.

In addition, the software came with support for physical security keys for Apple ID. These will beef up your account security by requiring a physical security key as part of the two factor authentication sign in process. Learn more about the change right here.

If you skipped iOS 16.2, you'll get its changes with iOS 16.7. iOS 16.2 brought a ton of important security patches with it and you can dig into the details on Apple's security site.

The update also brought end-to-end encryption to iCloud, iMessage, iPhone backups, Notes, Photos, and more. If you want to learn more about it, head over to Apple's guide.

If you decided to missed iOS 16.1.2, you'll get its solitary security patch with your upgrade. Learn more about it right here.

If you skipped iOS 16.1.1, you'll get its security patches when you upgrade. You can learn more about them right here.

If you missed the iOS 16.1 update, it brought 19 security patches to the iPhone and you can learn about the particulars of those over on Apple's website.

If you failed to download iOS 16.0.3, it had one security patch on board, a fix for a potential exploit within the Mail app. For more about the fix, check out Apple's security site.

If you're still running iOS 15 your iPhone, you'll get a bunch of other patches when you upgrade.

iOS 16.0 brought a ton of security patches to the iPhone. If you're interested in the exact nature of these improvements, you can read about them over on Apple's security website.

In addition to those patches, iOS 16 brings some additional enhancements to privacy and security including Safety Check which, according to Apple, will help "people in domestic or intimate partner violence situations review and reset the access they’ve granted others."

The feature also resets system privacy permissions for apps and restricts Messages and FaceTime to the device on hand.

Apple's also made some improvements to Passkeys in Safari. iOS 16 brings a brand new sign-in method that's end-to-end encrypted and safe from phishing and data leaks.