Restore iPhone settings: this is how it works
If something is not working properly or you encounter persistent problems, you can choose to reset your iPhone to factory settings or restore and completely redesign your iPhone. However, you will then spend a long time restoring a backup or rearranging your iPhone. There is a less drastic solution that may solve your problems, namely resetting certain settings for network, dictionary, home screen and the like. You will not lose any data and you do not have to restore backups.
- Restore network settings
- Restore general settings
- Restore more settings
Restore network settings
If you encounter problems with WiFi or your internet is not working properly, it can help to reset your network settings.
That is how it works:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Go to General and scroll down.
- Choose Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Click Reset.
- Choose Reset Network Settings.
- Enter your passcode and the network settings will be cleared.
The result is that you have to re-enter the passwords for your wireless network (WiFi), but everything else remains intact. If it’s just a connection issue, try this first.
Restore general settings: this is how you do it
If restoring the network settings does not solve anything or if there is another persistent problem that has nothing to do with the internet, you can also restore the general settings.
This will reset everything in the Settings app to its default values. So that means you’ll need to reset: brightness, wallpaper, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, notifications, privacy settings, Control Center buttons, Do Not Disturb settings, passcode, Touch ID/Face ID, and more. You will remain logged in with your iCloud and Apple ID accounts.
Please note: you will not lose any saved data, apps or other data. All your music, photos and saved files are preserved.
To restore your settings, do the following:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Go to General and scroll down.
- Choose Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Click Reset.
- Choose Reset All Settings.
- Agree by entering your access code.
Your iPhone or iPad will restart and you will return to the Lock screen. After restoring settings, don’t forget to create a new passcode and activate Touch ID or Face ID.
You’ll also see some other options:
- Remove all mobile subscriptions: This can be useful if you use multiple SIM cards and eSIMs and want to switch to another provider.
- Reset Keyboard Dictionary: This can be useful if you have added a lot of ‘wrong’ words to the spell checker.
- Restore home screen layout: use this if you want to rearrange the order of app icons with an alphabetical layout. It can help you experience less stress from your iPhone.
- Erase All Contents and Settings: This will reset your iPhone to factory settings, only do this if you want to sell your iPhone or start from scratch.
- Restore location and privacy: This can be useful if you want to revoke all location and privacy settings and start granting permissions to apps again.
If you scroll back a screen, you can also choose Erase all content and settings. This is useful if you want to reset your iPhone to factory settings. This is useful if you want to sell your iPhone second-hand, but is a less good option if your iPhone behaves strangely. It takes a lot of effort to reset all settings. But it can be a last resort if you can’t figure it out and nothing else helps.
More tips to restore your iPhone:
- Everything about recovering your iPhone
- Put apps back in alphabetical order
- Fix autocorrect for the default dictionary
- Restore network settings
