How to Restore an iPhone from iTunes on PC or Mac

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Reset your iPhone with a few simple clicks

Co-authored by Gonzalo Martinez and Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: December 12, 2025 Fact Checked

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Restoring Your iPhone

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Troubleshooting

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How Do You Reset Your iPhone?

This wikiHow guide teaches you how to restore your iPhone from a backup using iTunes for Windows and older versions of macOS. If you're using macOS Catalina or later, you can restore your iPhone from Finder using similar steps.

Resetting iPhone through iTunes: Quick Steps

Open iTunes on your computer.
Use a USB cable to connect your phone to your computer.
Click the phone button in iTunes to open the Summary screen.
Select Restore iPhone.
Choose a backup and click Restore.

Section 1 of 2:

Restoring Your iPhone Using iTunes

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1
Open iTunes on your computer. If you're using Windows, you'll find it in your Start menu. If you're using macOS Mojave or earlier, it'll be in your Applications folder.^{[1]
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- If you have a newer version of macOS (Catalina or later), you can restore your iPhone using Finder. Click the two-toned smiley face icon on the Dock to open Finder, and the rest of the instructions will be very similar.
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Connect your iPhone to the computer. Use the USB cable that came with your iPhone or a different compatible cable.
- If prompted, tap Trust on your iPhone, then enter your PIN to continue.
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Click the iPhone button. If you're using iTunes on your Windows PC or an earlier version of macOS, you'll see a button that looks like an iPhone appear at the top of iTunes. Click the button to open your iPhone's Summary screen.^{[2]
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- If you're using Finder on a Mac, click your iPhone under "Locations" in the left panel.
- If you don't see this button, click the Library tab at the top first.
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Click Restore iPhone….
- If Find My iPhone is enabled on your phone, you will be prompted to disable it before you continue. To turn off Find My iPhone:^{[3]
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  - Open your iPhone's Settings.
  - Tap your name at the top.
  - Tap Find My.
  - Tap Find My iPhone.
  - Toggle off "Find My iPhone."
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Select a backup and click Restore. Your iPhone will now restore from the selected backup.
- Once the restore is complete, your iPhone will restart and resync with iTunes on the computer.
- Do not unplug your iPhone from the computer until you see the iPhone button once again appear in the top-left corner of iTunes.

Section 2 of 2:

Troubleshooting

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1
Fix "An error occurred." If you see this generic-sounding error message when restoring your iPhone from iTunes, it's usually because iOS is out of date. Update iOS to the latest version, then try restoring your iPhone again.^{[4]
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Fix a corrupt or incompatible backup. If you see a message about your iPhone backup being corrupt or incompatible, check for and install any Windows or macOS updates, and also make sure iOS is up to date. If you are still unable to restore from the selected backup, you'll need to try a different backup.
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If your iPhone isn't recognized, try a different cable. Sometimes using a non-Apple-certified USB cable will prevent your computer from recognizing your iPhone. Try using an Apple-certified cable to connect your iPhone to your computer.