A Complete Guide to Unjailbreaking an iPhone

Download Article

Restore your iPhone to its pre-jailbreak status with this simple tutorial

Co-authored by Luigi Oppido

Last Updated: March 10, 2025 References

Download Article

Putting your Device in Recovery Mode

|

Using iTunes Backup and Restore

|

Expert Q&A

|

Tips

|

Warnings

If you’ve decided to “unjailbreak” your jailbroken iPhone and want to return the device back to its original state, you can do so at any time using the Backup and Restore feature within iTunes. Note: It's highly advisable to back up your iPhone before restoring as this process erases everything on the device. Using this method will restore your device to its factory settings and installs the latest version of iOS.

Unjailbreaking Any iPhone

You can unjailbreak an iPhone by placing it into recovery mode, connecting it to your computer, and restoring in Finder or iTunes.
Unjailbreaking will delete everything on your iPhone, so back up anything you want to keep.
Do not unplug your iPhone from your computer throughout the unjailbreaking process.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Putting your Device in Recovery Mode

Download Article

Use a lightning USB cable to plug it in.^{[1]
X
Expert Source

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist

Expert Interview}
Release the Power button after 10 seconds.

Advertisement
You should see a "Connect to iTunes" screen appear.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Using iTunes Backup and Restore

Download Article

Doing so will confirm that you want to restore a device that's in recovery mode.^{[2]
X
Research source}
4
Click Restore and Update. iTunes will begin restoring your device.^{[3]
X
Expert Source

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist

Expert Interview}
- This process may take several minutes to complete.
- Do not unplug the device during the restore process.
5
Click "Restore from this backup:"
- Click "Set up as new iPhone" to start fresh.
7
Click Continue. iTunes will set up your device.
- This process may take a few minutes.
Tap to follow the on-screen prompts.Your iPhone will be restored to its "unjailbroken" state, and all the content and files you had on your jailbroken iPhone will be removed.

Expert Q&A

Search

Add New Question

Question

What happens if I unjailbreak my iPhone?

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist
Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

Luigi Oppido

Computer & Tech Specialist

Expert Answer

You're just putting the stock firmware back into the phone. To do this, simply plug your phone into your computer and factory restore it with iTunes.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 6
Question

Is it hard to unjailbreak a phone?

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist
Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years.

Luigi Oppido

Computer & Tech Specialist

Expert Answer

Unjailbreaking your phone is very straightforward. In fact, it's harder to jailbreak a phone than it is to unjailbreak it.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 4 Helpful 3
Question

Will they be able to find out what caused the virus on my iPhone if I take it to the Apple store?

PacmanEater123 :D

Community Answer

No, they won't be able to find out, as long as you followed the instructions on this post correctly.

Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
Thank you for your feedback.
If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
Yes No

Not Helpful 9 Helpful 12

See more answers

Ask a Question

200 characters left

Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

Submit

Tips

Do not unplug your iPhone during the restore process.

Thanks
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
Restoring is currently the only way to remove the iOS 9.3.3 jailbreak.

Thanks
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 1
Cydia Eraser, a common tool used for unjailbreaking devices on previous iOS versions, does not support iOS 9.3.3.

Thanks
Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

Submit a Tip

All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published

Name

Please provide your name and last initial

Submit

Thanks for submitting a tip for review!

Warnings

Using this method will restore your device to its factory settings and installs the latest version of iOS.

Thanks
Helpful 6 Not Helpful 2
Apple does not support devices that have been jailbroken. If you plan on taking your device into the store for repair, you will want to restore it to factory settings.

Thanks
Helpful 5 Not Helpful 3