How to Restore an iPhone from iTunes on PC or Mac

Restore your iPhone in minutes with a few simple clicks

Co-authored by Gonzalo Martinez and Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: December 2, 2024 Tested

• Restoring Your iPhone
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• How Do You Reset Your iPhone?

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This wikiHow teaches you how to restore your iPhone from a backup using iTunes for Windows or macOS.

Resetting iPhone through iTunes: Quick Steps

1. Open iTunes on your computer.
2. Use a USB cable to connect your phone to your computer.
3. Click the phone icon in iTunes to open the Summary screen.
4. Select Restore iPhone.
5. Choose a backup and then click Restore.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 1:

Restoring Your iPhone Using iTunes

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1. 1
   Open iTunes on your computer. It’s in the All Apps section of the Start menu in Windows, and in the Applications folder in macOS.
2. 2
   Connect your iPhone to the computer. Use the USB cable that came with your iPhone or one that is compatible. Once iTunes recognizes that your iPhone is connected, a small iPhone icon will appear at the app’s top-left corner.
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3. 3
   Click the iPhone icon. This opens the Summary screen.
4. 4
   Click Restore iPhone…. It’s near the top-right corner of the right panel.
5. 5
   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 icon once again appear in the top-left corner of iTunes.
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How Do You Reset Your iPhone?

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