Resetting your
pre-owned iPhone
This course is for anyone who has been given a pre-owned iPhone. This step-by-step guide shows you how to delete the previous owner’s settings so you can safely set up your iPhone for your own use.
If you have a brand-new iPhone, you can skip this course and move on to the Setting up your new iPhone course.
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Transcript
Welcome to the '' course. In this course, we'll show you how to reset a pre-owned iPhone that might have been given to you by a family member or friend. A reset wipes the phone's memory so it thinks it's a brand new phone, ready for you to make your own. The steps in the video will also come in handy if you plan to pass your iPhone onto someone else in the future. If you plan to pass on your iPhone to someone else permanently in the future, you should first reset it. This will protect your security and privacy. If your iPhone has a physical Home button, some of the steps might be slightly different, but you can still follow along.
Let's get started. When a phone is switched on, but shows a black screen, we say the phone is Asleep. To wake it up, press the power button. If your phone displays a Hello screen it is already prepared for setting up and you can exit this demonstration and go to the next course, called, 'Setting up your new iPhone'. If your iPhone displays a Lock screen, however you will need to reset it. Keep watching to learn how to do that, step-by-step. To open the Lock screen, you need the passcode of the previous owner. Of course you shouldn't share passcodes with others, so ask your phone's previous owner to enter their passcode onto the Lock screen for you. When it is fully reset, their passcode will be erased and you will be able to create your own passcode to keep the phone and your information secure. Once you have unlocked the phone, you will see what is known as the Home screen.
Find the phone's Settings app and tap on it. Scroll down the list of options and tap General. Scroll down, almost to the bottom of the list of options, and tap Transfer or Reset iPhone. If the previous owner wants to transfer the content of the phone to a new iPhone, they can start preparing that here. In this example, we'll scroll down to the bottom of the screen and choose the second option, Erase All Content and Settings. Here you will see all the Apps, Data, Settings and Accounts that will be removed from the iPhone. Tap Continue.
Next, you need to ask the previous owner to enter their passcode again. If the previous owner has any data that needs to be saved to their iCloud, you will need to wait for the phone to finish uploading. In this example, we will tap Skip Backup. Now we need to remove the previous owner's Apple ID from this iPhone. An Apple ID is the username for an account that lets you access Apple services. The previous owner will have used their Apple ID to download apps, back-up photos, and secure their personal details. An Apple ID is protected by a password, which is different to the passcode that unlocks the iPhone. Ask them to enter their Apple ID password here. Once the previous owner's Apple ID password has been entered, tap Turn Off in the top right corner. This will delete the previous owner's Apple account from the phone, so it's safe to use. You can now tap Erase iPhone.
The phone will restart and show the Apple symbol. This part will take a few minutes. When the reset has finished the iPhone will show the Hello screen. This means your pre-owned iPhone is prepared for setup. If you are unsure about any steps, you can rewind the video. Otherwise you can begin the next course, 'Setting up your new iPhone' to complete the setup process. You'll find this and many other great courses on Be Connected.