How to Reset iPhone 12 (Restart & Hard Reset)

Hold Volume Down and Side until the slider appears

By
Sam Costello
Sam Costello
Sam Costello
Writer
  • Ithaca College
Sam Costello has been writing about tech since 2000. His writing has appeared in publications such as CNN.com, PC World, InfoWord, and many others.
lifewire's editorial guidelines
Updated on September 28, 2022
Reviewed by
Ryan Perian
Ryan Perian headshot
Reviewed by Ryan Perian
  • Western Governors University
Ryan Perian is a certified IT specialist who holds numerous IT certifications and has 12+ years' experience working in the IT industry support and management positions.
lifewire's editorial guidelines

What to Know

  • To restart, first hold Volume Down and the Side button until the slider appears; swipe it to turn off your phone.
  • Then, hold the Side button to start your phone back up.
  • For a hard restart, press Volume Up, Volume Down, and then hold the Side button until your phone restarts.

There are many kinds of problems that can be solved when you reset the iPhone 12. This article explains the major different types of iPhone 12 resets and how to do them.

How to Reset iPhone 12

As mentioned above, "reset" is another term for restarting an iPhone. To reset iPhone 12, follow these steps:

  1. Press the Volume Down button and Side button together.

  2. When the slide to power off slider appears on the screen, let go of the Volume Down and Side buttons.

  3. Slide the slide to power off slider to shut down the iPhone.

  4. Wait about a few seconds for the iPhone to turn off. Once the iPhone is off, wait a few seconds and then press the Side button again. When the Apple logo appears, release the Side button and the iPhone 12 will restart.

How to Hard Reset iPhone 12

Hard reset iPhone 12 when your iPhone won't respond to the standard reset steps or if you need to solve more persistent problems. Here's how:

A hard reset is sometimes also called a force restart.

  1. Press the Volume Up button and release it.

  2. Press the Volume Down button and release it.

  3. Press and hold the Side button (ignore the slide to power off slider). When the Apple logo appears, let go of the Side button. Wait for the iPhone 12 to restart.

How to Reset iPhone 12 Settings

Your iPhone 12 contains all sorts of settings related to Wi-Fi, cellular networks, and connected Bluetooth devices, as well as your preferences and settings for how your iPhone is personalized to you. To solve some problems, you may need to reset those settings.

Reset All Settings on the iPhone 12.

To do that, go to Settings > General > Reset. From that screen, your iPhone 12 reset options are:

  • Reset All Settings: Returns all of your settings to the defaults. It won't erase any apps or data.
  • Erase All Content and Settings: Deletes all of the data on your iPhone. This includes all preferences and settings, and every song, app, photo, movie, or other file on your phone.
  • Reset Network Settings: Returns wireless networking settings to the factory defaults. This includes Bluetooth devices and Wi-Fi passwords.
  • Reset Keyboard Dictionary: Removes any custom spellings and words you've added to your iPhone's dictionary.
  • Reset Home Screen Layout: Undo all of your custom iPhone folders and app layouts you've made so your home screen returns to the default.
  • Reset Location & Privacy: Removes all location and privacy settings so that apps that need to use your GPS location, address book, microphone, or other private data have to ask permission again.

How to Factory Reset iPhone 12

If you want to return your iPhone to its brand-new state, the way it came out of the box, you need to factory reset iPhone 12. You should do this before sending your iPhone in for service or selling your iPhone, or when you need to solve a problem by deleting all of your data and settings. Here's how to factory reset iPhone 12:

The most important thing to do before factory resetting an iPhone 12 is to back up your data. A factory reset erases all data, so it's crucial you back up that data so you don't lose it.

  1. Begin by turning off iCloud and Find My iPhone by going to Settings > [your name] > Sign Out. If you don't do this, your iPhone 12 will be Activation Locked to your Apple ID.

    Signing out of your Apple ID.

  2. Once he signing out is complete, tap < Settings in the top left corner to return to the main Settings screen.

  3. Tap General.

  4. Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Reset.

  5. Tap Erase All Content and Settings.

  6. If prompted, enter your iPhone passcode.

  7. A pop-up window warns you that this step will delete all music, other media, data, and settings. Tap Erase to continue.

    Completely erasing an iPhone 12.

  8. Wait a minute or so for your iPhone to delete everything on it. When your iPhone restarts, it has been reset to factory settings.

FAQ
  • How do I perform a hard reset on my iPhone 12 Pro Max?

    To hard reset an iPhone 12 Pro Max, press and release the Volume Up button > press and release the Volume Down button > press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo appears.

  • How do I turn off my iPhone 12?

    Press and hold the Side button and Volume Up or Volume Down button. Then, at the at the top of the screen, move the Power slider to the right to power off the iPhone 12. 

  • How do I close apps on my iPhone 12?

    To close apps on the iPhone 12, start by swiping up from the bottom of any screen to view all open apps. Then, swipe right and left to find each app you want to close. To close the app, swipe up and off the top of the screen. There is no way to close all apps at once.

Was this page helpful?