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Having trouble with your iPhone SE? Here are all the ways you can reset it

Give your iPhone SE a clean start!
By
November 24, 2023

There are multiple reasons why you might want to reset your iPhone SE. Maybe you’re having some trouble with the UI of your phone, the Wi-Fi isn’t working, or you are stuck on an app without being able to go back to the home screen. Most phones are prone to having random problems, and the iPhone SE has its problems, too.

You could also be selling your iPhone SE, in which case you would want to reset it and erase all your data. For all these scenarios, there are different ways in which you can reset your iPhone SE. These include hard reset/force reset, factory reset, entering recovery mode, or accessing the more advanced DFU mode.

QUICK ANSWER

Reset iPhone SE devices by going to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase all Content and Settings. Enter your PIN and Apple ID Password, then hit Turn Off.


JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS

Backup your phone first

Google iCloud Yahoo more on iPhone 2
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

When you factory reset the iPhone SE, you will lose all your data, such as photos, videos, downloaded content, app settings, and more. To keep this information, you’ll have to store it somewhere else by creating a backup of your phone. You can do this in two ways.

Back up iPhone SE using iCloud

  1. Connect your iPhone SE to Wi-Fi.
  2. Go to Settings > (your name) > iCloud.
  3. Tap on iCloud Backup.
  4. Select Back Up Now.

Back up iPhone SE on your computer

  1. Connect your device to your computer.
  2. Open iTunes.
  3. Trust your computer on your phone and your phone on your computer.
  4. When asked to Sync with iTunes, click Get Started.
  5. If you’ve already set this up, click the Phone icon in the top-left corner.
  6. Under Automatically Back Up, select This Computer.
  7. Under Manually Back Up and Restore, choose Back Up Now.

How to factory reset iPhone SE

iPhone SE ear piece and selfie camera
Ryan Haines / Android Authority

Performing a factory reset on the iPhone SE will restore it to factory settings. It’ll erase all the information from your iPhone, so follow the steps above to back up your device before initiating a factory reset. Once you’re done backing up your phone, you can follow any of the below-mentioned methods to factory reset the iPhone.

Factory reset iPhone SE from the phone settings

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Go into General.
  3. Select Transfer or Reset iPhone near the bottom.
  4. Tap on Erase all Content and Settings to factory reset iPhone SE.
  5. Hit Continue.
  6. Enter your PIN.
  7. Enter your Apple ID Password.
  8. Tap on Turn Off.

Your phone might take a while to reboot once the factory reset is initialized. Once it does, though, it’ll restart as a new phone.

Factory reset iPhone SE with your PC

  1. Connect your device to your computer.
  2. Open iTunes.
  3. Trust your computer on your phone and your phone on your computer.
  4. When asked to Sync with iTunes, hit Get Started.
  5. If you’ve already set this up, hit the Phone icon in the top-left corner.
  6. Select Restore iPhone.
  7. You’ll be asked to turn off Find My before proceeding.
  8. Click Restore again to confirm.

Your computer will now erase your iPhone SE to factory settings and install the latest iOS software on it.

How to hard reset iPhone SE

iPhone SE 2022 review second opinion showing back of the phone in hand
Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority

Hard resetting or force restarting your iPhone SE is a less drastic measure that comes in handy when your phone becomes unresponsive or gets stuck on a screen. It’s also helpful if the UI of your phone becomes jerky and stops working correctly. A hard reset of your iPhone SE will not delete any data from it. It’ll just reboot the phone from scratch. Here’s how you can do it.

  1. Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
  2. Now press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
  3. Press and hold the Power button.
  4. When the Apple logo appears, release the button.

Using the DFU or Recovery mode

2020 MacBook Air review dongle with cables
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

DFU stands for Device Firmware Update. Accessing DFU mode on iPhone SE is a more advanced troubleshooting way and can be used if you’ve managed to brick your phone. With DFU mode, you can restore your iPhone SE’s firmware and operating system. Here’s you you can restart iPhone SE in DFU mode.

  1. Connect your iPhone SE to your computer using the Lightning to USB cable.
  2. Open iTunes on your computer.
  3. Now let’s move to your iPhone SE.
  4. Press and quickly release the Volume Up button.
  5. Now press and quickly release the Volume Down button.
  6. Press and hold the Power button until you see the Apple logo show up. When this happens, continue to hold the side button while also pressing and holding onto the Volume Down button.
  7. On your PC, iTunes will announce a phone in recovery mode has been connected.
  8. Click on Restore.
  9. Hit Restore and Update.
iPhone Recovery Mode 1

FAQs

To perform a soft reset on your iPhone SE, press and hold the Home button and the Power button simultaneously until the Apple logo appears on the screen. Release the buttons and let the device restart.

Yes, you can factory reset an iPhone SE with buttons. Press and hold the Home and Power buttons together until the screen turns off. Release the Power button but continue holding the Home button until iTunes recognizes the device in recovery mode. Select “Restore iPhone” in iTunes to factory reset.

To force a factory reset of your iPhone without a password, put the device into recovery mode. For iPhone SE, connect it to a computer with iTunes installed. Press and hold the Home and Power buttons together until the screen turns off. Release the Power button but hold the Home button until iTunes recognizes the device in recovery mode. Click “Restore iPhone” in iTunes to reset.

To factory reset an iPhone, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset.