How To Clear Iphone 3gs Before Selling

Is your Apple iPhone 3GS Stuck at the Lock screen and you want to bypass it with the hard restore? Do you want to sell your iPhone and want to know how to factory reset your iPhone 3GS and erase all data? You will learn how to do all these and the difference in this tutorial.

Phone Name : iPhone 3GS

When Your iPhone 3GS doesn't turn on or is it stuck during boot, then we can do a soft reset or Factory reset.

Force Restart or Hard Reset or Force Reboot all refer to hard reset procedure. This doesn't erase your data on your iPhone 3GS.

But doing a factory reset of iPhone 3GS is different and needs iTunes connection and will erase all your data.

Then this tutorial shows you all the methods to Reset your iPhone 3GS.

How To Hard Reset iPhone 3GS

A hard reset or force restart on iPhone 3GS will restart your device and refresh the software. You can do this when your iPhone is stuck in an app. This hard reset procedure on iPhones won't delete your files.

Hard Reset iPhone 3GS Using Hardware Buttons

To do a hard reset or force restart on your iPhone 3GS press the Sleep/Wake/Power button + Home Button at the same time and hold it for a few seconds.
Release all buttons when you see the Apple logo on your iPhone 3GS.
Now your iPhone 3GS will restart and the hard reboot will be done that cleans up your memory and restarts the iOS software.
Now your iPhone will start and you can use it will all your apps still being present on your device.

How To Factory Reset iPhone 3GS

A factory reset on iPhone 3GS will restore your iPhone to the factory settings and It will erase all the installed apps and all your data including your photos. So be sure that you back up the data you wanted.

Also, make sure you have your Apple id and password if you have your iPhone 3GS linked to an apple id because it will show Activation lock once the factory reset is done. Or you can remove the apple id on your phone before doing the factory reset.

Download the iTunes software on your PC or Mac.
Plug your iPhone 3GS with the PC or Mac and open the iTunes software. It will now be detected on the iTunes software.
Now click on the Home button and Lock button for 7 to 8 seconds.
And or when you see the apple logo release the lock button and continue to hold the home button.
Leave the home button once you see the Computer Icon along with lightning cable.
Now your iPhone 3GS is in recovery mode or DFU mode.
On the iTunes software, a popup will show and ask you to either Restore or Update. You can update the iPhone with the latest software or do a Restore.
When you click on restore it will restore the iOS software or backup you already have. It will also download and update to the latest iOS when you don't have the latest software. Or iTunes will only restore your iPhone 3GS when you already have the latest iOS release on your iPhone.
Now the restore will be done and all your data will be deleted.
Now if you didn't remove the apple id you will be shown activation lock on the iTunes software. Enter your Apple id and password to unlock your iPhone 3GS.
You will be taken to the setup process once again like its a new iPhone setup.

How to hard reset iPhone 3GS to factory settings?

To restore your iPhone 3GS to factory settings and erase all your data connect to iTunes and follow the hard reset procedure.

How to do a Factory Reset on iPhone 3GS?

To do a factory reset on your iPhone 3GS you need to connect to iTunes and follow the factory reset procedure to restore your device with the latest iOS software. This will erase all your data.

How to reset iPhone 3GS without a password?

Resetting an iPhone 3GS without a password involves the use of iTunes in your synced computer.

How to factory reset iPhone 3GS without Home Button?

You can factory reset an iPhone 3GS without a home button by going to Settings > General > Reset option. And click on erase all content and reset. Your content will be erased and it will be reset to its original settings.

When to do a Hard Reset on iPhone 3GS?

When your iPhone 3GS no longer starts or when it is stuck and cannot be used, a hard reset or factory reset can be done to restore the phone to its original software settings.

iPhone 3GS Specifications

Your iPhone 3GS has null processor with PowerVR SGX535 and 256MB RAM. Your phone supports iOS 3, upgradable to iOS 6.1.6 Operating System.

I hope this article was helpful in doing a hard reset or a factory reset on your Apple iPhone 3GS. If you had any problems with resetting your iPhone do comment below we will help you out.

Also, don't forget to share our article on social media if you found it helpful.

About The Author: Navaneethan is a fulltime technical writer who writes how-to tutorials in an easy step by step way. He has good technical knowledge of using Windows OS for 5 years and how to fix errors.