How to Restore an iPhone Without iTunes
This article is about restoring an iPhone without iTunes. You can use iCloud to restore your iPhone if you don’t have iTunes. The information in this article is applicable to iPhones with iOS 10.3 or later.
How to restore your iPhone when you don’t have iTunes
Most iPhone users, whenever they have to change their phones, backup and restore phones by connecting their phones to iTunes and saving their data to the computer’s hard drive.
But if you do not have iTunes, then you need another method to backup and restore your devices. Backing up and restoring through iCloud is another method that you can use to restore your iPhone.
You can follow the below steps to restore your iPhone through iCloud.
- Open settings on your iPhone.
- Tap on Your name that appears at the top of the screen.
- Select iCloud.
- Next, tap on iCloud Backup.
- On the next screen that appears, check if the toggle next to iCloud backup is green. If not, tap on it to turn it on.
- Then, tap on Backup Now.
- The iPhone will start making a backup of your data on the Phone. The data will be stored in your iCloud account.
- Among the many reasons why someone wants to reset their phone, one of the major problems is a software issue that simply restarting won’t fix.
Formatting your phone
- Whatever the reason, if you want to reset your phone to factory settings, go to Settings on your phone and tap General.
- Scroll down to the bottom of the screen and tap on Reset.
- Next, tap on Reset all content and settings.
| This will delete all the data in your phone and return it to the condition that was in when you first bought your phone. |
- A window will be shown asking whether you want to update your iCloud backup before erasing your phone. You don’t have to do it as you just backed up your data. Just tap on Erase now.
- Your iPhone will start formatting your data. Once it is complete, the phone will restart prompting the initial setup process.
- Sign in with your Apple ID when you are prompted.
Restoring your data
- iOS will ask you how you want to do the setting up of your phone. After you reach The Apps & Data screen, tap on Restore from iCloud backup.
- If you have stored several backups in your iCloud, it will show you the list of the available options. Among them choose the most recent file.
- Your phone will start copying data from the backup.
| You can use your phone while the process is continuing in the background. But depending on how much downloaded, you may not have full access to your apps and information. |
Why not use iTunes?
One of the reasons that you cannot use the iPhone is that iTunes will not be in Apple’s operating system forever. macOS 10.15, no longer have the iTunes app in the Apple operating system. So, once you upgrade to the latest operating systems, syncing, backing up and restoring data through iTunes won’t be an option.
Why should you use iCloud?
Backing up and restoring an iPhone has made easy with the rise of the Apple cloud’s storage service, iCloud. It not only backups up data, but also gives access to functions like photos, calendars and contacts on any device with the same Apple ID.
iCloud also makes it possible to access the information that you are keeping online wherever you are. If you are in need to reset your phone and if you are away from your computer, iCloud gives you an easy way to reset your phone immediately without waiting until you can connect to iTunes again.
So, in this way you can use iCloud instead of iTunes to backup and restore your data on your iPhone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I restore my phone if I do not have iTunes?
Yes. You can use other backup methods including iCloud to back up and restore your data.
Can you restore an iPhone without using a computer?
If you can’t access a computer and your device still works, then you can erase and restore your device without a computer.
How do I factory reset my iPhone with just the buttons?
Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons simultaneously for at least 10 seconds, or until the Apple logo appears. After the Apple logo appears, release both buttons.
Read more-How to backup contacts to iPhone SIM
