Erase All Content & Settings

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Level 1

17 points

Erase All Content & Settings

So I recently visited the genius bar due to my device being a bit buggy, and the technician noticed that under General -> iPhone Storage, the "Other" category was a bit large for it being a new phone. The technician suggested that the bugs I was noticing were not any cause for concern, but that if I wanted to be sure, to backup my phone, erase all content and settings, and then restore my phone from that backup.

On a sidenote, after running the diagnostics on my phone, the technician noticed that under "Last Erase Date" and "Last Restore Date" were days back in May of this year, 2019. I purchased this phone on July 22nd, 2019, so I have no idea why it was saying that. They asked if I had started the phone as a brand new phone or used a previous backup, and I said that I started as new. Was weird that those dates were listed, but anyway.

So, I decided to just go ahead and do the backup, erase, and restore just to be safe.

I backed up my phone one last time, and then wiped it. After wiping it, I logged in with my AppleId and restored from the backup I had just created.

After the restore finished, I noticed that the "Other" was still taking up a similar amount of space.

So my question is, there probably wasn't anything funky going on with that "Other" category to begin with was there?

Or by restoring from that backup, is there anyway for it to maybe bring back some buggy data? I thought the "Erase All Content & Settings" was supposed to make the device a clean slate. Am I safe to restore from a backup after doing the erase?

iPhone XS

Posted on Aug 6, 2019 8:37 PM

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Answer 1

Demo

Level 10

167,293 points

Aug 7, 2019 10:40 AM in response to Thrilliam

Erasing the device, allows you to start with a clean slate but restoring the backup, might be causing the issue. There may have been something weird going on in the backup causing the other data to be bloated or lager than it would be. The best way that I have found to deal with this is to sync with iTunes. Many times, that will reduce that other storage. I know many people these days have gone totally “PC free” but I am old school and feel that there are still advantages to syncing and backing up with iTunes.

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Answer 2

razmee209

Level 10

201,144 points

Aug 7, 2019 10:21 AM in response to Thrilliam

IF you restore as new - your other files shouldn't be big, unless data you sync causes it.

Restoring from backup brings back everything.

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Answer 3

Demo

Level 10

167,293 points

Aug 7, 2019 1:54 PM in response to Thrilliam

I wouldn’t get too hung up on the amount of other storage unless it is huge. That may come and go as you add or delete content.

Restoring the device will not hurt it at all. I knew people that would restore their devices twice a years just to clear out the cobwebs. That’s overkill IMHO, but restoring does not hurt the phone.

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Answer 4

Thrilliam Author

Level 1

17 points

Aug 7, 2019 1:48 PM in response to Demo

Hey, so I went ahead and did the iTunes restore as I was reading that you actually get a clean copy of iOS with that method over the "Erase All Content & Settings" option.

After doing that, I did NOT restore from backup, and just started the phone as new.

The "Other" category in storage seems to be relatively the same, after reinstalling all the apps that I previously had. So I am guessing that it is not an issue with iOS and is maybe just due to the number of apps I have installed and their data.

One other question I have is, can doing a restore damage the phone physically in any way?

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Answer 5

Demo

Level 10

167,293 points

Aug 8, 2019 2:27 AM in response to Thrilliam

You should be able to see the last backup on the phone even if you restored the phone as new. The last backup, is still the last backup and has nothing to do with the fact that you restored the phone. I would be more concerned if I thought that I had a backup and couldn’t find it.

What you are seeing is normal.

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Answer 6

Thrilliam Author

Level 1

17 points

Aug 7, 2019 2:31 PM in response to Demo

Ah I see. Thanks for clearing that up. The technician yesterday got me a little paranoid when they pointed out the other storage and said that it could potentially be an issue. Made me worried that something was wrong with iOS.

Although I am still not sure why my Last Backup and Last Erase dates were before I had even gotten the phone. That was strange to me, especially since I started the phone as new when I got it and did not restore from any backups.

Edit: I actually noticed some apps were not reinstalled with this restore, that were there on the phone when I first got it. The "Clips" app and "Apple Store" app. Don't know if that indicates anything.

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Answer 7

Demo

Level 10

167,293 points

Aug 7, 2019 4:14 PM in response to Thrilliam

It’s not uncommon for all of the apps to not reinstall when you restore the backup. It happens more than you think. Just go to the Purchased section of the App Store and download those apps on your own.

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Answer 8

Thrilliam Author

Level 1

17 points

Aug 7, 2019 6:52 PM in response to Demo

Ah got it. Alright, thanks again for the help.

I actually have one last question if that's alright. So I am FAIRLY certain that I setup the phone as new after restoring, but I noticed that under my iCloud settings, it is still showing my last successful backup from this morning, before I had done the restore.

Is that just because after logging in with my AppleId, iCloud shows the latest backup, regardless of whether the phone was setup as new or restored from backup?

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