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reset iPhone to factory settings without SIM card

I have a iPhone 3GS with no SIM card. I had attempted to wipe the phone of all my data by going into the phoe's General Settings and erasing all my data. I think it was done but cannot be sure.


Is there any way I can reset the phone to factory settings (wiping it clean) through iTunes without its SIM card?

iPhone 3GS

Posted on Nov 28, 2013 12:33 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 28, 2013 12:40 PM

Try to set it up as new device, explained here:

How to back up your data and set up as a new device


You might have to use recovery mode if iTunes does not recognize the phone if plugged in:

iOS: Unable to update or restore

23 replies

Nov 28, 2013 12:52 PM in response to Ingo2711

Sorry but this is way out of my league.


I can't reset to factory settings through iTunes without its SIM card.


The phone is not worth much. Perhaps a hammer will solve the problem. Pity though, the phone could help someone as I no longer need or want it. Tragic...........


Thanks for trying to help me. Appreciated.

Dec 11, 2013 5:50 PM in response to kevvyc

There should be no problems other than the inconvenience of having to restore your iPhone to factory settings.


Except for one factor - contacts, calendar, notes, photos in the camera roll. You need to copy all of these to your computer or you will lose them. The easiest way is to sync these with apps on your computer such as MS Outlook or iCal and Address Book on a Mac. Photos are copied the same way you would with any digital camera.


The alternative is a 3rd party app that can copy files from an iPhone to your computer. iOS Data Recovery software is probably the best. It is not free, but has gotten positive reviews.


NOTE: I have no connection with the developers, and don't even own it.

Read more here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414

Sep 8, 2014 6:03 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

Yes you are right ,it was misleading yet when I post an true experience with my iPhone the Carrier blocking and locking my WiFi I was warned by Apple that I could be banned from this site. in Japan we can not use our iPhone as an iPod after contract the carrier SoftBank JP provisioned my iPhone Network so I could not use WiFi for 4 years,they broke it too.

Sep 8, 2014 6:43 AM in response to sheffi

sheffi wrote:


Yes you are right ,it was misleading yet when I post an true experience with my iPhone the Carrier blocking and locking my WiFi I was warned by Apple that I could be banned from this site. in Japan we can not use our iPhone as an iPod after contract the carrier SoftBank JP provisioned my iPhone Network so I could not use WiFi for 4 years,they broke it too.

Your post has nothing to do with this issue of the thread. Also, why are you posting on a thread that is almost nine months old? You're bumping a thread for no good reason.

Nov 11, 2015 5:49 PM in response to mjmechanic

You cannot activate an iPhone without a sim. The sim does not have to be

associated with an active cellular account; however, if the iPhone is locked to a

particular wireless provider, the sim must be from that wireless provider.


Borrow an appropriate sim from a friend/relative/co-worker for the few minutes

it will take to activate the iPhone. You will need a sim whenever you restore

the iPhone or update the iOS version.

Dec 4, 2015 6:31 PM in response to kevvyc

Yes you can do this from the phone itself you just have to turn on your wifi and connect to the internet. The open Settings > General > reset (at the bottom) >Erase all content and Settings. It will ask you to verify this choice a couple times then you have to sign in to your apple account. You will know for sure that it has been wiped when that original screen comes up that was there when you first opened the phone ("Hello" "Hola" "Ciao ....).


Hope this helps 😀

Dec 14, 2015 9:41 AM in response to kevvyc

I have an iphone 4 that I got on a contract with AT&T (locked). The contract is now over. I have submitted unlock request with AT&T which has been accepted. When I tried to factory reset the iphone (without the simcard in phone), it got stuck in recovery mode. How can I now restore the iphone from recovery mode? I don't mind losing the data. I have the original AT&T simcard that came with it but that account is no longer active. Do I restore the iphone first and then unlock it or unlock first and then restore it?


Any help/advice is appreciated. Thanks.

reset iPhone to factory settings without SIM card

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