How to Factory Reset iPod Touch

The iPod used to be everywhere. You couldn’t walk down any street without seeing the distinctive white headphones or someone holding their little iPod Touch in their hand while playing their music. With the rise of the smartphone, the iPod has largely gone the same way as the Dodo and is now rarely seen in public. If you still have one and want to know how to reset iPod Touch, this tutorial is for you.

The iPod forever changed the way we listen to music. Just as the Sony Walkman made music portable, the iPod made digital music a part of our everyday lives. For this we owe a debt of gratitude. Smartphones may have taken over and do a very good job of managing all aspects of our lives; There are still many iPods available for everyday use.

There are a couple of reasons why you might want to reset your iPod Touch. It may freeze, stop responding intermittently, or you may want to return it to factory defaults so you can store it or sell it.

A reset can be soft, hard, or include a full factory reset. Each one does something slightly different. A soft reset is like a reboot and is the one we would choose first to fix an unresponsive drive or an iPod Touch that isn’t behaving as it should. A hard reset is for when a soft reset doesn’t work or when iOS isn’t responding at all. Finally, a factory reset is for when you sell or store your iPod Touch.

Soft Reset an iPod Touch

A soft reset is essentially a reset of your iPod Touch. It is the first thing we usually do when troubleshooting the device or an application running on it. A soft reset does not affect any of your files and settings.

1. Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button on the top of the device until the power slider appears.
2. Slide the power off slider on the screen to the right to power off.
3. Once powered off, press the Sleep/Wake button again until the device boots.

From here, try again what was causing the problem and see if it has been fixed. If so, no further action is required. If the iPod Touch is still not working properly, try performing a hard reset.

Hard reset an iPod Touch

A hard reset is for when the iPod Touch really doesn’t respond very well. It could be frozen, stop responding intermittently, or get stuck in an app. A hard reset also does not delete any data or settings.

1. Press and hold the home button and the Sleep/Wake button.
2. Continue to hold them even when the off slider appears.
3. Press and hold the buttons while the screen flashes, goes dark, and then flashes again.
4. Release it once the Apple logo appears.

The iPod Touch should now boot up normally and, with any luck, should work properly. Your music and settings will still be there, but hopefully the device will now work normally.

Factory reset an iPod Touch

A factory reset is what you should do if you sell or get rid of your iPod Touch. It erases all your data and settings and returns them to the state they were in when you first unpacked it. Remember to back up all your music and data on your iPod Touch using iTunes before performing a factory reset.

Factory Reset iPod Touch Using Settings Menu

1. Open your iPod Touch and navigate to the Settings menu.
2. Select General and reset.
3. Select Erase all content and settings.

This will do exactly what it says it will do. It will delete all your settings, any personal data you’ve loaded on your iPod Touch, and all the music on it. Basically, it wipes it and returns it to factory settings, hence the name.

Factory reset iPod Touch using iTunes

You can do this process using iTunes if you prefer. Since you’ll probably be connecting your iPod Touch to iTunes to save your data, you may find it easier to reset at that time.

1. Connect your iPod Touch to your computer using a USB cable.
2. Open iTunes and have it recognize the iPod Touch.
3. Save all the data on your iPod Touch before doing anything else.
4. Select the device and then Summary in the left panel of iTunes.
5. Select Reboot the device from the center and let iTunes do its job. You will need to confirm your choice before you erase the device.

Whichever method you choose, the end result is a brand new iPod Touch that looks and feels like new. Now you can be sure that if you sell it, you won’t be giving anything away with your device!