Total erasing time for an iPhone depends on factors like which iPhone model you’re using, device performance, iOS version, amount of data stored in the device, and specific erasing method.
You can erase your iPhone with the below methods. However, the erasure time varies with each method.
- Erase via Settings
- Erase via iTunes
- Erase via find my iPhone
- Erase via iPhone Eraser Tool
This blog will discuss all the methods we have tested to erase an iPhone and the respective time taken. But before that, let’s understand what causes you to need to erase an iPhone.
Why do you need to Erase an iPhone?
When you are selling your old iPhone, exchanging it for a new iPhone, or giving it away, you must wipe erase the iPhone device without fail. Erasing an iPhone prepares the device for a new user, and also helps you to secure your personal data from unauthorized access.
Deleting your files only removes them from the iPhone device, and they can be recovered with the help of various hacks and iPhone data recovery tools. So to make your data completely inaccessible, you need to erase it and make it irrecoverable.
Here are some of the benefits of erasing your iPhone:
- Cleans your iPhone device space to eliminate storage issues or any software problems.
- Deletes all your accounts, apps, and other information, to secure your privacy.
- Removes any data, including photos, videos, audio, etc., from the device so no one can access them.
- Helps improve performance by clearing unnecessary caches and other data.
How Long Does it take to Erase your iPhone via all Methods?
To find an answer to the time taken to erase an iPhone, we erased 4 different iPhone with 4 separate methods. This helped us to determine the fastest, easiest, and most effective method.
But before erasing any iPhone device, make sure to backup your iPhone data to iCloud or any third-party cloud source. You can also create a manual backup with Finder, or manually backup to an external device, this will help you to avoid data loss.
Method 1: Erase via Settings
The simplest and the most common method of erasing an iPhone is via settings. It works great when you have the device with you and it performs smoothly. Just follow the below steps:
- Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Then tap on Erase all Contents and Settings.
- Now enter your Passcode and tap on Confirm.
- Wait for the data erasure to complete.
The iPhone device we erased had 81.85 GB of data; it took 38 minutes to erase the phone completely. This method might not work if the device faces some technical glitches or OS-related issues.
Method 2: Erase via iTunes
Another method to erase your iPhone is via iTunes. However, this method is a bit time- consuming, and before you can start erasing your iPhone device, you need to go through a complex process of connecting your device to iTunes.
Although iTunes can erase your iPhone but, it is only step one of the restoration process. So, a separate module to erase your iPhone data is not available with iTunes.
- Connect your iPhone to a computer with iTunes via USB cable.
- Login to your iTunes account with Apple ID.
- Click on your Device icon and tap on Reset device to start the erasing process.
This method is helpful if your device is not functioning properly, and you cannot access the settings or face any other OS issues. Deleting an iPhone with 30GB data took around 35 minutes.
Method 3: Erase via Find My
Apple’s “Find My” service “offers a remote feature to delete any iPhone connected to your account. This feature is useful when you want to erase your iPhone remotely because you have lost the device. You can access Find My through the Find My application or via iCloud.
This feature helps you detect the exact location of your missing Android device. As a security measure, it also allows you to delete your registered iPhone remotely to prevent your data from being easily accessed.
So, if your iPhone is lost, you can install the Find My app on any other iPhone or visit iCloud.com and head to the Find My section. Log in to the app with your Apple credentials, and you will be able to detect and erase your lost iPhone. This service requires internet connectivity and GPS to run the services remotely.
- Locate the Find My App on your iPhone or any other iPhone.
- Go to the Devices section and tap on the device you want to erase from the connected devices list.
(Note: The Device section in Find My app will only display the already connected devices)
- On the next page, scroll to the end to find the Erase This Device option.
- Tap on it and click Continue to start erasing the device remotely.
Find My can only delete a device remotely if it can detect the device’s location or access the device remotely. If you are using the Erase My Device feature on the same device, it takes a little less time. We deleted an iPhone with 55GB of data in 32 minutes.
Method 4: Erase iPhone with Stellar iPhone Eraser
The most advanced way to erase an iPhone is using Stellar Eraser for iPhone. But you may wonder why an external tool is required to erase iPhone when there are so many provisions available for erasure. The advantage of this tool is, that it allows you to securely erase your iPhone device beyond recovery. Apart from deleting and erasing every bit of your iPhone data, Stellar Eraser for iPhone takes added measures to make your data completely irrecoverable. Here’s how to use the software.
- Download and install the Stellar Eraser for iPhone software on your computer.
- Connect the iPhone to your computer and tap on Trust to establish the connection.
- Select your device and click on the Erase button.
- If prompted, enter your Apple ID and passcode on your iPhone.
- Wait for a few minutes until your device data is completely erased. The total time required to delete an iPhone will be displayed on the screen.
- Once data is completely erased, a pop up “All data in the device successfully erased” will display.
- Click OK to exit the setup.
This is the simplest, safest, and fastest method of erasing an iPhone, considering it also rewrites dummy data multiple times to make it irrecoverable. The Stellar Eraser for iPhone software took 28 minutes to erase an iPhone with 256GB data storage.
Remember, once you use this tool to erase an iPhone, you cannot recover your data even with advanced iPhone Data recovery software. You need to ensure your data is properly backed up to a source before erasing your device.
Final Words:
In our observation it takes around 25 minutes to an hour to completely erase an iPhone device. But, this depends on the amount of data stored in it and the device performance. However, what’s more important while deleting or erasing an iPhone is to ensure the data is permanently deleted and remains unrecoverable.
Hence, you must always choose an effective method to erase your iPhone, such as using Stellar Eraser for iPhone, that securely wipes your personal data, including photos, videos, audio, contacts, etc., making it impossible to be recovered.
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