Your iPhone has a device name that is used when you are trying to connect it to other devices and networks.
This device identification is very important in a lot of situations, and you might encounter problems or confusion if your current device name isn’t descriptive or correct.
Our tutorial continues below with additional information about how to change iPhone name settings.
How to Change the Device Name on an iPhone
- Tap Settings.
- Select General.
- Choose About.
- Tap Name.
- Delete the old name and type a new one.
Our guide below includes more information on this topic, including pictures of these steps.
Your iPhone can identify itself to other phones, computers, and wireless networks. This information can help others who see it determine whether or not your phone should be on a network, or allowed ot connect to a device.
Typically an iPhone name will just be something like “Joe’s iPhone,” as the default naming structure for this data will just pull the device name from your name during the iPhone setup process.
But if you entered an unusual name, or if someone else has changed it at some point, then the current iPhone device name might not be one that you want to keep.
The section below includes steps and pictures to help you find the menu where this setting resides so that you can delete the old name and enter a new iPhone name for your device.
Related: You can read this guide on changing AirPods name as well if you use Apple’s earbuds and want to give them a different name.
How to Give Your iPhone a New Name
The steps in this article were performed on an iPhone 13 in iOS 16. These same steps will work for most other iPhone models, and most other iOS versions.
Step 1: Find the Settings app icon on your Home screen and select it to open the menu.
Step 2: Scroll down and choose the General option.
Step 3: Touch the About button at the top of the menu.
Step 4: Select Name at the top of the screen.
Step 5: Tap the x to delete the current name, then enter the new iPhone name that you would like to use.
Now that you know how to change iPhone name, you will be able to do this on your iPhone and any other iPhone devices that you use in the future, or that you might need to fix for friends, family, or coworkers.
More Information About Changing Names for Your iPhone
The device name appears in a number of different locations on the iPhone, including things like Bluetooth pairing, the Personal Hotspot, for network identification, and more.
If you connect to a network in a professional setting, such as work or school, then you might want to keep that in mind as you are selecting another name.
The screen where you go to change the name of your iPhone includes a lot of other useful information that you might want to know about your iPhone. This includes things like the following:
- iOS version
- Model Name
- Model Number
- Serial Number
- AppleCare Coverage Information
- Number of songs
- Number of videos
- Number of photos
- Number of applications
- Capacity
- Available storage space
- Wi-Fi Address
- Bluetooth
- Firmware version
- IMEI
- and more
Basically, if you need to know something regarding the identification of your device, you can find it on the Settings > General> About menu.
If you have other Apple devices that share the same Apple ID, changing your iPhone name won’t affect those devices. So you will need to follow a similar set of steps of your iPad, MacBook, or iPod Touch if you want to give those devices new names, too.
Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.
His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.