What to do before selling or trading in your iPhone

Why the order matters

Apple's own checklist warns that signing out of iCloud or deleting things by hand can also remove data from iCloud and from your other devices. That's why the backup comes first and the erase comes near the end. The other risk runs the opposite way: if the phone leaves your hands still tied to your Apple Account, Activation Lock can stop the buyer from setting it up, and you end up chasing a stranger to fix it.

The steps below follow Apple's support article for iOS, with notes on what each one does for your privacy.

Step 1: Back up, then confirm it finished

1. Connect to Wi-Fi.
2. Open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud > iCloud Backup.
3. Tap Back Up Now and stay on Wi-Fi until it completes.
4. Check the line under Back Up Now: it shows the date and time of the last successful backup. If it isn't today, the backup didn't finish.

If iCloud says you're out of space, you'll need to free some up or buy more before the backup will run. A computer backup (Finder or iTunes) is the other option.

Step 2: Move your data to the new phone

On iOS 11 or later, Quick Start copies your data straight to a new iPhone held next to the old one. If your phone number is changing, Apple suggests adding an extra trusted phone number to your Apple Account first, so you don't lose access to two-factor codes in the middle of the switch.

Step 3: Make sure app-protected files will survive

This is the step Apple's checklist can't cover, because it depends on your apps. A normal iPhone backup restores most apps, but apps that encrypt data with their own key usually need that key on the new phone too. Before you erase anything, open each of these and check how it restores:

• Authenticator apps for two-factor codes. Losing them can lock you out of other accounts.
• Password managers: confirm you know the master password and can sign in on the new phone.
• Photo and file vaults: find out where the vault's backup lives and what you need to open it.
• Messaging apps with their own chat backups.

As an example, Hushkeeper keeps an encrypted backup in your private iCloud (it's free and on by default), and the only way to open that backup on another device is your recovery phrase. So the check is simple: confirm the backup is on, and confirm you have the phrase written down. Without the phrase and your pattern, nobody can recover the files, including us. Hushkeeper is coming soon to the App Store; the same "where is the key?" question applies to whichever vault you use today.

Step 4: Check for an unfinished repair

Look at Parts and Service History in Settings. If a part shows Finish Repair, complete it first: Apple won't accept a trade-in with an unfinished repair. If your phone was recently in a shop, our repair privacy checklist covers what to check when it came back.

Step 5: Unpair, cancel and sign out

1. Apple Watch. If one is paired with this iPhone, unpair it first (Apple has a separate guide for this).
2. AppleCare. Cancel the plan or transfer it to the new owner.
3. Sign out of your Apple Account. Go to Settings, tap your name, scroll down and tap Sign Out. On iOS 26 and later you're asked whether to erase the device or sign out without erasing. On iOS 18 and earlier you enter your Apple Account password and tap Turn Off.
4. Leaving iPhone for Android? Deregister iMessage before you erase the phone.

Step 6: Erase the iPhone (and the eSIM)

1. Open Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.
2. Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
3. Enter your passcode if asked, then tap Erase iPhone.
4. If you're asked whether to erase the eSIM as well, choose to erase both. To hand the line to the new owner instead, talk to your carrier.

According to Apple, erasing removes your photos, contacts, music, apps and Apple Pay cards from the phone, and turns off Find My and Activation Lock. It does not delete what's stored in iCloud: your iCloud Photos and backups stay in your account. That's what you want when you're switching phones, but it also means old backups and synced photos keep existing after the phone is gone. Our guide on how private iCloud Photos really is explains who can read them.

Step 7: Remove the phone from your Apple Account

1. On your new iPhone, open Settings, tap your name and scroll to the device list.
2. Tap the old iPhone, then Remove from Account, and confirm.

You can do the same at account.apple.com under Devices. A removed device stops receiving two-factor codes and loses access to iCloud and Find My. If it was still signed in, it can reappear the next time it goes online, which is another reason to sign out before erasing.

If the phone is already gone

Changing your password doesn't wipe the old phone, but it stops whoever has it from deleting your data in iCloud.

Trading in at an Apple Store?

• Know your Apple Account password, or reset it before you go.
• If Stolen Device Protection is on, changing your password at the store may involve a one-hour security delay.

Don't leak data in the sale listing

Photos of the phone you post on a marketplace can carry the location where you took them. Run them through our free metadata remover before uploading, and blur anything on screen or on a receipt that you don't want public with the blur tool. Both run in your browser; nothing is uploaded.

Quick checklist

1. Back up and check today's date under Back Up Now.
2. Transfer to the new phone with Quick Start.
3. Confirm vaults, authenticators and password managers restore on the new phone.
4. Check Parts and Service History for Finish Repair.
5. Unpair Apple Watch, sort out AppleCare, sign out of your Apple Account.
6. Deregister iMessage if you're moving to Android.
7. Erase All Content and Settings, including the eSIM.
8. Remove the old iPhone from your Apple Account device list.

If you're also cleaning up what stays in iCloud, read how to permanently delete photos from iPhone.

Sources

• Apple Support: What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone or iPad
• Apple Support: How to back up your iPhone or iPad with iCloud
• Apple Support: Check your Apple Account device list
• Apple Support: Unpair and erase your Apple Watch