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    How to Erase Your iPhone Before Selling or Giving It Away

    Before you hand off your old iPhone, wipe it completely so the new owner cannot access your photos, passwords, or accounts. This guide walks you through every step.

    4 min read 5 stepsApril 19, 2026Verified April 2026
    1

    Back Up Your iPhone First

    ~24s
    Before doing anything else, back up your iPhone so you do not lose your data. Go to Settings → [your name] → iCloud → iCloud BackupBack Up Now. Wait for the backup to finish. Alternatively, connect to your computer and back up through Finder or iTunes.

    Quick Tip

    Quick Tip: Make sure your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi and plugged into power during the backup — large backups can take a while.

    2

    Sign Out of Apple ID

    ~28s
    Go to Settings → tap your name at the top. Scroll to the very bottom and tap "Sign Out." Enter your Apple ID password when asked. Choose whether to keep a copy of iCloud data (like contacts and calendars) on the phone — for a wipe you can choose to turn these off. Tap "Sign Out" again to confirm.

    Warning

    Signing out of your Apple ID also removes Apple Pay cards and disables Find My iPhone on this device. Make sure your backup is complete before doing this.

    3

    Erase All Content and Settings

    ~18s
    Go to SettingsGeneralTransfer or Reset iPhoneErase All Content and Settings. On some older iOS versions, look for SettingsGeneralResetErase All Content and Settings. Enter your iPhone passcode if asked, then confirm you want to erase. The phone restarts and shows the setup screen.
    4

    Confirm Activation Lock Is Off

    ~17s
    After the erase completes, the phone shows the "Hello" setup screen. This means it is clean and ready for a new owner. To double-check that Activation Lock was removed: go to icloud.com/find on any browser, sign in, click All Devices, and make sure your old phone no longer appears there.
    5

    Pack It Up for the New Owner

    ~18s
    The erased iPhone is ready to be sold, traded in, or given away. If you have the original box, charging cable, or accessories, include them. Remove any cases, screen protectors, or SIM card trays that belong to you. A factory-reset iPhone with original accessories fetches a higher resale price.

    You Did It!

    You've completed: How to Erase Your iPhone Before Selling or Giving It Away

    Need more help? Get Expert Help from a TekSure Tech

    Before selling, trading in, or giving your old iPhone to someone else, you must erase all your personal data. This includes your photos, messages, emails, contacts, passwords, Apple Pay cards, and any app accounts. If you skip this step, the next person who picks up the phone could see everything.

    The proper erasure process has two parts: signing out of your Apple ID (which removes iCloud, Apple Pay, and Find My iPhone) and then performing a factory reset (which wipes all data and returns the phone to the same state it was in when you first took it out of the box).

    Before you erase, make a backup. Use iCloud (Settings → [your name] → iCloud → iCloud Backup → Back Up Now) or connect to a computer and back up through Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows). This lets you restore all your data to your new phone.

    After erasing, the phone will ask whoever sets it up to enter an Apple ID and password during Activation Lock — but only if it was linked to your account. Once you sign out of your Apple ID, Activation Lock is removed and the new owner can set it up fresh.

    This process takes about 10–15 minutes total. The actual erase can take anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour depending on how much data is on the phone.

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    Official Resources

    Apple Support — iPhoneGoogle Help — AndroidSamsung Support

    Sources used to create and verify this guide. View all sources →

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    How to Erase Your iPhone Before Selling or Giving It Away — Step-by-Step Guide | TekSure