Many users of Apple products prefer to sell their old device when buying a new one in order to save a little and not have a whole pile of boxes with iPhones 4s, 5s, 6s, and others at home. It is very important to “clean” your iPhone before selling it - completely erase all personal information from it. Let's figure out what needs to be done for this.

How to clean your iPhone before selling it

Before you sell, transfer, or trade-in your iPhone, let’s start deleting your personal data. But don't erase them right away while your device is signed in to iCloud with your Apple ID. Because of this, the information will be deleted on all devices with this account.

What is the best way to proceed?

Please note that if you perform these steps, the ability to lock activation using the Find My iPhone feature will be disabled.

How to clean an iPhone after sale

If for some reason you forgot to perform these steps to clean your iPhone, or simply did not know about their necessity and sold the gadget, then there are several useful actions in this situation:

1. Ask the new owner to erase your data and settings by following the steps in the first section.
2. If your device uses iCloud and Find My iPhone, sign in to your account on another device in Find My iPhone or at iCloud.com (for example, if you're signing in on a computer). Select the desired device from the list and select the “Erase” and then “Remove from account” functions.
3. If you can't complete these steps, change your Apple ID password. Information from the iPhone will not be deleted, but the new owner will not be able to damage its copies in iCloud.
4. If you no longer plan to use any other Apple phones, unenroll from iMessage.
5. If you use Apple Pay, clear your device data by using iCloud.com to clear your credit and debit card information. Select "Settings", find the device you need. And click “Delete” next to the Apple Pay feature.

If you have problems with these actions, you can always call our technician for help (in Moscow and the region), at the same time ordering diagnostics of the device, which can also be useful before selling.

So, the day has come - you're selling your old iPhone. But before you give your smartphone to another person, it would be a good idea to delete all important data from it! This article will help you not to forget anything important.

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If necessary, back up your iPhone data to iCloud or iTunes on your computer

It will only take a few minutes, but it will save you many hours when setting up a new iPhone, because in this case, transferring data from the old device to the new one will only require a couple of clicks. At the same time, it is worth understanding the difference between backup and iCloud synchronization. For example, I actively use the latter and therefore never make backups, but set up the device “like new” every time.

To do this, open Settings → Messages → iMessage → Send/Receive, click on your Apple ID (e-mail) and in the window that appears, select Go out.

To do this, open Settings → FaceTime, click on your Apple ID (e-mail) and in the window that appears, select Go out.

Sign out of iCloud and Apple Stores

To do this, open Settings– click your name at the very top. On the page that opens, scroll down to the bottom, then click on the red inscription Go out.

Select an option Sign out of iCloud and Store.

If you are planning to sell your iPhone, it is advisable to prepare it for sale. We need to prepare the iPhone externally and programmatically for the next owner. It is very important to save all data and other important information before selling your iPhone. Our collection of tips will help you prepare your iPhone for sale.

Make a backup

Before you take any steps to prepare your iPhone, you should first back up your data. They can then be restored when purchasing a new iPhone.

1. Connect iPhone to computer
2. Open iTunes
3. Click on the iPhone icon that appears
4. Click “Create a copy now”

It's worth waiting a few minutes for iTunes to back up your iPhone. When you buy a new iPhone, you can restore all your data in a few clicks.

If you don't have your computer nearby or don't want to use it, you can back up your iPhone to iCloud.

1. Open the Settings app
2. Go to the iCloud section
3. Click on “Backup”
4. Enable the creation of backups and click on the “Create backup” button

Disable Apple services

In order to eliminate problems with the operation of iMessage, FaceTime and other Apple services on the iPhone, it is worth disabling them before selling them.

1. Open “Messages”
2. Pull the lever in the iMessage line to turn off

1. Return to the main menu of the Settings app
2. Open “FaceTime”
3. Pull the lever in the FaceTime bar to turn off

Sign out of iCloud

This is a very important point, because if you do not sign out of iCloud, the next owner of the iPhone will not be able to use the device.

1. Go to the Settings app
2. Open “iCloud”
3. Scroll to the very bottom of the list and click “Exit”.

Reset all your data

After we have backed up all our data, disabled Apple services and signed out of iCloud, we can do a hard reset of the iPhone.
Attention: All data on your iPhone will be deleted, so make sure you have a backup of it.

1. Go to the Settings app
2. Open “General”
3. Scroll to the very bottom of the list and click “Reset”
4. Select “Erase content and settings”

Clean your iPhone

To sell, the iPhone must be clean not only in software, but also in appearance. Agree that the buyer who comes to pick up the long-awaited iPhone will not be very happy about the stained screen, dust and dirt. Gently wipe your iPhone from all sides. Clean it from streaks and stains. Blow out all the connectors and carefully clean off any dirt that has collected there with a toothpick. It wouldn't hurt to spend

This step simply needs to be done before advertising for sale. The reason is very simple: with the help of a backup, you can transfer absolutely all the data from your old iPhone to, starting with contacts, mail, notes, applications and ending with the location of icons on the desktop.

First, save a local backup. To do this, connect the iPhone to the computer, open it in “Devices” and in the “Backups” section select “This computer”. Next, click on the “Create a copy now” button and wait for the backup process to complete.

Now you need to save the backup to iCloud. Directly on the iPhone go to “Settings” → iCloud → “Backup”. Here we need to turn on the “Backup to iCloud” toggle switch and click the “Create a backup” button.

Step 2. Remove the SIM card

The most obvious and banal advice when selling a phone, which is nevertheless neglected by some users. Losing your number and other hassles associated with paying bills is not something anyone wants, so be sure to remove your SIM card before handing over your iPhone to its new owner.

If you are the owner of a CDMA version, it will be a little more difficult for you: you will have to visit the nearest communication store of your operator to unlink your number from your old iPhone.

Step 3. Delete all data and reset settings

Last on the list, but not least important. The iPhone has taken over many of the responsibilities that other devices used to perform. Contacts, mail, SMS, notes, calendars, reminders, photos, payment information - all this is confidential information not intended for prying eyes. This means that it should be removed before your iPhone falls into the wrong hands.

Open “Settings” → “General” → “Reset” and click “Erase content and settings.” The removal process will begin, after which your iPhone will be as good as new. All that remains is to turn off the iPhone and provide its initial setup to the new owner.

Apple devices do not lose popularity even in used condition. But in order to avoid getting into trouble with personal photos or private correspondence leaked online, you need to know how to delete everything from your iPhone before selling it. After all, each phone is tightly integrated with other company services; you can’t just erase it. In the worst case scenario, you may lose all the contacts and other data that were placed in iCloud. Therefore, to save your nerves, we will analyze step by step what needs to be done and how to properly delete information from your iPhone (the model does not affect, you can do 4, 5, 5s, 6, and 7) before selling.

Disconnecting smart watches from iPhone

According to the manufacturer's recommendation, the first thing to do before any deletions is to unpair the iPhone from the Apple Watch before selling it. To perform the procedure, bring the devices close to each other, otherwise it may not work. Next, perform sequentially:

The system will ask for confirmation. After this, a backup of the watch settings will be automatically created, and then the pairing information will be deleted.

Note: For more information on how to clean your watch itself, see Apple Help: https://support.apple.com/ru-ru/HT204568

Backup smartphone before sale

Before you erase the contents of your iPhone's memory and its parameters before selling it, you must make a backup. If something goes wrong in one of the subsequent steps, you can reverse the process and start over. And to transfer settings to a new device, you need a fresh copy of the data. Let's start:

The process may take longer if a lot of time has passed since the last synchronization. Before selling, make sure that it has completed and the copy date has been updated before completely wiping your iPhone.

An alternative option is to use iTunes. Again, this must be done before resetting the iPhone before selling it. The procedure will be as follows:

If you have forgotten the password to your Apple ID and have locked it out by entering it incorrectly, and have not made copies before, there is nothing left to do but reset your iPhone to factory settings. Detailed instructions are provided in the official help ( https://support.apple.com/ru-ru/HT204306 ). Let's look at how to reset an iPhone before selling it without a password and login using the example of the 7th model:

Account deactivation

Now let's figure out how to unlink the Apple ID you are using from your iPhone before selling it. If iOS on the device has been updated to 10.3 or more recent, then everything is done in just a couple of clicks. Open your ID subsection in the settings menu, then find the “Sign Out” button and click on it. The system will ask for a password, after which you just have to click to confirm shutdown.

But in older versions of the OS, the method on how to unlink iCloud and other services from an iPhone before selling it is slightly different:

Important: do not try to delete all contacts from your iPhone 4, 5, 5s, 6 at once without first disconnecting from the cloud and logging out of your account, as you will simply lose them. All necessary cleaning will be accomplished by following these instructions.

Deleting information via phone

After logging out of your accounts, before selling, you need to delete the data from your iPhone, since there is no need to leave it to the new owner. Without leaving the settings, go to the main section. In it, select reset, and then select to erase content and settings.

If you previously activated Find My iPhone, you will have to confirm the action by entering your Apple ID password. Likewise, if a password has been set on the device or to restrict activities, the system will ask for it. Please note that performing these steps is not the same as clearing the cache, because the data on the iPhone will be completely erased.

Jailbreak, untethering from the operator

If the device was locked to a telecom operator, then you may need to unlock it (from English unlock) and, if necessary, jailbreak it. Keep in mind that both of these steps require at least minimal experience, so don't do them at random. If possible, contact a specialist (not Apple).

Glossing

Take care of the appearance of your smartphone: gently wipe the body with a damp but well-wrung out soft cloth. Speakers/microphones can be cleaned with a toothbrush and a cotton swab - just don't get them wet! The connectors can be carefully cleaned with a toothpick.

Cleaning if you no longer have your phone

Have you sold your phone and suddenly remembered that you didn't delete data from it? Correct the situation immediately:

• contact the buyer and ask him to perform manual cleaning;
• use remote erasing via Find My iPhone or iCloud (the service must be activated previously).

If both options do not work, at least change your account password. Then the new user will not be able to change or delete your data from the cloud. Also turn off cards linked to your device via Apple Pay.