How to erase your phone before selling it

Do this before the phone leaves your hands, not after. A phone that arrives still signed in to your account can't be processed, and you'll be waiting on emails instead of getting paid.

iPhone

1. Back up first. Settings → your name → iCloud → iCloud Backup → Back Up Now. Or plug into a computer. Don't skip this — everything below is irreversible.
2. Turn off Find My iPhone. Settings → your name → Find My → Find My iPhone → toggle off. It asks for your Apple Account password. This is the step people forget, and the one that matters most.
3. Sign out of your Apple Account. Settings → your name → scroll to the bottom → Sign Out.
4. Erase it. Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Erase All Content and Settings.
5. Remove it from your account list. On another device or at appleid.apple.com, find the phone under your devices and remove it.
6. Take your SIM out. Physical SIM — pop the tray. eSIM — cleared by the erase, but confirm with your carrier if you're transferring the number.

Android (Samsung, Pixel and others)

1. Back up. Settings → Google → Backup → Back up now.
2. Remove your Google account. Settings → Accounts → select the account → Remove account. This clears Factory Reset Protection, Android's equivalent of activation lock.
3. Samsung phones: remove your Samsung account too. Settings → Accounts → Samsung account → Remove. Samsung's Find My Mobile locks the phone independently of Google.
4. Factory reset. Settings → General management → Reset → Factory data reset.
5. Remove the SIM and any microSD card. An SD card left in the tray is gone — they don't come back.

Do I need to wipe it if I'm sending it broken?

If the screen is smashed but the phone still boots, try to erase it from a computer or remotely. If it won't power on at all, send it as-is and tell us — we handle it. What you should still do either way is remove the device from your Apple or Google account remotely, which works from any browser without touching the phone.

Our position on your data, in plain terms

Every device is erased when it reaches us. We don't browse, copy, or retain anything on it, and we don't want it. But you are responsible for removing your own accounts and data before shipping — we can't be held responsible for information you leave on a device you send us. Wipe it first. It takes five minutes.