Before reselling your Apple portable device, you are strongly advised to carry out some handling.
When your iPhone reaches the end of its life, it is rather common that you want to get rid of it by recycling it or in particular by selling it. A practice that many of us have, but which must be preceded by some manipulations. Reinitialization, data migration… The editorial staff of Belgium-iPhone explains the different steps to follow in order to resell a device devoid of any personal data.
Back up your device
While it is strongly recommended to back up your device before an update or the like, we can only encourage you to do so when you give it away. You will therefore avoid potential data loss that could potentially occur for any reason.
There are two ways to back up your iOS or iPadOS device. Thus, you can choose to back up your device either to iCloud, with sufficient storage space, or to iTunes from a computer. If you are not lucky enough to own your old and new device at the same time, this will allow you to instantly get the backup of your old one back to your new one.
Remove all connections
Sign out of Apple Watch
In case you have an Apple Watch, it is imperative to remove the existing link between your watch and your iPhone. Indeed, it is possible that the new owner of your device keeps your watch in memory despite resetting your smartphone.
To do this, head into the Watch app on your smartphone, then navigate to the My Watch tab at the bottom of the screen. Then tap All Watches at the top left of the screen, then select your watch by clicking the i to its right. Then tap the last option offered, namely Unpair Apple Watch.
Disable iMessage
In the event that you switch from iPhone to Android device, it is highly recommended that you sign out of iMessage. All you have to do is go to your iPhone settings, then to the Messages section. It will then be necessary to deactivate the first option, linked to iMessage.
Apple does, however, offer to deactivate iMessage on your old iPhone even if you no longer have it. You must then go to this page, which will allow you to easily remove iMessage from your old iPhone.
Sign out of iCloud
Signing out of iCloud on the old device is primarily a matter of security. Indeed, if the new owner of your iPhone or iPad has access to your account, he could easily access your documents and personal files such as your photos, passwords or even purchases on the App Store.
It is therefore essential to remove your iCloud account from your old device. So go to its settings, then click on your name at the top of the window. Then go down until you reach the red Disconnect button. Enter the password linked to your iCloud account, then touch Deactivate.
Remove device from trusted list
When you acquire a new Apple product, you can choose whether or not to keep it in trusted devices. This means that after logging into your iCloud account on that device, then you will no longer be asked to enter your credentials to access your account.
We therefore recommend that you remove your old device from this trusted list, since its new owner could easily access your data stored in iCloud. There are several ways to remove a device from this list.
From an iOS or iPadOS device, you need to go to settings and then tap on your name at the top of the window. The list of trusted devices will be found at the bottom of this window and you will then need to select your device and delete it. On MacOS, head into System Preferences from the Apple menu, then click on your Apple ID. Then select your device in the sidebar. Finally, Apple gives the possibility to delete a device from his website.
Clear content and settings
Finally, selling or recycling your device means that it is possible that another person will use it in the future. The main action that should then be considered is to reset your iPhone, iPad or iPod to its factory settings, but also to delete any data that may be stored on it. This will prevent your personal photos and videos from ending up in anyone’s hands, just like documents and other files stored in your device’s memory.
Head, once again, into your device’s settings. Then go down to the General section, then scroll down to reach the Reset button. Finally, press the Erase content and settings button to delete the data and reset your device to the same settings as when it was purchased.
The benefit is twofold, since you not only prevent your photos and other personal data from falling into the wrong hands, but you also ensure that you are providing the most neutral device possible to its new owner.
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