How to Erase Your iPhone Before Selling It

Before selling your iPhone you need to prepare it: back up, turn off Find My, sign out of iCloud, erase the content and reset the device, then remove the SIM. Here are the 5 steps, in order, to safely wipe and clear everything with no data left behind.

What to do before you sell your iPhone (in order)

In short, five steps do it: 1) back up your data · 2) turn off Find My iPhone · 3) sign out of iCloud · 4) erase all content and settings · 5) remove the SIM card. Each step is detailed below.

1. Back up your data

Make a copy first — it’s irreversible afterward. Settings → your name → iCloud → iCloud Backup, or plug the iPhone into a computer. You’ll restore everything on your next device.

2. Turn off Find My iPhone

This is the step that lifts Activation Lock. Settings → your name → Find My → Find My iPhone → Off. Skip it and the buyer ends up with a locked, unusable device.

3. Sign out of iCloud

Detach your account from the device. Settings → your name → scroll to the bottom → Sign Out. Enter your Apple Account password to confirm.

4. Erase all content (full reset)

One action erases and resets everything. Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Erase All Content and Settings. The device reboots blank, like new.

5. Remove the SIM card

Keep your number. Eject the physical SIM; for an eSIM, remove it in Settings → Cellular (only once your new phone is set up).

The three things people forget

Your Apple Watch, iMessage and your account’s device list. Three steps that are easy to miss:

• Unpair your Apple Watch. On the iPhone, open the Watch app → All Watches → tap ⓘ next to the watch → Unpair Apple Watch. The watch is backed up to the iPhone, then erased, and its Activation Lock is removed.
• Turn off iMessage and FaceTime if you are moving to Android. In Settings, open Messages, then FaceTime (under Apps since iOS 18), and turn them off before you take the SIM out. Otherwise messages sent from other iPhones can keep going out as iMessage and never reach your new phone. If the old iPhone is already sold, Apple has a page to deregister your number from iMessage.
• Remove the device from your Apple Account. At account.apple.com → Devices, check that the iPhone is no longer listed, and remove it if it is. Your Apple Pay cards leave the device when you sign out and erase it.

What if I can’t erase it?

Broken screen or unresponsive device? The team can guide you in store. At the counter we walk you through signing out (you type your own password), and if the screen is unusable you can erase the phone remotely from your iCloud account. Either way, every phone SubSell buys also goes through professional data-erasure software before any resale.

Once these steps are done, no data is recoverable and Activation Lock is lifted for the buyer — you can sell with peace of mind.

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Ready to sell? Get your offer at /en/sell/, see the where to sell your iPhone in Montreal comparison, or read our how to check a used iPhone guide if you’re buying.

And at SubSell? Even after your reset, every phone we buy goes through professional data-erasure software before any resale: how we erase your data. Got a Samsung or a Pixel? See how to wipe a phone before selling. And so you forget nothing: what to do before selling your phone, then does removing the SIM card delete everything?