How to wipe a phone before selling?

• What should I do before selling my phone?

  Back up your data, unpair your Apple Watch, move your eSIM and two-factor codes, sign out of iCloud (Find My off) or your Google and Samsung accounts, then erase the phone and take out the SIM. Bring photo ID. At SubSell, every phone also goes through professional data-erasure software before it is ever resold.

• How do I remove everything from an old phone?

  Sign out of every account first, then erase the phone with its built-in reset (Erase All Content and Settings on an iPhone, factory data reset on Android), take out the SIM and memory card, and remove the phone from your Apple or Google account online. Your cloud copies stay safe. At SubSell, every phone is also wiped with professional erasure software before resale.

• Does removing SIM card from phone delete everything?

  No. Removing the SIM card deletes nothing on the phone: your photos, messages, apps and accounts live in the phone’s storage and in your online accounts, not on the SIM. The SIM mostly identifies your phone line. To remove your data, sign out of your accounts and erase the phone, then keep the SIM.

• What is the fastest way to sell a phone?

  The fastest way: prepare the phone in about ten minutes (back up, sign out of iCloud or Google, take out the SIM), then sell it to a buyback shop that pays on the spot. At SubSell in Montréal, the check takes about 5 minutes and you leave with cash, no appointment.

• Which is the most hacked phone?

  There is no official “most hacked phone” ranking. By volume, Android phones face far more malware, largely because of their numbers and apps installed from outside official stores; iPhones are targeted less often, and when they are, it is mostly by rare spyware aimed at specific people. The biggest risks are a phone that no longer gets updates, phishing, and an old phone sold without being erased.

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