How to Wipe an iPhone Before Selling or Trading It In

This guide is for anyone selling, giving away or trading in an iPhone after an upgrade.

Before an iPhone leaves your hands, it should be erased and disconnected from your Apple Account. The order matters: if you erase first and forget to sign out, the next owner can get stuck behind Activation Lock.

The quick answer

Apple’s steps, in order:¹

1. Unpair your Apple Watch, if you have one paired.
2. Back up your iPhone.
3. Sign out of iCloud, iTunes and the App Store.
4. Erase All Content and Settings.

The EPA gives the same basic advice for any electronics: delete all personal information before you donate or recycle.²

Step by step

1. Unpair your Apple Watch. Apple lists this first if a watch is paired with the phone.¹ Unpairing also backs up the watch to the iPhone.

2. Back up. Use iCloud or a computer so you can restore everything on your new phone.¹

3. Sign out. Apple says to sign out of iCloud, iTunes or the App Store. On recent iOS versions, the sign-out flow can also offer to erase the device.¹ You may need your Apple Account password if Find My is turned on.¹

4. Erase. Go to Settings and tap Erase All Content and Settings.¹ Apple says that when you erase your iPhone, Find My and Activation Lock turn off.¹

eSIM and SIM cards

If your phone uses an eSIM, Apple says to choose the option to erase the device and the eSIM profile.¹ Our advice: if you plan to keep the same number on a new phone, transfer the eSIM to the new phone before you erase the old one, or check with your carrier. If the phone uses a physical SIM card, take it out before handing the phone over.

After you hand it over

Our advice: remove the old phone from your list of trusted devices in your Apple Account, and from any two-factor authentication apps or bank apps that remember devices.

Checklist

• Watch unpaired.
• Backup finished.
• Signed out of your Apple Account.
• Erase All Content and Settings complete.
• eSIM erased or transferred; physical SIM removed.