New iPhone en route, old one worth real money: a clean, properly wiped device gets the best trade price and keeps your data safe.
Updated August 09, 2026, after a fresh review, with updated visuals and links.
Skip a step and you either leave your photos with a stranger or brick your own Apple account. Do it in this order and both nightmares stay theoretical.
Before you start
- Your iPhone to trade
- Your Apple account password
- 30 minutes
Here's how it works
1. Unpair your Apple Watch first
Watch app, All Watches, info icon, Unpair. This backs up the watch to the iPhone AND removes Activation Lock from it. Unpaired after shipping the phone means a locked watch and support calls.
2. Back up everything
Settings, your name, iCloud, iCloud Backup, Back Up Now. Wait for completion. This backup is what your new phone resurrects from: check the timestamp says today before moving on.
- Encrypted computer backup preserves even more (health, WiFi passwords)
- Photos users: confirm your library shows fully uploaded in Photos settings
3. Migrate your two factor apps NOW
Google Authenticator and Authy have their own export/transfer systems. Move every account to the new device or cloud sync BEFORE wiping: 2FA accounts are the number one post-trade data loss story.
4. Sign out of everything Apple
Settings, your name, scroll down, Sign Out. Enter your password, choose what local copies to keep temporarily. This kills Activation Lock, Find My and iCloud ties in one move.
5. Deregister iMessage if leaving Apple
Moving to Android? Settings, Apps, Messages, iMessage off, and FaceTime off. Texts from iPhone owning friends depend on this more than on any other single setting.
6. Erase all content
Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Erase All Content and Settings. Ten minutes of spinning logo later, the phone is factory fresh.
7. Remove the SIM and the device from your account
Pop the SIM out (or delete the eSIM plan after the new one lives on the new phone). Then log into appleid.apple.com from any browser and remove this iPhone from your device list. Clean break.
8. Pack it well and photograph it first
Photos of every angle before shipping protect you in trade-in condition disputes. Original box if you have it, decent padding if you don't, tracking number always.
Pro tips without the attitude
- Cancel AppleCare coverage on the old device (or transfer it) to stop monthly charges on a phone you no longer own.
- Check trade offers at three places: Apple, your carrier, and reputable buyback sites routinely differ by a hundred dollars.
- Carrier trade credits sometimes pay over 24 months, read whether you get cash now or bill credits slowly.
Keep reading
- How to Customize the iPhone Action Button (Make It Do Something Better Than Silent Mode)
- How to Switch From Android to iPhone (The Move to iOS App, Explained Properly)
- iPhone Storage Full? How to Free Space Without Losing Your Photos
Unpair, back up, migrate codes, sign out, erase, remove SIM, deregister, photograph. Eight steps in order, full value, zero regrets.
