Getting rid of an old appliance can be eco-friendly—and even lucrative—that cost hundreds of dollars. But you can lose control of your data in the bargain if you don’t clear the information from your accounts and phone. Think about everything connected to your phone: your banking information, your health data, all your contacts and more.
Not resetting the phone properly can cause activation issues even for the new owner.
And you need to ensure a smooth transition to your next phone so that you don’t lose precious photos or access to important security codes.
When it comes to taking apart an old smartphone, you have a lot of options. Apple, Samsung, wireless carriers, retailers and third-party resellers are happy about the old phones. You can sell them directly to anyone or pass them on to a relative.
No matter where your phone is headed, you should follow these three steps.
#1 – Back up your old phone
The first step is saving the information on the phone you are retiring. iPhone owners have two options for backing up data: iCloud or your computer. For most people, iCloud is the easiest option.
Connect your phone to Wi-Fi. Under Settings, tap your name. Then tap on iCloud > iCloud Backup > Back Up Now. If your iPhone is paired with an Apple Watch, unpair it. It automatically backs up your Apple Watch and the data can be restored when you pair it with a new iPhone.
If you don’t have enough iCloud storage to back up your iPhone, you can now use iOS 15 (which works on models of the iPhone 6S) to get free temporary storage—just to access it. Follow Apple’s specific instructions for You then have 21 days to transfer that backup to a new device.
To back up your phone’s data on your Mac, plug it in and then open a window on the desktop (which Apple calls Finder). Your iPhone’s icon should appear on the left sidebar of that window. When you click on it, you’ll get a menu of options, including manage backups. (Here are the instructions on how to back up iPhone to Windows PC using iTunes.)
Samsung smartphone owners have several options for backing up and transferring data, including Google, Samsung’s Smart Switch, and cloud services such as Samsung Cloud. For Samsung Cloud, go to Settings and tap your name at the top of the screen. Tap Samsung Cloud, choose what data you want to save, then tap Back up data at the bottom of the screen.
After you get your new phone, open Settings and tap your name at the top of the screen. Then tap Samsung Cloud > Restore data and look for the device backup you want. Tap Restore > Install.
#2 – Sign out of your accounts
Don’t press the delete button now!
If you use apps for two-factor authentication, you’ll need to set them up on the new phone or you may lose access to their functions. This can be your work security app, the Google or Facebook app, or an authenticator app that provides security codes for other accounts.
Even technical experts sometimes forget to do this. John Callas, director of technology projects at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit digital-rights group, didn’t transfer his Microsoft Authenticator account details when getting rid of an old phone. He says he had to take an annoying route through his laptop to turn off verification on his old phone and validate his new one.
“People like me will know you have to do this at an inconvenient time,” said Mr. Callas.
Follow the instructions on the respective Authenticator app to remove it from your device. After transferring data to your new phone, open the Authenticator app on both devices to make sure the codes are going to the right places.
For major apps like Google and Facebook, which often have their own two-factor authentication, log on to the new device before logging in on the old device. Also make sure you’re signed out of other apps, if only because it’s annoying when you see in their settings that you’re logged into devices you no longer own.
With the apps closed, it’s time to sign out of your iCloud account on iPhone or your Google account on Android phone.
For iPhones running iOS 10.3 and later, you can log out of everything at once: Open Settings and tap your name, then scroll down, tap Sign Out, enter your Apple ID password And tap on Turn Off. This removes your old phone from the list of Find My Devices, and ensures that no Apple ID two-factor authentication code will be displayed on this device anymore.
For Samsung devices, log out of your accounts on the device to disable Activation Lock and factory-reset protection. Go to Settings > Accounts & backup > Accounts, then check your account name. Then tap on Remove Account.
#3 – Erase your phone
Now, you can finally clean the slate.
On your iPhone, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. Tap Continue, follow the instructions and confirm you’re ready to take this big step, then wait for those last bits of data to be erased. Remove your SIM, and that device is ready to go.
Verify that your iPhone retirement was successful by checking your Apple ID device list. (It shouldn’t be there anymore.)
Erasing an Android phone depends on the manufacturer. For most, you can go to Settings and hit Factory reset from there. Just make sure you know your Google login information to avoid being locked out of your photos, calendar, and everything else when you try to log in on your new device.
For Samsung, go to Settings and tap General management > Reset > Factory data reset. Tap on Reset at the bottom of the screen and then follow the prompts. If your phone has an expandable SD memory card, don’t forget to remove it and take out the SIM as well.
While some companies take extra steps when you buy your old phone to make sure it’s free of personal information, you shouldn’t rely on them. It is quite easy to do all this yourself.