How to Factory Reset an iPhone Before Selling It

Most guides tell you to hit Erase All Content and Settings and call it a day. That works, but only if you do the right things first. If you erase the phone while iCloud is still signed in, Activation Lock stays on. The phone will boot to a screen asking for your Apple ID and password, and the new owner has no way around it. A device left with iCloud Activation Lock or a Google account still on it is effectively unsellable — most buyers reject it outright or pay scrap value (source: BuyBackBear intake data).

The correct order is: back up, sign out of iCloud, then erase. Do those three things in sequence and you will not have a problem.

Back up before you do anything else. Once you erase, your data is gone unless you have a copy somewhere.

• iCloud backup: Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup > Back Up Now. Stay on Wi-Fi until it finishes. You can confirm it completed by checking the timestamp shown underneath the button.
• Mac or PC backup: Connect your iPhone with a cable, open Finder (macOS Catalina and later) or the Apple Devices app on Windows, select your device, and click Back Up Now. This keeps a full local copy on your computer.

Either method works. A local backup is faster and does not count against your iCloud storage.

This is the step most people skip, and it is the one that causes the most problems. Signing out removes Activation Lock so the next owner can set the phone up as new.

• Go to Settings > [your name].
• Scroll to the bottom and tap Sign Out.
• Enter your Apple ID password when prompted.
• Choose whether to keep a copy of iCloud data on the phone (it does not matter — you are about to erase everything anyway).
• Tap Sign Out again to confirm.

If you no longer have your Apple ID password, you will need to recover your account through Apple before the phone can be sold. See our guide on how to remove iCloud Activation Lock for your options.

Also remove your SIM card at this point if you plan to keep your number or move it to a new device.

With the backup done and iCloud signed out, you are ready to erase.

• Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.
• Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
• You may see an Erase Assistant flow that walks you through the same steps in a guided sequence.
• Enter your passcode if asked, then confirm you want to erase.
• The phone will restart and show the setup screen — the same screen a brand-new iPhone shows out of the box.

The process takes anywhere from a few minutes to around fifteen minutes depending on the model and how much storage it has.

If you want to understand exactly what gets removed and what does not, our detailed iPhone wipe guide covers the technical specifics.

Yes — when done correctly, a factory reset removes your photos, messages, contacts, apps, app data, saved passwords, Apple Pay cards, and account credentials. The phone is returned to its out-of-box state.

A few clarifications worth knowing:

• The iOS software itself stays. Whatever version of iOS is installed remains. That is expected — the buyer gets a working phone running current iOS, which is a good thing.
• Find My / Activation Lock is removed when you sign out of iCloud before erasing. If you skip that step, Activation Lock persists even after the erase.
• eSIM profiles may need manual removal. If you have an eSIM and want to transfer your number, go to Settings > Cellular > [your plan] > Delete eSIM before erasing.
• Your data is cryptographically erased via Apple's Secure Enclave, not just deleted — meaning recovery tools cannot pull it back.

If you are locked out of the phone itself, you cannot go through Settings to erase it. Your options are:

• Recovery mode via a computer: Connect the iPhone to a Mac or PC, force the phone into recovery mode (the button combination varies by model), and use Finder or the Apple Devices app to restore it. This erases the device and installs fresh iOS.
• Apple Support: If the issue is an unknown Apple ID rather than a passcode, Apple can help you verify ownership and remove Activation Lock through its account recovery process. This can take a few days.

Do not skip this and try to sell the phone anyway. Buyers check for Activation Lock before paying, and most buyback services — including BuyBackBear — will reject or heavily discount a locked device at inspection.

Once the iPhone restarts to the Hello setup screen, it is ready. Before packaging it up, do a quick confirmation:

• Power on the phone and verify it shows the language and region selection screen, not a locked or logged-in state.
• Confirm Find My is off by checking icloud.com/find — if the device no longer appears under your account, you are good.
• If you are shipping to a buyback service, take a photo of the screen showing the setup prompt. Some services ask for proof of sign-out if a dispute comes up later.

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