Selling or trading in? Here is how to wipe your iPhone completely and safely: back up, turn off Find My, sign out of your Apple ID and restore factory settings. With fixes for a broken screen or a forgotten passcode.
Door The Phone Shopper
Gepubliceerd: 2026-09-07
Before you sell, trade in or give away an iPhone, it has to be truly empty: no photos, no passwords and, above all, no link to your Apple ID. That last step is the one most often forgotten, and then the new owner ends up with a device they cannot activate. We see it every week at the trade-in counter. Below is the order that always works, plus what to do if the screen is broken or you no longer know the passcode.
In short: 1. Make a backup. 2. Sign out of iCloud (that turns off Find My). 3. Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Erase All Content and Settings. Done in ten minutes. Remove the SIM card and any eSIM separately.
Via iCloud: Settings, tap your name, iCloud, iCloud Backup, Back Up Now. That only works with enough iCloud storage; with the free 5 GB a full phone rarely fits. Alternative: connect the iPhone to a Mac (Finder) or Windows PC (Apple Devices app or iTunes) and choose Back up to this computer. Tick Encrypt local backup, otherwise passwords and health data are not included. All the steps for each method, including on a Windows PC, are in How to back up and restore your iPhone.
Settings, tap your name, scroll to the bottom, Sign Out. Enter your Apple ID password. This turns off Find My and Activation Lock. Skip this step and the device stays tied to your account and nobody else can use it. This is the step that separates a sellable phone from a paperweight. Only want to turn off Find My, for example for a repair or remotely with a broken screen? See How to turn off Find My iPhone.
If you have an Apple Watch, unpair it first in the Watch app (All Watches, i button, Unpair Apple Watch). Also sign out of iMessage if you are switching to Android: Settings, Messages, iMessage off. Otherwise texts from other iPhone users will not arrive for days.
Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Erase All Content and Settings. Enter your passcode and, if asked, your Apple ID password. The iPhone restarts to the Hello screen. Everything is then cryptographically erased: the key that encrypted the storage is discarded, so nothing can be recovered even with specialist software.
Remove the physical SIM with the ejector tool. For an eSIM, choose Erase plan during the wipe, or remove it beforehand under Settings, Mobile Data. Then request a new eSIM from your carrier for the new device.
Turn the iPhone on again. If you see the Hello screen and can continue to Choose a Wi-Fi Network without being asked for an Apple ID, the device is free. If an Apple ID is requested, Activation Lock is still on: sign in at icloud.com/find, select the device and Remove from Account.
You can erase and unlink the device remotely: go to icloud.com/find, select the iPhone, Erase iPhone and then Remove from Account. The erase happens as soon as the device comes online again, but the unlink from your Apple ID is immediate. So even with a black screen you can hand it in safely. We also take in faulty devices; the value depends on what still works.
Put the iPhone in recovery mode and restore it via a computer: connect it, press volume up briefly, volume down briefly, then hold the side button until the computer screen appears. Choose Restore in Finder or the Apple Devices app. Afterwards you still need to sign in with your Apple ID to lift Activation Lock; without that password the device cannot be freed, not even by a shop.
A wiped, unlinked device is worth more than one we have to chase you about first. With us you get an instant offer based on model, storage and condition: sell or trade in your device, and the value comes straight off a refurbished iPhones if you upgrade.
Yes. iPhones encrypt storage by default; erasing discards the key. No extra overwriting tool is needed.
Before. If you erase without signing out, iOS still asks for your Apple ID password and disables Activation Lock. If you skip that, the device stays locked.
Usually two to five minutes. Make sure the battery is at least 50% or plug the device in.
Refurbished iPhones met 2 jaar garantie. Elk toestel doorloopt ons 50-punts inspectieproces en wordt geleverd met 2 jaar garantie.
Every refurbished phone is sold in one of four conditions:
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