Before You Sell or Trade In an iPhone: The Checklist

That erases them everywhere.

Apple’s first warning: while you are logged in to iCloud with your Apple Account, manually deleting items permanently removes them, including contacts, calendars, reminders, documents, and photos, from iCloud servers and all your connected devices. Deleting photos from the old phone to “clean it up” can delete them from the new one too. The safe order is back up, transfer, sign out, then erase.

Quick Start does most of it.

Make a fresh backup first; see how to back up an iPhone. If the old iPhone has iOS 11 or later, Quick Start sets up the new one from it: put the two devices near each other with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on, follow the prompts, and choose whether to download from iCloud or transfer directly, keeping both plugged in until it finishes. If your phone number is changing with the new device, add another trusted phone number to your Apple Account first so you do not lose access to two-factor codes.

A Finish Repair message blocks trade-in.

Look at the iPhone’s Parts and Service History in Settings. If a part shows Finish Repair, Apple says you need to finish that repair before you can trade the device in.

Watch, AppleCare, Apple Account, iMessage.

Then, in Apple’s order:

1. If you paired an Apple Watch, unpair it.
2. Cancel your AppleCare plan or transfer it to the new owner.
3. Sign out. On iOS 26 or later, open Settings, tap your name, tap Sign Out, and choose Erase this iPhone; on iOS 18 or earlier, tap Sign Out, enter your Apple Account password, and tap Turn Off.
4. If you are switching to a non-Apple phone, deregister iMessage.

If Stolen Device Protection is on, Apple notes that changing your password at a store can involve a one-hour security delay.

Erase All Content and Settings.

Open Settings, tap General, then Transfer or Reset iPhone, then Erase All Content and Settings. Enter the passcode if asked and confirm. If you are not using a SIM card, Apple suggests contacting your carrier for help transferring service to the new owner. Finally, remove the phone from your Apple Account’s list of trusted devices.

Erase it remotely.

If the phone is already gone, ask the new owner to erase it using the steps above. If it was lost or stolen, erase it in Find Devices on iCloud.com and remove it from your trusted devices. Change your Apple Account password and make sure two-factor authentication is on; that will not wipe the device, Apple notes, but it stops the new holder from deleting your information from iCloud. Remove cards from Apple Pay in Wallet as well. Selling an Android phone instead follows the same order; see how to back up an Android phone.