How to Wipe Your iPhone Before Selling (Step-by-Step)

Before handing your iPhone to anyone, you need to completely erase it. Here's the fastest and most thorough way to do it.

Before You Erase: The Checklist

• Back up your data to iCloud (Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud → iCloud Backup)
• Note your Apple ID and password — you'll need them to remove iCloud
• Turn off Find My iPhone (included in next step)

Step 1: Remove iCloud / Sign Out

1. Open Settings
2. Tap your name at the top
3. Scroll down and tap Sign Out
4. Enter your Apple ID password
5. Choose to keep or remove data, then tap Sign Out

This removes your Apple ID from the device and turns off Activation Lock. Without this step, the new owner can't use the phone.

Step 2: Factory Reset

1. Open Settings
2. Tap General
3. Tap Transfer or Reset iPhone
4. Tap Erase All Content and Settings
5. Enter your passcode if prompted
6. Tap Erase iPhone to confirm

The phone will take 5–15 minutes to erase, then restart to the setup screen. If it asks for an Apple ID password after the restart, you haven't removed iCloud correctly — start over from Step 1.

How to Verify It Worked

After the restart, the phone should show the "Hello" screen in multiple languages. It should NOT ask for an Apple ID. If it goes straight to the setup language screen, you're done — the phone is clean and ready to sell.