Selling or Giving Away an Old Device? How to Wipe It Safely

Do these steps in order. Erasing comes after the sign-outs, not before.

1. Back up, and keep the old device until you're sure

Erasing removes everything on the device, so make sure everything you want is on your new device or in a backup first. Our guide to moving your photos, messages and files walks through it for iPhone, Android, Windows and Mac, and it suggests keeping the old device for a week before you wipe it.

While the old device still works, also write down or check:

• Android: your Google Account email and password, and the phone's screen lock (PIN, pattern or password). Google says a reset from Settings asks for your screen lock, and that after a reset, a protected phone can't be used at all unless you give its screen lock or Google Account details during setup. If you recently reset your Google Account password, Google says to wait 24 hours before you reset the phone.
• Samsung: your Samsung account password too. Samsung says the reset asks for it.
• Windows: your BitLocker recovery key, if the PC is encrypted. Microsoft says you'll need it.

2. Sign out, so the device isn't locked to you

Apple and Google both have a lock that keeps a device tied to its owner's account: Activation Lock on Apple devices, and Google's device protection on Android, which Samsung's pages call Google Device Protection or Google Factory Reset Protection (FRP). Sign out the right way and the next owner can set it up.

iPhone (iOS 26 or later): open Settings, tap your name, scroll down and tap Sign Out. Apple then offers Erase this [Device] or Sign Out But Don't Erase. If you choose Sign Out But Don't Erase, do the erase in step 3. If you're asked which account to sign out of, Apple says to tap Sign out of iCloud and Store.

iPhone (iOS 18 or earlier): open Settings, tap your name, scroll down and tap Sign Out, then enter your Apple Account password and tap Turn Off.

Also on iPhone: unpair your Apple Watch first if you have one. Switching to a non-Apple phone? Apple says to deregister iMessage. Getting a new phone number? Apple says to add another trusted phone number to your Apple Account so you don't lose access. If you ever do get locked out, our account recovery guide walks through it.

Google Pixel (Android): open Settings > Passwords & accounts. Under "Accounts," tap your Google Account, then tap Remove account and confirm. Google says removing your Google Account turns off device protection. Its accounts page adds that taking an account off the phone also deletes that account's email, contacts and settings from the phone. Our read: do this only after your new phone has finished restoring.

Samsung Galaxy (Android): you'll need an internet connection. Open Settings > Accounts and backup > Manage accounts.

• Tap Samsung account > Remove account, confirm, tap Sign out, then enter your password and tap OK.
• Then tap your Google account and remove it the same way. Samsung says device protection may ask you to verify it's you.

Mac (macOS 12 Monterey or later, with Apple silicon or the Apple T2 Security Chip): skip ahead to step 3, which has paths for Monterey 12 and for Ventura 13 or later. Apple's Mac selling checklist says if you can use Erase All Content and Settings, you don't need its other steps.

Other Macs: turn off Find My, sign out of iCloud, then sign out of iMessage.

• Find My, macOS 15 or later: System Settings > your name > iCloud > next to Saved to iCloud click See All > Find My Mac > Turn Off.
• Find My, macOS 13 Ventura or 14 Sonoma: System Settings > your name > iCloud > Find My Mac > Turn Off.
• Sign out, macOS Ventura 13 or later: System Settings > your name, scroll down and click Sign Out.
• Sign out, macOS Monterey 12, Big Sur 11 or Catalina 10.15: System Preferences > Apple ID, select Overview in the sidebar, then click Sign Out.
• iMessage: open Messages, choose Messages > Settings (or Preferences) from the menu bar, click iMessage, then click Sign Out.

Windows 11 and Windows 10: Microsoft's checklist has no sign-out step before the reset. You'll remove the PC from your Microsoft account in step 4.

3. Erase it

iPhone: open Settings > General > Transfer or Reset [device] > Erase All Content and Settings, enter your passcode if asked, then tap Erase [device]. Apple says erasing turns off Find My and Activation Lock, and doesn't delete anything stored in iCloud. Selling an iPhone with an eSIM? When asked, Apple says to choose the option that erases the eSIM profile along with the phone.

Google Pixel (Android): charge the phone to at least 70% and connect it to Wi-Fi or your mobile network; Google says a reset can take up to an hour. Open Settings > System > Reset options > Erase all data (factory reset) > Erase all data, enter your PIN, then tap Erase all data again.

Samsung Galaxy (Android): encrypted your microSD card? Decrypt it first (in Settings, search "Decrypt SD card"), or Samsung says the phone won't be able to read it. Then open Settings > General management > Reset > Factory data reset > Reset > Delete all.

Windows 11: open Settings > System > Recovery, and under Recovery options select Reset PC.

Windows 10: open Settings > Update & Security > Recovery, and under Reset this PC select Get started.

On both Windows versions:

• Choose Remove everything. Microsoft says it's the option to use when you're giving away or selling a PC.
• Turn on Clean data, Microsoft's option that cleans the drive. Microsoft recommends it if you'll donate, recycle or sell the PC; it takes longer, but it makes your old files harder to recover.
• Don't panic if the screen goes black. Microsoft says it can stay black for more than 15 minutes, and restarting the PC yourself could make the reset fail.

Mac (macOS 13 Ventura or later, Apple silicon or T2 chip): open System Settings > General > Transfer or Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. Enter your administrator details and follow Erase Assistant. Apple says Erase Assistant signs you out of Apple services such as iCloud and turns off Find My and Activation Lock, and the Mac shows "Hello" when it's done.

Mac (macOS Monterey 12, Apple silicon or T2 chip): from the Apple menu, open System Preferences, then choose Erase All Content and Settings from the System Preferences menu in the menu bar. That's the Monterey path in Apple's Erase your Mac and reset it to factory settings, the article the Mac selling checklist (step 2) links to for this feature.

Other Macs: after signing out (step 2), start up from macOS Recovery. Erase the Mac with Disk Utility, then reinstall macOS. When the setup assistant appears, press Command-Q to shut down, so the buyer sets it up from scratch.

4. Remove it from your accounts online

After the erase, check that the old device is gone from your account lists.

• Apple: on your iPhone, open Settings > your name and scroll to your devices (on a Mac: System Settings > your name). Or sign in at account.apple.com and select Devices. Pick the old device and choose Remove from Account.
• Google: Google says to sign out on devices you no longer own. Go to your Google Account (myaccount.google.com) and tap Security & sign-in. Under "Your devices," tap Manage all devices, tap the old device, then tap Sign out.
• Samsung: Samsung says removing the account from the phone isn't enough on its own; the phone also has to be unregistered from your Samsung account. Samsung's support site (samsung.com/us/support) can help with that.
• Microsoft: sign in at account.microsoft.com/devices and find the old PC. Choose the option to remove it, tick I'm ready to remove this device and confirm. Microsoft says you can also unlink it so it doesn't count toward your Microsoft Store device limit.

5. Take out your SIM and memory card

• Physical SIM: take it out before the device leaves your hands. Apple's trade-in page says to remove it.
• eSIM: if you're selling an iPhone, erase the eSIM when the erase step asks (step 3). For a phone with an eSIM that you're trading in, Apple's trade-in page says to contact your wireless carrier to suspend service. Our read: if your number already works on your new phone, you're set; if it doesn't, call or chat with your carrier through its website before you erase the old phone.
• microSD card: pop it out. Google's Find Hub page warns that its remote erase may not delete SD cards. Our read: take the card with you either way.