I pocketed $550 when selling my used iPhone last year, money I was able to put toward the purchase of a new phone. You can do the same, and it’s easier than you think.
Before proceeding with the below steps, make sure you’ve either canceled your current cellular contract or replaced the old device with a new one.
Step one: remove your old iPhone from your AppleID
Your AppleID not only keeps an accounting of purchases you’ve made, but also which devices are associated with your account. If you’re no longer using a device or plan to soon sell it, you’ll want to remove it from this list. To do this:
- Go to Manage Your AppleID on Apple’s website, and sign in using your username and password.
- Scroll down to Devices, and click on that link. Here you’ll see all the iDevices associated with your account.
- Click the iPhone or iDevice you want to disassociate and tap Remove.
- Sign out of your account on Apple.com.
Step two: erase your iPhone
You don’t want your contact or payment details landing in the hands of a stranger so you’ll want to wipe the innards of your device of sensitive information, essentially restoring it to its original factory settings.
On your iPhone, go to: Settings, scroll all the way down to Reset, and choose Erase all Content and Settings.
Step three: clean the outside of your iPhone
Fingerprints, dirt, grime and sticky fingers can leave behind all sorts of icky residue and gunk on the screen and housing of your iPhone. To get top dollar for your used device you’ll want to spiff it up a bit.
- Clean the touchscreen on your iPhone using a rubbing alcohol wipes or a soft cotton cloth lightly dampened with rubbing alcohol.
- Clean your iPhone’s housing with a water-dampened soft cloth or rubbing alcohol.
You can perform the same steps above to your iPhone’s charging cable and any other accessories you may be selling with your phone.
You’re ready to sell! In an upcoming post we’ll give you some links to places that will give you top dollar for your used iPhone, iPad or Mac.