How to Back Up Your Phone Before Selling

A factory reset permanently deletes everything on your phone, so back up anything you want to keep before you start. A fuller guide is on the way; the essentials are below.

Back up first, then remove your accounts, then reset. Doing it in that order means your data is safely copied before it is wiped, and the phone leaves your hands without an account lock that would stop the recycler processing it. Give cloud backups time to finish, especially on a large photo library, and check the backup completed before you erase anything.

Step by step

1 · iPhone: back up to iCloud
Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup and tap Back Up Now. Stay connected to Wi-Fi and wait for the backup to finish.
2 · iPhone: or back up to a computer
Connect your iPhone to a Mac or PC, open Finder or the Apple Devices app, and choose to back up all of the data on your iPhone. Useful if you do not have enough iCloud storage.
3 · Android: back up to your Google account
Go to Settings > Google > Backup and tap Back Up Now. Photos and videos sync separately, so check Google Photos has finished uploading too.
4 · Samsung: also check Samsung Cloud
Go to Settings > Accounts and Backup > Back Up Data to save Samsung specific items such as notes, call logs, and messages.
5 · Verify, then reset
Confirm the backup completed and your photos and contacts are there. Then remove your Apple ID or Google account and factory reset the phone.
Factory reset guide →

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to back up before selling my phone?

Only if you want to keep what is on it. A factory reset erases everything permanently, so anything not backed up or transferred to your new phone will be lost.

Can I restore my backup to a new phone?

Yes. An iCloud backup restores to a new iPhone during setup, and a Google backup restores to a new Android phone the same way. Moving between iPhone and Android needs a transfer app rather than a backup restore.

Does backing up remove the account lock from my phone?

No. Backing up only copies your data. You still need to sign out of your Apple ID or Google account before resetting, otherwise the phone stays locked and the recycler cannot process it.

iCloud removal guide →