How to ERASE iPhone before Selling - Factory Reset / Restore Your iPhone

Want to restore or sell your iPhone? Follow these easy five steps to factory reset your iPhone and get it sold before the next Apple Event to make it a little easier on your wallet then the new iPhones are released.
Apple's Support Document
support.apple.com/en-us/HT201351
⭐️ Get $20 off your first month of Visible Cellular Servce - www.visible.com/get/?3RWBJ9C
▶️ Save 10% on My Watch Band Holders: www.etsy.com/shop/AppleBiasSt...
0:00 - Intro
0.19 - Step 1 - Backing up your iPhone’s Data
0:42 - Step 1a - iCloud Backup
1:06 - Step 1b - Backup to your Mac
2:55 - Step 2 - Sign out of iCloud
4:09 - Step 3 - Erasing the iPhone
4:56 - Step 4 - Fully remove device from iCloud
6:22 - Step 5 - The Most Important Step
===================================================
My Equipment
Main Camera: Sony ZV-E10 - amzn.to/3CWOoVC
Go Pro Hero 9 - amzn.to/3EWp5ov
iPhone 13 Mini - amzn.to/3rWZGWw
Lights: amzn.to/2P8gcD7
Camera Mic: amzn.to/3OH0AQS
Tripod: amzn.to/3wcyuU6
My Desk Setup
Computer: amzn.to/3EWTW4v
Monitor: amzn.to/3EJvQbH
Desk Mic: amzn.to/3kiUUP5
Clock: amzn.to/31rSDaV
3D Printer: amzn.to/3KtrBUu
iPad: amzn.to/3kozYGp
Speakers: amzn.to/3vnQ4q5
Fun Stuff
Mandalorian Funko: amzn.to/39sgA6l
The Child Funko: amzn.to/39qbfMK
Music:
www.epidemicsound.com/referra...
Follow me elsewhere:
/ theapplebias
/ theapplebias
Visit my site: www.applebias.com
Want to be a KZbinr? I used the VRA program to learn all the ins and outs, the program is costly, but well worth it for all the information and resources they give you. I highly recommend it: courses.seancannell.com/a/214...
* Most links above are affiliate links click them before ordering does help out the channel. But don't feel obligated to order anything just viewing my video means the world to me.
#applebias

[@denisegallo9317]

I got a new iPhone and had to send back my old one. Thx for making this so easy! I’m not very techie, even I could follow this! 🥰

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad I was able to help. Hope your enjoying the new iPhone as well. 😁

[@Dr.Mary.Kang.D.D.S.]

Simple, concise and to the point. Very convenient. Thank you!

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad it helped! Thanks for the kind words.

[@Josh-Stewart]

I’m selling my iPhone and used your very helpful step by step video to reset my iPhone completely so I could sell it and I just subscribed. Once again thank you so much!

[@TheAppleBias]

Awesome. Glad to have been helpful and thanks for taking the time to let me know and subscribing it means a lot. 😊

[@honeyhoney2316]

how are you?

[@thiccsmoke2354]

Thanks a lot, had to send my iphone in as a trade in. Got some instructions in the postage pack but was unsure, followed your tutorial and got it done perfectly !!

[@TheAppleBias]

So glad I was able to help.

[@djdrobins]

Thanks for the help, and the answers to the questions - a lot of people have asked my stupid question already. Had a problem last time where I lost all my texts etc - not this time! Cheers.

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad to hear you didn’t lose them this time.

[@WindyCityGatorGirl]

Thank you for making this so easy to navigate through and the little tips, really truly appreciate a video like this-

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad I was able to help.

[@ykeemo2819]

This was amazing! Verizon was going to charge me $29 to erase and transfer all my data from my old phone to my new phone. I also learned where and how to access my iCloud! What a great teacher! Thx 🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

[@TheAppleBias]

Crazy they would charge so much. So glad the video was able to help.

[@XxTnTfishxX]

very helpful had no idea how to do any of this at all until now thx for making this vid and going tru it step by step 100%

[@TheAppleBias]

So glad to be able to help.

[@Debbie-gp8iv]

Thank you for this video. You made it easy for me to follow along. I am giving my old phone to my grandson and wanted to make sure all my info was deleted.

[@SriLankaTravelatease]

Excellent 👍 Sp helpful - short and concise. Thank you 😊

[@pickerspodcast]

Perfect. Thank you for walking me through that! It was easy to follow.

[@TheAppleBias]

So glad to hear and thanks for taking the time to let me know, means a lot.

[@MBAPPE777]

Thank you! Really easy and helpful

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad it helped!

[@albertohr1]

Thanks for your help

[@hennaartistry3290]

Your video helped a lot, I was so confused how to do it all 😢

[@TheAppleBias]

Thanks for taking the time to let me know. Love that the video is helpful.

[@user-nw8hg7yy4q]

Amazing, thank you. So simple

[@TheAppleBias]

Thanks for letting me know. Glad I was able to help.

[@phelipecarmo2608]

Very helpful mate thank you so much 😊

[@michellelopez9356]

Thanks super easy!

[@AlanJones1]

Great video. Just what I needed. Thank you!

[@TheAppleBias]

Thanks for leaving the comment and letting me know. I’m working on a new channel that’s going to be all how to stuff. To try to answer everyone’s Apple related questions.

[@casaroccafamilyking]

superb, simple and clear, thanks!

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad it helped!

[@kbbvwelsh9334]

Thank you for the great and easy to understand video, worked perfectly.

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad it helped!

[@natasyaa4857]

THANKYOU SO MUCH . this really helps me a lot ❤️

[@TheAppleBias]

So glad to hear! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.

[@PeggyBlock-hy7kv]

I had to return Iphone to company after retirement and this made me feel so much more comfortable that all personal data wiped, and so easy to follow--thank you!

[@TheAppleBias]

So happy I was able to help. Thanks for letting me know.

[@trilliamc5185]

It worked. Thanks buddy!

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad to hear it helped.

[@corvettedm1]

Thank you very much! You made it so simple!

[@TheAppleBias]

So glad to hear it helped.

[@yeeh.1223]

Thank you !!! :)

[@richardgarcia406]

Thanks

[@TheAppleBias]

You’re welcome. Glad the video helped.

[@sherihollowayhighheeledartist]

Very very helpful! Thank you!

[@TheAppleBias]

So glad. Thanks for letting me know.

[@hanskuoni8475]

Easy to follow your instructions! 🙏🙏🙏

[@TheAppleBias]

So glad to hear!

[@relaxationspa4233]

Thank You it worked❤️

[@TheAppleBias]

So glad to hear. Thanks for taking the time to let me know. Love getting these comments.

[@christinehcanada]

Excellent video and easy to follow!

[@TheAppleBias]

So glad it helped! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.

[@MattMueller-he9os]

Thanks for the help. Appreciate it

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad to help!

[@ricobriantalisic8267]

very precise in just a few minutes

[@Stefanosuarosofficialaccount]

Good bro thanks

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad to hear thanks.

[@harrietalapag8809]

Thank you so much!

[@TheAppleBias]

Happy that the video was able to help.

[@reachlife4333]

Thanks ,good idea

[@TheAppleBias]

Happy to help.

[@CodyT2002]

Thank you sir 😊

[@TheAppleBias]

Happy to have helped.

[@marydurand1]

Just what I needed!!!

[@TheAppleBias]

So glad to hear.

[@karenmurdoch1042]

THANKS! X

[@TheAppleBias]

Welcome!

[@user-hu8jf7uw1r]

WOW,, Thankyou for helping out! such an amazing video- Straightfarward.

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad it was helpful and thank you so much for taking the time to let me know. Means a lot.

[@hariprasathm7600]

Thanks mate,it was really helpful ,Love from India 😊

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad to hear.

[@saimadhukarhezeebu414]

Great video.. Thank you

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad you liked it and hoped it helped!

[@exoticgymgirls8431]

worth....Great video that helps

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad it was able to help you.

[@LynziesLaboratory]

Thank you sir 🎉

[@TheAppleBias]

Glad to have helped

[@Jimmy_Cavallo]

Is this still accurate since this was from 2 years ago.??

[@StKnightis64]

Very thorough. 👍

[@TheAppleBias]

Thanks hope it helped.

[@user-bi7rh1py4l]

Great video!

[@TheAppleBias]

Thanks. Glad you liked it.

[@stevehillier7018]

What if no sim inserted as now in new phone ?

[@aug07broken]

Best video I found to sell my phone!! Ty!! Appreciate u man!!!

[@TheAppleBias]

So glad it was able to help. Thanks for taking the time to let me know!

[@Kmasse8]

Great video with simple, coincise and practical steps! :)

[@TheAppleBias]

Thanks!

[@organicoliveoil2007]

Do you recommend removing the SIM card as well? If so, should it be removed before erasing everything or after?

[@TheAppleBias]

Doesn’t matter when you remove it but if you have the tool then yeah I’d remove it.

[@falconboy1311]

Hey! I wanted to know if my phone number/ eSIM will also be removed by doing this. If not, I was wondering on how to do it.

[@TheAppleBias]

Yes sorry I need to update the video. When you go to start the erase it will ask you if you want to remove the eSIM/number from the phone or not.

[@disshiiempty6651]

I did nottt get an hello screen, I did all the steps and it still takes me back into my phone will all my data

[@brightstar885]

It’s 2024 and your video helped me, thank you so much.

[@TheAppleBias]

So glad to hear that it did.

[@ekphotography]

hello, is it possible to copy the back up afterwards to another hard drive externally? I hate having 256 gigs of back up on my computer? is it possible and then I can put it back on my computer when I want to sync my new iPhone?

[@TheAppleBias]

This page will help you find where it’s located. I’m not positive how the system will react if you move the file to another drive and the. Move it back to restore from it later tho. support.apple.com/en-us/HT204215#:~:text=Search%20for%20the%20backup%20folder,the%20Backup%20folder%20under%20Folders.

[@Martelli5520]

What about the SIM card? Should it be removed prior to factory reset? Did I miss that part?

[@TheAppleBias]

Score or even after is fine. Sorry I think I left that part out and a lot of phone are sim free now so I need to do an updated video soon.

[@MarioHysenbelliu]

So if I get a email that says the iPhone is being erased,it’s everything ok then?

[@Yusufemad229]

Hello can i make step 4 at the first?

[@TheAppleBias]

Can you clarify what you mean by that?

[@N3nr]

I erased all infos but i didn’t sign out from iCloud i already sold it but i just saw my iPhone on the iCloud devices list so i removed it after two days but i already took some pictures So will the photos and the new pics will still be there or erasing the iPhone did automatically sign me out of the iCloud

[@TheAppleBias]

As long as the phone was restored the photos would have been synced to the device. And once you removed it from iCloud it would have removed all items from it and make the new owner set it up as new.

[@Baby14124]

What happens if you didn’t delete the device from your iCloud ? But did factory reset on the phone twice it was all wiped when I double check

[@TheAppleBias]

The iCloud is just checking to make sure it’s no longer connected to iCloud. As long as it’s gone you’re good. If it still there then you can remove it just to make sure the new owner doesn’t have issues setting it up.

[@ryah2]

hi, i’m wondering if i follow this step and back up everything then sign out and erase all content making sure my photos are in icloud. if i press erase content will my photos be erased or will they stay in icloud? i have enough storage i just want to make sure none of my photos get deleted from iCloud

[@TheAppleBias]

Yeah if it would make you feel better you can always go to iCloud.com as long as you see the photos there then they are fully backed up. The erase function only removes everything from the phone. Not from iCloud.

[@jamesestrada82]

Do you no longer need to sign out of Find My iPhone prior to signing out of iCloud?

[@TheAppleBias]

Usually it’s part of the process the finally step in the video just make sure it all went well and everything is removed.

[@lou1824]

I just but a 12pro I have just transferred everything over from the 11, I can now sell this 11, I've backed everything up now do I erase the 11or reset all settings...I don't want anything deleted off the 12 pro, I also have 2 ipads connected, Im scared to erase I just want to make sure I'm doing the right thing,..thanks

[@TheAppleBias]

As long as you follow the step in the video for the old device nothing will be removed from the new one or the iPads. You will definitely want to erase the old one so when you sell it it doesn’t have access to all your photos and iCloud login data.

[@abraham7330]

i have two phones if i factory reset one of them data on my other phone wil lstay the same?

[@TheAppleBias]

Factory resetting one won’t cause anything to change in the other. Fully safe to do.

[@ebencipe]

does the erase thingy also unpair the apple watch on my iphone?

[@TheAppleBias]

It should prompt you to do it as long as the watch is unlocked and on your wrist. But you can always unpair it first just to be safe. I will make sure to add that to my next one.

[@bettyrodgers1468]

Many thanks, you made this so easy for technophobe 😂😂

[@TheAppleBias]

So glad to hear it was helpful. Thanks for letting me know.

[@voltrondefender1174]

What about sim cards?

[@TheAppleBias]

Sorry yes you can remove them at anytime in the process if on WiFi. Or after the restore if no WiFi is available.

[@Aca-eq4py]

Hey, im kind of panicking, I erased all content and settings, set it up again, ( all empty), and then signed out ( again) and again checked if its deleted. He was removed from find my anyways. However 1 month later i saw the buyer’s name on the device that he bought, what data can he access? Im super worried. Thank u in advance.

[@EmilysLife]

do you need to sign out of gmail? or taking all of these steps will remove access to your gmail account? Thank you!

[@TheAppleBias]

Taking these steps will remove all email accounts during the erasing process.

[@EmilysLife]

@@TheAppleBias ty!

[@TheAppleBias]

No problem happy to help.

[@ZulfiqarAli-nq8dt]

what about the hidden photos it will automatically delete or not if we reset our phones

[@TheAppleBias]

Yeah the backup will back those up as well and the restore wipes the whole phone and sets it up like when it was new.

[@ayshajanahi4203]

Could this process affects my content on the new iphone?

[@TheAppleBias]

Nope.

[@JoaquinMiguelTReyes]

i think i forgot to sign out of my icloud prior to selling but i erase all content and settings. i removed the old device from my icloud account on my new device though. will that make sure they cant access my icloud? thanks

[@TheAppleBias]

Yep and they couldn’t access your account without a password and probably 2 factor. The reason I recommend signing out before hand is just to make sure when they do set it up it’s not locked for them to sign into their account.

[@squaredawayacres1318]

question, if I already have my new phone with all the data do I still have to back it up before I delete everything? I dont want to pay for it if I dont have to

[@TheAppleBias]

Yeah as long as there isn’t anything on the device that you want you don’t have to back it up. I would make sure all your photos have fully synced over before just wiping it. They give you the option to skip backup during the erase process. I know iCloud space is pretty costly. You can also go into Settings app the tap the picture at the top click iCloud and in that list is a backups section where you can see what devices backups are currently stored in case you want to remove and make room for others.

[@ghostrejov2666]

After all those procedures, are the data still recoverable or it could be still recovered using recovery softwares?

[@TheAppleBias]

All the data is pretty encrypted by Apple to prevent any leaks to begin with. So it’s not something I would personally worry about.

[@kanyewest2656]

does it make the data unrecoverable even with the use of third party programs?

[@TheAppleBias]

Yeah once it is wipe all data is removed.

[@lovelievillia6950]

i forgot to reset my old iphone before selling it,what to do?

[@ashleyhornibrook762]

I don,t want to cell my phone but I do want to get apple music and get app store to work and get my You Tube working again to how do you do that?

[@TheAppleBias]

What’s your phone doing that none of these things work?

[@Twan_01]

Make sure before you sign out of iCloud, just sign out of find my iPhone. I heard it makes it difficult to set up for the new user.

[@TheAppleBias]

Yeah before you sign out of iCloud it usually forces you to turn off find my. The step at the end is just an extra verification step as well to make sure nothing went wrong and it was removed.

[@Colin-gl5hc]

if i sign out of apple from an old phone, will it remove my data on the new phone if it’s already transferred?

[@TheAppleBias]

No it will stay on the new one.

[@mohammedluqmanahmedqureshi6414]

I have 2 iPhones with the same data as they are synced, I want to sell the old one, how do I do that ? I don’t wanna lose data in both the iPhones

[@TheAppleBias]

If the new one already has all your data on it just follow these steps on the old on. You won’t lose any data on the new one.

[@himaniagarwal8067]

Can we transfer esim if the old phone data is already erased? Plzz reply

[@TheAppleBias]

You may have to either download the cell providers app. Or contact them and they should be able to get the eSIM setup on the new device for you. I use Visible and they have it build into the app. I am not sure what other services do.

[@starkness65]

Is the last step needing log into icloud and earase and remove device? I thought we already did it on the iphone itself?

[@TheAppleBias]

We did. Last step is just to make sure everything happened correctly. On most cases the device shouldn’t show up on the list. If it does then that means something didn’t process correctly and is still connected to iCloud which means the new owner could be locked out. It’s just a little extra guarantee

[@Baby14124]

@@TheAppleBiasI did factory reset on one phone and it was still on my devices and went back to double check if it was wiped and it was but the device was still on my iCloud account I just deleted it from my devices and did factory reset again on the phone I’m good right ?

[@TheAppleBias]

@Baby14124 yeah as long as that device is no longer showing up on the iCloud list you are good to go.

[@kt_gam1ng347]

Damn came here for instructions and found the number 1 apple fan.

[@TheAppleBias]

Nah there are people way more obsessed than I am. But I try. 🤣

[@kt_gam1ng347]

@@TheAppleBias your doing good brother. Really dig that setup. Especially that old pc. Oh yeah. Btw. Thanks for the vid. Got my phone all ready to go

[@MrCantu43]

What if erase content and settings is greyed out?

[@TheAppleBias]

Could be a couple things. There was a software bug a little while back. So you may need to check and update the iPhone first. Or it could just be that you’re not connected to the internet. The iPhone just needs to verify things before erasing.

[@mattmcdavid104]

Cool beans man I thought that was going to be a crap show for sure lol.

[@TheAppleBias]

Ha happy to help.

[@alexp8832]

Ive done the steps. When I go in to Icloud on my new IPhone, i still can see a icloud back up on the old phone im gonna sell. Should I delete the back up on my old Phone to?

[@TheAppleBias]

Yeah the backup will stay for a while and may get deleted when you need more iCloud space, if you have a new backup of your new phone it should be safe to delete, but isn't necessary.

[@islandtony5009]

So employee has lost their phone (we've cancelled that contract/#) - we have another phone from an ex-employee we cant to give to the employee who lost their phone. We've signed out of Apple ID, didn't save any data, but when we try to set the phone up with the revised Apple ID, it wants to send a verification code to the original phone (which is LOST) - or, send a text message to a trusted number (which is the number on the phone - LOST). Is there any way to get around that? Tried logging in to the apple account online to add a different trusted number; can't access that without . . . you guessed it . . . dual factor authentication! Any suggestions?

[@TheAppleBias]

That’s a rough one. Guessing there is saved data on that AppleID that you need? I’d first try reaching out to apple support to see if they have another way around it if not maybe call the carrier and see if you can get that old number back (even just temporarily on another phone)

[@BasilahAl]

after doing this , all photos are blank , dont know why and need help

[@TheAppleBias]

So you restored from the backup of the old phone and now all your photos are blank?

[@MichKY15]

What if you forget to sign out before deleting the device? Is that a problem?

[@TheAppleBias]

It should automatically happen but you can verify it all went right in the video at the 5min mark.

[@twinsgran]

Oops! I bought a new iphone last week that I found to be faulty, after setting it all up with all of my details etc. I didn't know that I had to sign out of icloud but went straight to erase everything, then sent it back. Hopefully it will be ok but now I'm a bit worried.

[@TheAppleBias]

Should be fine in most cases it signs out but there can be issues which is why I have it mentioned in my video. If you look at the 5 min mark I talk about how to check and make sure it was fully removed from iCloud.

[@sampresti3575]

I’ve have shifted all my data and SIM card into my new phone. Can I delete all that you have stated without the SIM card in the old phone?

[@TheAppleBias]

Yeah. If the new phone is already setup with all the data you need then it sounds like you are good to go. 👍. What phone did you upgrade to?

[@sampresti3575]

iPhone 14 Plus and love it.

[@TheAppleBias]

Awesome. Enjoy it the 14 line up is pretty amazing!

[@Ashley-eh1st]

When I erased my apple ID it didn't say "removing" it said "copying" and after erasing all content and data, it says "erase pending" in icloud on my PC. My phone is still there but pending erase and not sure what to do.

[@TheAppleBias]

That’s weird. With the steps I provided it should have just fully removed and erased everything. Did it finally get past the pending state for you?

[@shn3930]

What if i directly went and clicked reset all data without doing the icloud sign out, is it ok? Or will the new owner get access to my data

[@TheAppleBias]

In this video I take a couple extra steps just to verify everything goes smoothly. It should log you out before wiping but if something goes wrong they still wouldn’t have access to your data. Worst case they wouldn’t be able to setup the device. Without you having to follow the last step of removing the device from iCloud.com

[@GardenCatsTV]

Bro if you don't sign out and remove the device from your account then no one will be able to use the phone

[@user-rp5kd1if5b]

When I log onto icloud, it says "erase pending" for my device. Do you have any suggestions on how to fix that? Thank you.

[@TheAppleBias]

So did you trigger the erase from icloud instead of on device? Do you still have access to the device? Te device probably just needs to be booted up and connect tote internet through WiFi or cellular and then it can start the erasing process.

[@user-rp5kd1if5b]

I still have the device. I already transfered my data from my old phone to my new phone and triggered erase from icloud through my phone itself. In order to connect to wifi I think I'd have to set up the phone again as it went back to factory settings when I erased everything. I @@TheAppleBias

[@user-dl9yt4fw8k]

If my new phone is already set up and everything is already moved to it do I still need to back up my old phone?

[@TheAppleBias]

Well I’d personally still do it just to make sure all the photos on it gets transferred over to iCloud.

[@bradley7506]

I thought it was required to turn off find my on the phone first…is that no longer the case?

[@TheAppleBias]

You can do it or it will do it during the reset process and at the end I added an extra step to verify it was removed. Cause if the connection fails it could fail to remove it.

[@Naturewows]

If i delete it from icloud well my stuff which i backed up in icloud also get removed nd cant back up my data from icloud ?

[@TheAppleBias]

No you can remove the iPhone from the find my section as long as you have already backed it up to iCloud that backup will still be there

[@Naturewows]

@@TheAppleBias thanks u brother 🥰

[@TheAppleBias]

@princemj5113 happy to help.

[@manjulatc5327]

❤

[@feliperomero7981]

Hi just wondering I never backed up nothing on my phone just factory reset to sell it can the other parson still see my personal stuff?

[@TheAppleBias]

As long as by factory reset it was the erase all option. Then you are fine all the data on the phone will be removed.

[@feliperomero7981]

@@TheAppleBias oh ok so as soon as I factory reset everything is gone for good rite ?

[@TheAppleBias]

Yep. If you weren’t signed into iCloud or you always have backups off.

[@feliperomero7981]

@@TheAppleBias I was sign on but I always had backups off brother . Just wanna make sure I’m good

[@feliperomero7981]

Thanks so much for replaying by the way man really appreciate it

[@georgev.acsinte5167]

what if, at the find my part on the laptop it says "no devices"? is it okay?

[@TheAppleBias]

Yeah should be good. Do you have any other apple devices?

[@georgev.acsinte5167]

@@TheAppleBias no, I don't. just that Iphone

[@TheAppleBias]

Yep then that is what you should see then. 👍

[@ruanstoltzi7583]

Can people still recover personal things from your phone even after selling it? Even after wiping it?

[@TheAppleBias]

If they made a backup of the device before wiping it and restore it on a new one they should recover everything. Pictures, calendars and contacts should be accessible via iCloud.com

[@solbrillante9151]

Does removing my iPhone from my iCloud will erase my photos and contacts from my iCloud account?

[@TheAppleBias]

No as long as there is enough space in your iCloud to store all them and the backup of the iPhone. Then when you wipe your phone it will all still be on iCloud.