How IOS 15 Makes It Easy to Back up and Wipe Your IPhone Before Selling It
Is it time to let go of your iPhone or iPad? Are you switching to a newer, better model, or are you passing it on to a family member? Maybe it just needs to be renovated. Before you do any of this, you will first want to completely erase your iPhone or iPad to securely erase your personal data, Apple ID and Activation Lock data.
And starting with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15, Apple has made this process easier. Now, instead of three different things, you only need to do one thing (and, frankly, this feature is long overdue).
How to back up data and factory reset iPhone or iPad
Open the Settings app on your iPhone and go to General . Scroll down and select the ” Move or Reset iPhone ” option.
If you’re planning to buy a new iPhone, Apple will offer to back up all iPhone data to iCloud, even if you don’t pay for iCloud storage. This data will be available for a week and after restoration will be deleted from your iCloud account. To use this option, select the “Getting Started” in the section “Preparation for the new iPhone».
To completely erase iPhone data, click the Erase All Content and Settings button.
You will now get a new page with an overview of everything that Apple will remove from the device. For the first time on this list, you’ll see things like your Apple ID, Find My, and Apple Wallet. Click the ” Continue ” button.
Enter the password for your iPhone to verify. If your iCloud backup is incomplete, you will see an option to continue the process after the backup is complete. We recommend that you complete this backup and make a local backup on your iPhone or iPad. Tap the ” Skip backup ” option if you want to skip the backup process.
Then enter your Apple ID password to sign out and turn off Find Me and Activation Lock. After entering your password, click the Power Off button, then click the Erase iPhone button.
Your iPhone or iPad will begin the factory restore process. Wait a couple of minutes and your device will return to the Hello screen. Now you can sell or trade your iPhone or iPad without worrying about sharing your personal data with a stranger.