Did the factory reset, though everything was fine? Except I forgot to sign out of iCloud first. So the phone stayed locked to my account. Three days later, the buyer called me.
The Awkward Conversations That Followed
Meant logging into Apple’s website, finding my device list, removing it while they sat there waiting to try setting up the phone again.
Should’ve been straightforward. Except I couldn’t remember my Apple password. I had to reset it while this poor person waited in line. Lucky for me they were patient. But I learned that lesson real fast.
Turns Out Activation Locks Are A Thing
Great if someone steals your phone. They can’t just reset it and sell it. They’d need your credentials, which they obviously don’t have.
But when you’re selling your phone, you need to actually remove that lock before handing it over. Factory reset alone doesn’t cut it. The lock stays put even after a reset.
I had zero idea about this. Thought factory reset meant wiped clean and ready for someone new. Didn’t know there was this whole extra step I needed to handle.
What I Should’ve Done Instead
After that mess, I looked up how to actually prepare phones for sale properly. Here’s what you’re supposed to do:
For iPhones: Turn off Find My iPhone in settings first. Needs your Apple ID password. Then sign out of iCloud completely. Sign out of iTunes and iMessage too then do the factory reset.
For Android: Pretty similar. Remove your Google account to disable Factory Reset Protection. Then factory reset.
Order matters here. If you reset first without removing accounts, you get the activation lock nightmare I dealt with.
Other Accounts I Completely Forgot About
Even after I figured out the iCloud thing, I kept forgetting other accounts on later phone sales.
Sold a phone once and left my work email logged in. The buyer reaches out saying they’re getting my work emails. I had to explain that one to IT. So I sold my phone and forgot to sign out and now some random person is seeing company emails… Made me look super professional.
Another time I forgot about a music streaming service that was still logged in. Not exactly a security disaster, but the buyer kept getting my playlists and recommendations. They were confused, probably thought the service was broken or something.
Banking apps, social media, shopping apps – you’d be shocked how much stuff stays logged in even after you’ve stopped using a phone regularly. Going through and manually signing out of everything is tedious as hell but you’ve got to do it.
The Part That Made It Worse
It’s basic stuff. But I got lazy and careless and assumed things would just work themselves out.
Having to reach back out to buyers after they’d paid me to fix problems I’d created felt terrible. These people gave me money, expected something that actually worked, and got a locked or half-set-up device instead.
Most buyers were cool about it once I made things right. But I shouldn’t have needed to make things right at all.
Security Stuff I Didn’t Think About
Beyond just annoying buyers, not wiping accounts from devices properly creates actual security problems.
If I hadn’t removed my iCloud, someone could’ve potentially gotten into my photos, contacts, backups – everything synced to that account. Same deal with email and banking apps.
Even though the buyer wasn’t trying to steal my stuff, the data was sitting there exposed. If they sold the phone again later, or if someone hacked it, my information could’ve been compromised.
I was lucky that my buyers were just regular people who wanted working phones. But I was basically trusting complete strangers with access to my entire digital life. Pretty stupid looking back.
Now I’m paranoid about it. Check everything three times. Go through every app, every service, make absolutely certain nothing’s still connected to my accounts.
Why Factory Reset Alone Doesn’t Work
This is the thing most people get wrong. They think factory reset equals completely wiped and ready to sell. Nope.
Factory reset brings the phone back to default settings, removes your files and apps. But account locks, especially activation locks, stick around through factory resets. That’s the whole point – stopping thieves from resetting stolen phones.
You’ve got to remove the locks before you reset. Otherwise you’re creating problems for whoever buys it.
I’ve seen people online selling activation-locked phones, either because they don’t know better or they’re hoping buyers won’t notice until after the sale goes through. That’s either ignorant or sketchy. Maybe both.
Learning how to prep devices properly isn’t optional. It’s just part of selling responsibly.
What Actually Good Prep Looks Like Now
These days, here’s what I do when preparing phones to sell:
A week before selling phones, I stopped using the phone entirely. Switch to my new phone so I’m not making new data on the old one.
Back up everything I want to keep. Photos, contacts, messages if they matter. Double check the backup actually worked.
Go through every single app and sign out. Every. Single. One. Banking, email, social media, shopping, games, all of it. It takes forever but it’s got to be done.
Take out my SIM card. Keep it or move it to the new phone.
Remove memory cards if there are any.
For iPhone: Turn off Find My iPhone, sign out of iCloud, sign out of iTunes and App Store, sign out of iMessage and FaceTime. Check Settings to make sure all accounts are gone.
For Android: Remove Google account, which turns off Factory Reset Protection. Sign out of other accounts.
Factory reset through settings. Let it finish completely.
Only after going through all this is the phone actually ready to sell.
My Checklist That Actually Works
I made an actual printed checklist that I go through step by step for every device I sell. Sounds a bit obsessive but it works.
The checklist lists every account type I might have on a device, with boxes to check off. Email – check. Social media – check. Banking apps – check. Everything.
Has the proper sequence for logging out and resetting for different operating systems.
Has a final check where I turn on the device and verify it’s not locked.
Using a checklist means I can’t forget important stuff. Takes memory out of the equation.
When Buyers Don’t Know Either
Interesting thing I learned from that first screwup – buyers often don’t know about activation locks either. When I explained what happened to that first buyer, they had no clue what I was talking about.
Which means there’s probably tons of sales happening where nobody understands this stuff properly.
More people need to understand this stuff.
Now when I sell devices, I specifically mention in my listings that the device isn’t activation locked and ready to use immediately. Buyers who understand that appreciate knowing. Buyers who don’t can look it up and learn something.
The Stress Around Every Sale Now
Honestly, that first mistake made me anxious about selling anything for a while. I’d sell a phone and then spend days worrying I’d forgotten something and would get an angry call.
That anxiety made me more careful, which is good. But it also made selling stressful, which isn’t ideal.
Eventually I built up enough confidence through following my checklist and having sales go smoothly that the anxiety went away. It took time though.
What I’d Tell First-Time Sellers
Rushing causes mistakes.
Make a checklist. Write down every step and actually check them off.
Test the device after you prep it. Turn it on, make sure it’s not locked, verify it works.
Be honest with buyers.
Who you sold to, when, how much. Just in case issues come up later.
Selling devices isn’t complicated. But it does need attention to detail and following the right steps. My embarrassing mistake taught me that the hard way. Hopefully reading about it helps you skip making the same mistakes I did.
