This is a sponsored post on behalf of U.S. Cellular. All opinions, as always are my own!
What do you do with your old cell phone once you
upgrade? I think that is a question a lot
of us face, especially after the holiday season where so many people did get an
upgrade to their phone!
upgrade? I think that is a question a lot
of us face, especially after the holiday season where so many people did get an
upgrade to their phone!
I am considering an upgrade to an iPhone 7 myself. But, if I get that iPhone 7 I will then have several
old iPhones. I think it is about time I
start selling some of them so that I can get a little extra money, and not
worry about having a bunch of unused devices in my house.
old iPhones. I think it is about time I
start selling some of them so that I can get a little extra money, and not
worry about having a bunch of unused devices in my house.
If you need more help after reading my tips, make sure to
visit your local U.S. Cellular store – they have an amazing customer service department
that will help you with any and all questions (I utilize them frequently!).
visit your local U.S. Cellular store – they have an amazing customer service department
that will help you with any and all questions (I utilize them frequently!).
The most important
thing to consider when selling an old phone is to remove all personal
information from the phone.
thing to consider when selling an old phone is to remove all personal
information from the phone.
Many of us keep personal information on our phones, from
saved passwords and financial information, to pictures and videos. What do you do with all that information
before you sell your device?
saved passwords and financial information, to pictures and videos. What do you do with all that information
before you sell your device?
First – back up to your cloud account. This is really the first step. You want to make sure that all of your
information is saved in your cloud account.
It allows for easy transfer to your new device, and you are able to have
confidence that you will not lose anything.
information is saved in your cloud account.
It allows for easy transfer to your new device, and you are able to have
confidence that you will not lose anything.
Remove your SIM card.
The SIM card is the external storage device for your phone. You definitely want to remove this before
selling your phone. It is the small,
rectangular shaped card that is usually located near your phone battery.
The SIM card is the external storage device for your phone. You definitely want to remove this before
selling your phone. It is the small,
rectangular shaped card that is usually located near your phone battery.
Log out of services such as e-mail and social media. You want to make sure that you have
logged out and clear all your data from these apps.
logged out and clear all your data from these apps.
Disconnect from your cloud account.
Make sure that you
disconnect your device from your cloud account.
You obviously do not want people having access to your cloud information
after you have sold your phone.
Make sure that you
disconnect your device from your cloud account.
You obviously do not want people having access to your cloud information
after you have sold your phone.
Remove mobile payment options. These
days many people are using mobile banking for bill payment and other financial
needs, make sure that you remove these options from your phone.
days many people are using mobile banking for bill payment and other financial
needs, make sure that you remove these options from your phone.
Restore the phone to factory settings.
This should remove all
personal information, but I would definitely follow the above steps first, just
to make sure everything is really gone from the phone.
This should remove all
personal information, but I would definitely follow the above steps first, just
to make sure everything is really gone from the phone.
Disconnect service.
Chances are, if you upgraded, you have already disconnected service from
your phone. However, if you haven’t,
make sure that you do!
Chances are, if you upgraded, you have already disconnected service from
your phone. However, if you haven’t,
make sure that you do!
Unregister device. If
the phone is registered with Apple by its serial number, remove it by logging
into supportprofile.apple.com with the Apple ID information.
the phone is registered with Apple by its serial number, remove it by logging
into supportprofile.apple.com with the Apple ID information.
Similarly, Androids will need to be unregistered. First, go
to the Google Play store from a computer’s Web browser. Then, go to the gear
icon at the top-right-hand corner of the screen, and select the Settings
option. Deselect the device from the Google account under the Visibility
option. This will hide select devices from appearing in the Play store when
attempting to download a new app.
to the Google Play store from a computer’s Web browser. Then, go to the gear
icon at the top-right-hand corner of the screen, and select the Settings
option. Deselect the device from the Google account under the Visibility
option. This will hide select devices from appearing in the Play store when
attempting to download a new app.
And finally, if you are looking into purchasing a used
device, it is recommended that you wipe your new phone clean before
personalizing it with your own information.
That will ensure that the device settings, data, and apps are yours
only. You will start with a clean slate!
device, it is recommended that you wipe your new phone clean before
personalizing it with your own information.
That will ensure that the device settings, data, and apps are yours
only. You will start with a clean slate!
Did you upgrade your
phone over the holidays? What do you do
with your old phone when you do upgrade?
phone over the holidays? What do you do
with your old phone when you do upgrade?
Tasha F says
January 29, 2017 at 5:15 pmSurprisingly a lot of people forget to do these things. With all the technology out these days it's easier than ever to steal someones information. Thank you for sharing this!
Keren Charles says
January 27, 2017 at 6:26 pmThese tips are so important to know. I wish I would have read this before upgrading my cell phone.
Barbie's Beauty Bits says
January 27, 2017 at 5:38 pmGreat tips. It is important to set to the factory reset. I however have always turned in most of my phones.
Krystle Cook says
January 26, 2017 at 2:40 pmI have only ever sold or given my phone to a close friend or family. It is kind of scary thinking about giving it to people that I don't know.
Robin Rue says
January 26, 2017 at 2:39 pmAll of these tips are so important. SO many people forget to reset their phones and delete information that would be personal before selling.
slaywithamyrae says
January 26, 2017 at 2:22 amUsually when I get a new phone and the old one is still working I will keep it just in case something happens to the new one and I need a quick replacement!
Dawn McAlexander says
January 26, 2017 at 1:38 amI think a lot of people forget about logging out of Cloud accounts. That's really important. You don't want other people to see your private stuff.
reesa says
January 25, 2017 at 9:48 pmWe do this a lot, sell our old phones. But you know what? I have NEVER done some of these things before selling them!!!
Courteney Noonan says
January 25, 2017 at 6:22 pmThis is such a useful post! I never really knew how to go about selling my old phones so I've always given them to family members in the past
Rachel Catherine says
January 25, 2017 at 5:34 pmThese are good tips but I'm leary of selling my smartphone. There was just an investigative piece on the news about this and people were able to get everything off of them.
Brittany Muddamalle says
January 25, 2017 at 2:41 pmThis is a great post! My husband and I upgrade our phones each year. Instead of selling it back to Apple, we keep it and sell it on our own. We usually make way more.
happy organized home says
January 25, 2017 at 2:20 amI always sell my phones after upgrades there is a local pawn shop that gives a great price on phones so I usually go to them. I always make sure to delete all of my personal information before hand very important to remember
CourtneyLynne says
January 25, 2017 at 1:03 amThese are some great tips!! When I hit my new phone I sold my old one online to a store online. Pretty handy!!
di says
January 24, 2017 at 11:44 pmThese are GREAT tips! And timely too. We are embarking on a declutter mission for 2017!
Rachel @ Kitchen Cents says
January 24, 2017 at 9:05 pmThis is great advice when selling a smart phone. I wish I had seen this article a couple weeks ago. LOL
Terri Steffes says
January 24, 2017 at 6:41 pmI just got a new phone and am sending my old one to my sister. I am so glad that I did all the steps on your chart, that was close. It is my sister, though, I guess I am safe!
Kristin and Megan says
January 24, 2017 at 5:36 pmI've never thought about selling our old smartphones. We currently have a kitchen drawer full of them. Haha!
Amanda Rosson says
January 24, 2017 at 10:02 amOoh this is such helpful information!! I'd like to upgrade my phone soon (maybe once the next iPhone comes out with a headphone jack) and I will definitely do these steps when I sell my old phone!
Charlotte TheMummyToolbox says
January 24, 2017 at 8:24 amWe've sold our old phones before, usually when it is upgrade time and we definitely should have done this, much safer alternative!
Silvia Marquez says
January 24, 2017 at 5:35 amThese are all great tips! I've sold my phone before and you have to make sure whatever you need is saved and completely wipe the phone being sold.
Jana Bailey says
January 24, 2017 at 4:19 amI never thought of some of these – this is great I haven't yet had the opportunity to sell one yet though this will all be great to remember
Krystel Seijo says
January 23, 2017 at 11:41 pmThis is a good tutorial especially for those who aren't tech savvy. I will pass this around.
Karen Morse says
January 23, 2017 at 6:58 pmBeyond helpful! I have been nervous about selling an old cell phone because of the stuff I have on it, and not being confident about how to remove it properly. You made it so easy!
Janel B says
January 23, 2017 at 5:29 pmI'm always Leary about giving away my old cell phone even though you remove all data. I just give it to my kids to play with until it completely kicks the bucket. Then we like to have a smashing party lol where my son smashes the broken electronic to pieces.
Heather says
January 23, 2017 at 5:42 pmMy kids definitely have claimed a couple of our old phones as well.
Jessi Joachim says
January 23, 2017 at 4:56 pmI keep telling my husband that we need to sell our old phones. He has a pile of them in a box dating back to like 2010 lol.
Heather says
January 23, 2017 at 5:41 pmI'm glad I'm not the only one who has a box!