Here’s everything you need to do to safeguard your data before you sell or trade in your current phone, along with the best places to get cash or credit to put toward a new one.
Apple’s lineup of iPhone 17 models is here. While the new iPhone Air initially took center stage as the company’s slimmest phone yet, it has sold so poorly that production has been slowed and a follow-up was pushed back to 2027. Still, the full iPhone 17 lineup has done well enough to help Apple overtake Samsung as the top smartphone maker in the world. It’s clear that many were quick to upgrade, but a new phone is expensive! Chances are, you may need to trade in or sell your old device just to afford the new one.
The iPhone Air starts at $999, which is $100 more expensive than the Plus model it replaces. Meanwhile, the standard iPhone 17 is $799 for 256GB and $999 for 512GB. If you want 17 Pro, you’ll need to pay a minimum of $1,099 for 256GB. The Pro Max could set you back as much as $1,999 for the 2TB model.
If you’re planning to upgrade, you could sell or trade in your old iPhone to make a dent in the price of a new one. But that entails more than just handing it over and waiting for cash to hit your bank account. Wiping your phone is a must. As is backing up your data just in case the transfer doesn’t go as planned. Below is our step-by-step guide to properly preparing your phone for sale and where to sell it. 1. Back Up Everything
First, make sure you don’t lose your data. Back everything up before you wipe it from your phone. To back up to iCloud from your device, go to Settings, select your name, and then choose iCloud > iCloud Backup > Back Up Now.
To back up to your Mac, connect your iPhone and your computer via a cable or Wi-Fi. If you have macOS Catalina or later, go to Finder, select your iPhone, and then choose General > Back Up All of the Data on Your iPhone to This Mac > Back Up Now. If you have an earlier version or a Windows PC, you’d use iTunes. Open the program, click on the image of your phone, then select Summary > Back Up Now. 2. Unfind Your iPhone
Apple’s Find My app can sometimes block activation by a new owner, so you should deactivate the app before you ditch the device. Though Find My is automatically deactivated when you erase all content and settings, which you’ll do below, this is still a good step to take as a precaution. Go to Settings, select your name, then choose Find My and disable it for that device. Enter your Apple Account password and tap Turn Off.3. Sign Out of Messages
For a while, people who ditched their iPhones without logging out of Messages were not receiving texts from other iOS users. Any messages sent from one iPhone to another were being received by the old phone, rather than the new device.
