Welcome to Tech Support, a segment where I, Dan Howley, serve as your intrepid guide through the sometimes confusing, often frustrating, world of personal technology.
Here, I answer all of your most pressing questions about the various gizmos, gadgets, and services you use in your everyday life.
Have a question of your own? Reach me on Twitter at @danielhowley or email me at [email protected].
Now, on to your questions. This week’s Tech Support tip:
How to trade in your old iPhone
Apple’s (AAPL) next iPhone is set to make its debut later this month, bringing with it the biggest changes to the company’s smartphone in years including new designs and, more importantly, 5G cellular technology.
And if you’re interested in grabbing Apple’s latest and greatest, you’re probably wondering what you should do with your current iPhone. The smartest move, if you have no use for it, is to trade it in toward the purchase of your next phone.
But before you do that, you’re going to need to delete the personal data on your iPhone to make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. That is, unless you want people seeing ALL of your pictures and text messages.
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Back up your phone
Your iPhone has an absurd amount of personal information stored on it. Think about it — it’s where you keep your notes, calendar, phone numbers, text messages, photos, web browser. You name it, it’s probably on your phone.
Which means you’re going to need to delete all of that data before you trade in your phone. But before you start deleting things, you’re going to need to back up your phone, so that when you get your new one, you can pick up right where you left off.
To do that, open the Settings app, and tap the Apple ID, iCloud, Media & Purchases tab.
Tap the Apple ID tab. (Image: Howley)
Tap the iCloud Backup button. (Image: Howley)
Tap Back Up Now. (Image: Howley)
Reset your iPhone
Now that you’ve backed up your iPhone to iCloud, you can reset it to its original factory settings.
Open the Settings app, select General, and choose Reset at the bottom of the screen.
Tap the General tab and select Reset at the bottom of the next screen. (Image: Howley)
Tap Reset to begin erasing your phone. (Image: Howley)
You’ll then receive a prompt warning that you’re about to erase all of your phone’s content.
Tap Erase iPhone, and then Erase iPhone again on the second warning prompt.
Next, you’ll need to enter the password for your Apple ID to erase your account from your phone.
Once you’ve done that, your phone will completely erase all of your personal data, and automatically return to the setup screen for you.
Trade in your iPhone
Trading in your iPhone is relatively easy. There are a number of sources you can choose from to make the move — including Apple itself.
Apple’s trade-in site gives you an estimated trade-in value for your phone, making it especially helpful for getting rid of your old device. For instance, the site says you’ll get $35 for an iPhone 6, depending on its condition, and as much as $450 for an iPhone XS Max.
You can bring your iPhone to the Apple store, or mail it in using the pre-paid mailing kit.
In addition to Apple, AT&T (T), T-Mobile (TMUS), and Yahoo Finance’s parent company Verizon (VZ), offer trade-in deals, as do Best Buy and Gazelle.
If the company isn’t offering cash for your used phone, you can often send the device in to have it recycled.
But if you do receive cash for your old phone, you can use it to purchase your new iPhone.
It’s like the circle of life, but for smartphones, and it’s a solid deal.
Got a tip? Email Daniel Howley at [email protected] over via encrypted mail at [email protected], and follow him on Twitter at @DanielHowley.
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