How to Wipe iPhone Clean Before Selling
How to permanently clear all on iPhone before selling?
I will be selling my iPhone 3GS since I ordered the new iPhone 5S. I have read a few posts about wiping everything on iPhone by the option of “General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings”.
The reason I am confused is that a tech-savvy user could still access data on the phone. There are web articles about recovering your data on an iPhone that not backed up. The process involves jailbreaking, etc. to allow full access. How to COMPLETELY erase messages, contacts, emails, history, and all other personal data off the iPhone before selling? Any ideas that can help?
With the arrival of the iPhone 6S/6S Plus, you may consider giving your iPhone 5s/5/4S/4/3GS away or selling it on eBay or a store. Wait for a second, your whole life is on that phone, like contacts, messages, emails, music, photos, videos, and other personal stuff. You should clear all data from your iPhone to sell or give it away.
You learn what to do before you sell or give away your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch by Official Apple Support: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5661
- First, Make a backup of your iPhone”s data so that you can restore the data to your new phone.
- Then, Clear all personal data off your iPhone from “General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings”
The question is: Is that solution safe? Restoring iPhone could really delete all data on iPhone permanently?
The fact is that factory resets are simple not enough to remove all of your data, and the deleted data still could be accessed with some special recovery tool. Because Apple just protects your deleted data with a password instead of deleting. For the sake of security, you should really need to permanently delete all your personal data (e-mails, contacts, text messages, photos, videos) off your iPhone without restoring.
How to Wipe iPhone clean before selling it?
There’s a third-party application you can use. PhoneClean, which is specially designed to permanently wipe all personal information from the iPhone/iPod/iPad using US Military spec over-writing technology. It can help you erase all iPhone data including messages, safari history, contacts, photos and videos, apps, account info, passwords, and other personal information. And all the deleted data can not be recovered by any recovery tool. I really like a digital shredder!
Step 1. Launch iOS Data Eraser and connect your iPhone
After downloading the iOS data cleaner, click to install and run it on your computer. If you don’t connect your iOS device to computer or your iOS device is not recognized, you will see “No Device Connected” on the interface.
Step 2. Connect Your iPhone to Computer
Then connect the iPhone you need to wipe with a USB cable to the computer. The program will instantly recognize your iPhone and show you the following interface.
Step 3. Erase all data
iOS data eraser is a professional data destroyer that ensures your information is ended at your hand regardless of whose hands your device falls into.
If you are selling, trading or recycling your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, then you can erase all data and make your device safe before passing it on.
Click on Erase Now button in the primary window.
When the analysis completes, PhoneClean will erase your data immediately. The erasing time depends on the size of files on your device. To ensure a successful erasing, please keep your device connected during the process.
Your iOS device(s) will restart automatically after finishing erasing process. Please keep patient.
Step 4. Get a clean iPhone to sell
When the process completed, the program told you that you have permanently wiped data: contacts, call history, SMS, calendar, memos, to-do, pictures, music, videos. Your iPhone has now been securely erased for resale. Just pull out the SIM card and take it to eBay or a store for selling.
More About iPhone Data Eraser
- Permanently wipe all personal information from iPhone/iPad/iPod for resale or trade on;
- Erase all data contains contacts, messages, photos, videos, apps, account info, passwords and other personal data;
- Wipe iPhone/iPad/iPod to prevent personal information from being recoverable.
- Works with all iOS devices, even wipe Jailbroken iPhone and carrier-locked iPhones.
- Safe solution for erasing iPhone. It gives you back a totally new iPhone.
