What to Do Before Factory Resetting a Phone

Confirm that reset is appropriate

A factory reset may help with persistent software corruption or prepare a phone for another owner. It will not repair a damaged battery, broken SIM reader, suspended mobile account, network outage or unsupported feature.

Before the reset

1. Create a fresh backup and check the timestamp.
2. Open sample cloud and computer files.
3. Export or transfer authenticator access and save backup codes.
4. Confirm Apple or Google Account passwords and trusted numbers.
5. Check banking and payment-app new-device procedures.
6. Record eSIM and operator-account details.
7. Remove work management only through the organisation’s process.

If the phone will remain yours

You may keep Find My or Find Hub associated as appropriate and restore from your backup afterwards. Have power and a stable network available for setup.

If the phone is being sold or given away

Follow the separate handover procedure so that Activation Lock, Google account protection, eSIM, payment cards and personal accounts are removed in the correct order.

Use a written go/no-go checklist

Factory reset is irreversible for local data and can also create account-lock problems if ownership settings are not handled first. Do not proceed from memory when the phone contains important accounts or is being transferred to another person.

• Go only when the latest backup and app-specific exports are verified.
• Go only when SIM/eSIM, 2FA, passkeys and banking access work elsewhere.
• For a handover, remove the relevant Apple or Google account and understand Find My or Factory Reset Protection.
• Stop if the old phone is the only trusted device or the only place holding recovery codes.

After the reset, check the welcome screen and ownership state. If the phone is staying with you, restore carefully; if it is being sold, do not sign back in merely to demonstrate that it works.