How to get your phone ready to send

Selling a phone takes five minutes of preparation, and doing the steps in the right order saves real headaches. Here is the sequence we recommend.

First, back it up. On an iPhone, Settings, your name, iCloud, iCloud Backup, Back Up Now. If you are moving to a new phone, do the transfer before you sell the old one, not after.

Second, switch off Find My. This is the one people forget, and it is the one that actually blocks a sale. Settings, your name, Find My, Find My iPhone, off. It asks for your Apple ID password. If the phone is already in a drawer somewhere and you cannot face charging it, you can also remove it from your account at iCloud.com.

Third, erase it. Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Erase All Content and Settings. This signs you out of everything and wipes your data. We erase every device again to recognised standards when it arrives, with a certificate recorded, but you should never post a phone with your life still on it.

Finally, take out your SIM. Physical SIMs live in the tray; if you use an eSIM, erasing the phone offers to remove it. The box, cable and charger can stay lost, your price is the same without them.