The buyer powers on the phone you sold, and instead of a welcome screen they see a message asking for your Apple Account or Google sign-in. That is protection doing its job, and it means the reset happened in the wrong order. Do it in the order below and the next owner gets a clean start while your data stays yours.

Which device are you resetting?

Device The thing that traps people Where the official steps are
iPhone or iPad Activation Lock, a paired Apple Watch, an eSIM that stays active Apple Support, “What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in”
Android phone Factory Reset Protection (device protection) asking for the old Google account Android Help, “Reset your Android device to factory settings” and device protection
Windows laptop Choosing “Keep my files,” or skipping drive cleaning and the BitLocker key Microsoft Support, “Reset your PC” and “Cloud rebuild”

iPhone and iPad

  1. Back up and move your data. On iOS 11 or later, Apple says to use Quick Start to transfer information to the new device. If your phone number is changing, add trusted phone numbers to your Apple Account first.
  2. Check Parts and Service History. If any part shows “Finish Repair,” complete that repair before a trade-in.
  3. Unpair an Apple Watch and cancel your AppleCare plan or transfer it to the new owner.
  4. Sign out. On iOS 26 or later: Settings, tap your name, scroll down, tap Sign Out, then choose “Erase this [device]” or “Sign Out But Don’t Erase.” On iOS 18 or earlier: Settings, your name, Sign Out, enter your Apple Account password and tap Turn Off.
  5. If you are going to a non-Apple phone, deregister iMessage. Our phone-switching checklist has the steps.
  6. Erase. Settings, General, Transfer or Reset, Erase All Content and Settings. Enter your passcode if asked, then tap Erase. Apple says erasing turns Find My and Activation Lock off.
  7. eSIM: when asked whether to erase the device and the eSIM profile, choose both, unless your carrier plans to move the line separately.
  8. Remove the old device from your trusted devices in your Apple Account.

If you no longer have the device, Apple’s fallback list is: ask the new owner to erase it; if it is lost or stolen, erase it with Find Devices on iCloud.com; remove it from your trusted devices; change your Apple Account password and turn on two-factor authentication; remove cards from Wallet. Apple notes that erasing a device does not delete your content from iCloud, and that deleting items by hand while signed in removes them from all connected devices, which is a reason not to tidy up iCloud first.

If you are the buyer: Apple’s check is to start setup. If you are asked for the previous owner’s Apple Account information, the device is still linked to them, and on iOS or iPadOS 15 or later an “iPhone Locked to Owner” screen means Activation Lock is on. Do not take ownership until the seller removes it.

Android

Google’s reset page lists what to confirm before you reset: a Google Account is on the phone, you know its password (test it by signing in on another device), you know the screen lock, your data is backed up, and the battery is above 70 percent with Wi-Fi or mobile data connected. If you recently reset your Google password, wait 24 hours. A reset can take up to an hour. Google’s page does not give a fixed menu path because phones differ, so use your manufacturer’s instructions for the exact Settings route.

Device protection, which Google also calls Factory Reset Protection, is the reason the account order matters. Google says it is meant to keep a reset device from being used by someone else, and “to turn off device protection, remove your Google Account from your device.” After a reset, setup asks for the screen lock or the Google account that was on the phone, and Google says that if the person cannot provide it, the device will not be usable. So the sequence is: back up, remove the Google account (and any Samsung or other manufacturer account), confirm the phone no longer shows your account, then reset.

Two practical traps: a phone managed through Google Family Link may block a direct reset until the child’s account is removed through the parent’s app, and an authenticator app that keeps codes only on the phone will lose them. Move those first; our One UI 9 article mentions the Google Authenticator transfer option.

Windows laptop

  1. Back up anything you want. OneDrive files are not touched by a reset, but local files are.
  2. Find your BitLocker recovery key if the drive is encrypted. Microsoft says to have it ready.
  3. Open Settings, System, Recovery, and under Recovery options choose Reset PC. On Windows 10 it is Start, Settings, Update & Security, Recovery, then Get started under Reset this PC.
  4. Choose Remove everything, which Microsoft recommends for giving away or selling a PC. Then pick Cloud download (a fresh copy from the cloud) or Local reinstall (faster, may lack updates).
  5. Turn on Clean data when it is offered. Microsoft says it removes files and cleans the drive, takes longer, and makes files harder to recover, but does not meet government or industry erasure standards.
  6. Do not interrupt it. The screen may stay black for 15 minutes or more. Do not restart manually or the reset may fail.

Newer option: Microsoft’s Cloud rebuild includes Remove & sanitize, which asks the storage hardware to erase the disk with the strongest method it supports. It requires Windows 11, an internet connection, power, and the October 2026 non-security update or later (KB5127936, an optional preview update at the time of writing). The path is Settings, System, Recovery, then Rebuild PC next to Rebuild this PC. Microsoft says to choose Remove & sanitize when the PC is leaving your hands, warns that Windows cannot independently verify the result, and tells anyone with a legal or company requirement to ask the manufacturer whether the PC supports sanitization. Microsoft’s pages do not cover removing your Microsoft account from the machine or Find my device, so deal with those from your account settings before the reset.

A final test before you hand it over

Check What you should see
Power on after the reset A welcome or “Hello” screen, not your lock screen or home screen
Setup asks for an account It should offer to set up as new, not ask for your sign-in
Settings (if you reach it) No account name, no Find My or Google account tied to you
SIM and memory cards Removed and kept by you

Keep a note of the date, device model and serial number for the sale record, and keep the box for the buyer. If the device is old enough that you are also weighing Windows 10’s end of life, our Windows 10 options guide covers whether to replace it at all.

Sources

Checked against Apple, Google and Microsoft pages on October 30, 2026. Menu names vary by version and manufacturer.

End of articleOur method →