How to Turn Off Find My iPhone Before You Sell or Trade It In

Turn off Find My and remove Activation Lock before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone, so the next owner can set it up.

Why: Find My ties your iPhone to your Apple Account with Activation Lock, which stops anyone from erasing or reactivating the phone without your password. If you wipe the phone without signing out first, it stays locked to you and is useless to a buyer. Signing out of your Apple Account turns off Find My and removes Activation Lock automatically.

Step 1: Back up first

You’re about to erase this phone, so save a copy of your data: Settings → [your name] → iCloud → iCloud Backup → Back Up Now, or back up to your computer. If you’re moving to a new iPhone, do this before you erase the old one.

Step 2: Unpair your Apple Watch (if you have one)

If an Apple Watch is paired to this iPhone, unpair it first in the Watch app so it’s ready to pair with your next phone.

Step 3: Sign out of your Apple Account

This is the step that turns off Find My and removes Activation Lock.

1. Open Settings and tap your name at the top.
2. Scroll to the bottom and tap Sign Out.
3. Enter your Apple Account password and tap Turn Off.
4. Choose whether to keep a copy of your data on the phone — it doesn’t matter, since you’re about to erase it — then confirm Sign Out.

Step 4: Erase all content and settings

1. Go to Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone.
2. Tap Erase All Content and Settings.
3. Enter your device passcode (and Apple Account password if asked), then tap Erase iPhone.
4. If you use an eSIM, choose the option that erases both your data and the eSIM only if you’re not keeping the plan; otherwise keep the eSIM.

After it erases, the phone restarts to the “Hello” setup screen — that’s how it should look for the next owner.

FAQ

What if I already sold the phone or can’t access it? Sign in at iCloud.com/find (or use the Find My app on another device), select the iPhone, and choose Remove This Device / Erase to take it off your account remotely.

Do I have to turn off Find My separately? No. Signing out of your Apple Account in Step 3 turns off Find My and removes Activation Lock for you.

Sources: Apple Support — What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone or iPad, Apple Support — Turn off Find My on your devices and items