Sell your device

Preparing your device for sale

What to do before you ask for an offer, and what to do after you accept one: backing up, signing out of accounts, removing activation locks and erasing the device, with steps for Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android.

Get an offer for your device Call Us: 0161 820 1992 Talk to Us

Before you ask for an offer

  • Leave it set up for now. Photos of the device switched on, and screens such as About This Mac or System Information, help us make an accurate offer.
  • Find the model and specification. Each device page shows where: MacBook, laptop, desktop PC, phone.
  • Gather what comes with it. Charger, cables and the original box if you still have them.
  • Hide personal information in photos. Close personal windows, turn on Do Not Disturb, and cover the serial number or IMEI if you prefer. We do not need them at this stage.

After you accept, before handover

Your data and accounts are your responsibility until the device leaves you. Work through these in order:

  1. Back up everything you want to keep, and check the backup opens.
  2. Sign out of your accounts and turn off Find My or similar protection.
  3. Remove the device from your account online, if the option is there.
  4. Erase the device, if it still works.
  5. Take out SIM cards, memory cards, USB sticks and any discs.

Activation Lock, Google account protection and organisation management must be removed before a sale. We cannot remove them for you, and we will never ask for your password.

MacBook

  1. Back up with Time Machine to an external drive, or make sure your files are in iCloud.
  2. Sign out of your Apple Account: Apple menu, System Settings, click your name, then Sign Out. This also turns off Find My and Activation Lock.
  3. On recent versions of macOS, erase it with System Settings, General, Transfer or Reset, then Erase All Content and Settings.

To check Activation Lock is off, open System Information: under Hardware, “Activation Lock Status” should say Disabled. If the MacBook will not start, sign in at iCloud.com, open Find Devices, choose the MacBook and remove it from your account.

Windows laptop or desktop PC

  1. Back up your files to an external drive or OneDrive.
  2. Sign out of apps and browsers you are signed in to.
  3. Reset it: Settings, System, Recovery, Reset this PC, then Remove everything. Under “Change settings”, turn on data cleaning, and if the PC has more than one drive, choose to delete files from all drives.
  4. Afterwards, remove the device from your Microsoft account’s device list online.

If the laptop has a BIOS or firmware password, remove it before handover. If BitLocker is on, the reset takes care of it: please do not send us your recovery key.

iPhone

  1. Back up to iCloud or to a computer.
  2. If you have an Apple Watch, unpair it first.
  3. Sign out: Settings, tap your name, then Sign Out. This turns off Find My and Activation Lock.
  4. Erase it: Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, then Erase All Content and Settings.
  5. Take out the SIM card. If you use an eSIM, check with your network first.

If the iPhone will not turn on, sign in at iCloud.com, open Find Devices and remove the iPhone from your account.

Android phone

  1. Back up your photos, contacts and messages, for example with your Google account’s backup.
  2. Remove your Google account from the phone (in Settings, under Accounts or Passwords and accounts). On a Samsung phone, remove your Samsung account too. Removing accounts first stops the phone asking for your account after a reset.
  3. Factory reset it from Settings. The menu names vary by make: look under System, Reset options, or General management, Reset.
  4. Take out the SIM card and any memory card.

Work and school devices

Devices enrolled in Apple Business Manager, Microsoft Intune or similar tools can only be released by the organisation. Ask your IT team to remove the device from management, and make sure you are authorised to sell it. A reset on its own is not enough.

Preparation questions

Should I erase my device before asking for an offer?
No, not yet. Keep using it as normal and take your photos with it switched on if it works. Erase it after you have accepted an offer, just before handover.
My device will not turn on. How do I remove my data?
You will not be able to erase it yourself, so tell us in the form. We assess devices that cannot be erased individually before accepting them, and we decline any device whose data we cannot handle safely. You can still remove it from your accounts online (see above).
Will you ask for my password to check the device?
No. We never ask for passwords, passcodes or recovery keys. If a device still asks for one after a reset, the account or lock has not been fully removed.
Do I need to remove the SIM card?
Yes. Take out SIM cards and memory cards before handover. If you use an eSIM, check with your network before erasing the phone.

More about selling to us

How It WorksWhat We BuySelling a Faulty MacBookSelling a Broken Phone

Thinking of selling?

Send us the details and a few photos. If it is something we can use, we will email you an offer. There is no obligation to accept.

Get an offer for your device Call Us: 0161 820 1992 Talk to Us

Any offer we make is based on the details and photos you send, and is valid for seven days. It is subject to us checking the device when we receive it and confirming it matches your description.

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