Help · before shipping
Remove your account —
and do it before resetting
As long as your Apple ID or Samsung account is signed in on the device, it stays locked — even after a reset. Two minutes of effort, and your sale goes through without any queries.
The order is the whole trick
The most common mistake: resetting first, then trying to sign out. After the reset you can't get into the settings any more — the device asks for the old account's password during setup and won't work otherwise. So: sign out first, then reset.
Already reset and forgot to sign out? No drama — further down you'll see how to do it remotely.
iPhone & iPad — sign out of your Apple ID
- 1Open Settings and tap your name at the top
Right at the top is your name with your photo — that's your Apple ID.
- 2Scroll all the way down and choose ‘Sign Out’
You'll be asked for your Apple ID password. That turns off ‘Find My’ — which is exactly what matters.
- 3Keep a copy of your data? Your call
If you're asked whether contacts and photos should stay on the device: it doesn't matter, the device gets reset afterwards anyway.
- 4Only now reset
Settings → General → ‘Transfer or Reset iPhone’ → ‘Erase All Content and Settings’.
Device already reset or no longer to hand?
Sign in at icloud.com/find with your Apple ID, pick the device from the list and tap ‘Remove from Account’. If it's no longer listed there, it's already been released.
Samsung — remove your Samsung and Google accounts
- 1Settings → Accounts and backup → Manage accounts
That's where all accounts signed in on the device are listed.
- 2Tap the Samsung account and remove it
That lifts the reactivation lock. Without this step, the device stays locked for anyone else.
- 3Remove the Google account too
Otherwise Google's factory reset protection (FRP) kicks in after the reset and asks for your old password during setup.
- 4Only now reset
Settings → General management → Reset → ‘Factory data reset’.
Device already reset or no longer to hand?
Sign in at account.samsung.com , open ‘Devices’ and remove the device from your account. You release the Google account at myaccount.google.com under ‘Your devices’.
Did it work?
Switch on the reset device. If the setup assistant takes you to the language selection and beyond without asking for a password for a previous account, everything's been released. If it asks for the Apple ID, the Samsung account or the Google account, one of the steps above is still missing.
And if it does arrive locked?
Nothing bad happens, but it takes longer: we get in touch and wait until you release the account remotely — you can still do that when the device has long been with us. If you'd rather not, we send it back for free. We can't buy a locked device because it can't be reused.
Still got a question?
Message us — in the chat we're usually with you in under ten minutes, by email the same day.