Wow! This article is brilliant. The sticking point for me is, I was unable to start the process with the usual way of settings/general/reset & erase all content. My method was restore to factory settings & find my iPhone erase.
Secondly, on my Mac, in iCloud preferences, I do not see a devices tab. I was successful in removing the 5s from iTunes cloud, and when I go to find my iPhone the 5s is no longer there. I have also changed my Apple ID password for an extra step. So, when I turn on the 5s it is acting like a new phone. Slide to set up & choose a wireless network. However, it is already connected to my guest network, but beyond that point it is all brand new. Activate location services, enter Apple ID, etc. Any further advice? Do you guys think I have successfully erased my phone? Thanks for the support, Traci > On Sep 26, 2015, at 1:02 AM, Gmail <englishride...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Tracey, as this 9 to 5 Mac article I've pasted below illustrates, wiping your > iDevice of data is more complex now than before. > > > If you’re thinking of selling or trading in your current iPhone ahead of the > iPhone 6S’s release, you probably know that you’ll need to wipe your device > before a buyer can use it free and clear. Prepping an iPhone for resale used > to be almost as easy as hitting a “reset” button in the iPhone’s settings > menu. But over the past few years, the process has become more complex thanks > to new security, wallet, and cloud-dependent features such as Activation > Lock, Apple Pay and iTunes in the Cloud. Completely removing all of your > personal items from your iPhone — and your iPhone from Apple’s servers — > requires extra work. > Today, I’m going to walk you through the process of thoroughly scrubbing your > iPhone prior to resale. There are 9 steps to take to make sure your device is > cleaned up and ready to sell to its next owner. Here they are… > [1] Erase All Content And Settings. The first, easiest, and best-known step > in wiping your iPhone is found within the Settings app at the bottom of the > General menu: click on Reset, then “Erase All Content And Settings.” (I’d > suggest taking this step only after using iTunes to do two complete, > encrypted backups of your iPhone to your computer. If you’re planning to move > from iPhone to a non-Apple smartphone, follow Apple’s guide to deactivating > iMessage before erasing your phone, as well.) > You will be prompted to enter your iPhone’s passcode, then told that “this > will delete all media and data, and erase all settings.” If you press the > Erase iPhone button, iOS will ask you for your iCloud account password to > “erase this iPhone and remove it from your [iCloud] account.” > You’ll be surprised at how quickly the iPhone is wiped — as soon as you’ve > entered your password and hit erase, you’ll get a notification email on your > account’s other devices that Find My iPhone was disabled, and it should take > only a couple of minutes for the wiped iPhone to display “Hello” and “Slide > to Set Up” text. Is the erasure secure? Well, all of the iPhone’s memory is > protected using AES-256 encryption, and hitting the Erase iPhone button > destroys the encryption key. Several security companies have tried to offer > ‘secure erase’ tools that more aggressively scrub the iPhone’s memory, but > Apple has shut those tools down as ‘misleading,’ noting that the encryption > is effectively unbreakable. Hitting the Reset button leaves the former > contents of your device all but completely impossible to recover by a > subsequent owner. But you’ll be able to get everything back from your > computer’s encrypted iTunes backup, should you need it. > [2] What About Activation Lock + Disabling Find My iPhone? As shown above, > you can manually disable Find My iPhone by going into the Settings app’s > iCloud menu, pressing the Find My iPhone “On” button, flipping the Find My > iPhone switch to off, and entering your iCloud password. But if you use the > Erase All Content And Settings feature above, this step is automatically > handled for you when you enter your iCloud password at the end of the > process. Either method will disable your iPhone’s “Activation Lock,” the > security system that allows you to locate, remotely wipe, and send signals to > an iPhone no longer in your possession. Any purchaser of a used iPhone will > expect you to have taken this step (or more wisely, the step above) before > selling your device. > [3] Apple Pay/Credit Card and Touch ID Fingerprint Wiping. If you’re using an > iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, or newer iPhone, erasing your iPhone will > automatically purge whatever credit cards and fingerprints you’ve stored in > your iPhone. (Even attempting to disable fingerprint protection for your > device will prevent it from storing cards for Apple Pay.) You will probably > receive a collection of emails from your banks noting each “Virtual card” > that has been “deleted from Apple Pay,” and you may also receive notices of > the card’s deletion from your Apple Watch. If you want to manually remove > individual cards or fingerprints, the Settings app’s Touch ID & Passcode menu > handles prints, and the Passbook & Apple Pay (iOS 8) or Wallet & Apple Pay > (iOS 9) menu handles cards. But even if you delete cards for Apple Pay, your > iPhone can still store card numbers for Safari web transactions; they can be > deleted under Settings > Safari > AutoFill > Credit Cards. > [4] Carrier Lock + Clearing The ESN/IMEI/MEID. Buyers of used iPhones want to > avoid purchasing devices that are either stolen, or still under contract with > a cellular company. The status of an iPhone can be checked using a > device-specific serial number that’s called an IMEI (International Mobile > Equipment Identity) number, ESN (Electronic Serial Number), or MEID (Mobile > Equipment Identifier). IMEIs have traditionally been used by GSM networks > (AT&T/T-Mobile), while ESN/MEIDs are traditionally used by CDMA networks > (Verizon/Sprint). Fourteen or fifteen digits long, the number can be found in > Settings > General > About > IMEI or MEID. > If you purchased your iPhone without a contract or have fully paid off your > contract, the serial number should be free and clear for transfer. Should the > phone be locked to a specific carrier, you can contact the carrier to request > that it be carrier unlocked prior to selling it, which will dramatically > boost its trade-in value at services such as Gazelle. If you bought your > iPhone used, or were given the phone by a family member, this free serial > number checker can let you know if the serial number is clear, giving you a > sense of reported ownership/theft issues with your device. If your phone’s > serial number isn’t clear, contact your cellular provider to get the device > paid off. And if you’re trying to sell a stolen phone… return it. > [5] iCloud. As it turns out, erasing your iPhone only partially removes it > from your iCloud account. Using your Mac, go to OS X’s Apple menu, choose > System Preferences, then choose iCloud and click Account Details. Select the > Devices tab, then highlight your iPhone, and choose Remove From Account. Then > hit Done. I found my iPhone 6 Plus on the list twice, for reasons unknown. > [6] iTunes in the Cloud. In one of its more confusing branding efforts, Apple > in 2011 introduced both iCloud — an email, backup, and data synchronizing > service — and iTunes in the Cloud, a virtual media locker that allows you to > download previously purchased iTunes content for free. Surprisingly, removing > an iPhone from iCloud doesn’t remove it from your iTunes in the Cloud > account. To do that, you’ll need to open iTunes, go to your account > (currently next to the Search bar, signing in with a password under Account > Info), scroll down to iTunes in the Cloud, and choose Manage Devices. When > you see your old iPhone on the list, hit the Remove button. This will free up > one of your 10 allocated media sharing spaces, and enable the iPhone to be > registered by someone else for iTunes in the Cloud. > Note that I went to do this for my iPhone, purchased in October 2014, and > found that the Remove button was grayed out. This was a bug with Apple’s > system: the iTunes rule is that “computers and devices can be associated with > a different Apple ID once every 90 days,” but my iPhone was in continuous use > for 10 months. I had to contact iTunes customer support to get the iPhone > manually removed from my account. Three emails and two phone contacts later, > it wasn’t 100% resolved, so hopefully your Remove button works properly. > [7] Apple ID: Manage Trusted Devices. Yes, there is yet another place where > your iPhone may be linked to an account online: Apple’s identify verification > web site at AppleID.apple.com <http://appleid.apple.com/>. Once you log into > your account, which may be protected with two-factor identification — a > password on your Mac, then another one-time password sent to your choice of > “trusted devices” — you can click on Password and Security to “Manage your > trusted devices” by hitting the “Add or Remove Trusted Devices” button. Your > old iPhone will probably be on this list, and you can remove it by hitting > the “Remove” button. This will prevent your iPhone from acting as a device to > verify your identity for any two-factor authentication process. > [8] Remove The SIM Card. If you’ve gone through everything above, you’ve done > pretty much everything necessary to scrub your iPhone’s onboard data, cloud > associations, and carrier contract before resale. There are only a few final > physical steps to get it ready to send out to someone. The most critical is > to remove your SIM card from the iPhone by using either Apple’s included SIM > card tool or a paperclip to pop the side compartment open. Place the card in > a safe place for transfer to your next phone. > [9] Physical Cleanliness. It would be nice (and likely maximize your > trade-in/resale price) to have your iPhone looking as close to new as > possible. You can use two lightly dampened microfiber cloths to clean the > visible exterior surfaces, first gently removing any crusted-on debris, then > wiping the glass and metal or plastic down softly. Don’t get the cloths near > speaker, microphone, or accessory port holes; leave them alone. After that’s > done, assemble the iPhone’s pack-ins, such as its earphones and/or earphone > case, wall charger, and USB cable, preferably with the original box. If > they’re looking good, you can take photos and list your iPhone on eBay, or > skip the photos and sell your iPhone to a company such as Gazelle. > More From This Author > Check out more of my editorials, How-To guides, and reviews for 9to5Mac here! > I’ve covered a lot of different topics of interest to Mac, iPad, iPhone, > iPod, Apple TV, and Apple Watch users. I’ve recently discussed the 10 reasons > to upgrade to the iPhone 6S, and how to get the best iPhone trade-in price to > help buy an iPhone 6S. > > Link: > http://9to5mac.com/2015/08/25/how-to-safely-prepare-wipe-your-iphone-for-resale-trade-in/ > > <http://9to5mac.com/2015/08/25/how-to-safely-prepare-wipe-your-iphone-for-resale-trade-in/> > > > Thanks, > Ari > > On Sep 25, 2015, at 11:06 PM, Traci Duncan <our4p...@gmail.com > <mailto:our4p...@gmail.com>> wrote: > >> Hi group, >> >> Sheesh, a bit of a bumpy tech ride for me today. I want to be certain I >> have erased my iPhone 5s completely. >> >> I tried the easy route of reset & erase all data, but I kept getting >> restriction passcode errors. So, I did a bit of a stupid move & put my >> phone in recovery mode to restore. Once I saw how long that would take, I >> used find my iPhone to erase the device. Effectively, doubling up methods & >> complicating things. >> >> My phone successfully restored & updated, & acted like a lost device, which >> needed the owner’s Apple ID & password. I went to iCloud & find my iPhone, >> then removed my iPhone 5s from my account. >> >> From what I understand, my device should be erased & ready for a new owner. >> The only information it holds for sure is my guest wireless network details, >> because I entered them in to see if someone could start the activation >> process. >> >> What is your advice so I can be certain I can turn this phone into Verizon? >> Clean & free of personal data. >> >> Thank you, >> Traci >> >> -- >> The following information is important for all members of the VIPhone list. >> >> If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if >> you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or >> moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. >> >> Your VIPhone list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at >> caraqu...@caraquinn.com <mailto:caraqu...@caraquinn.com> >> >> The archives for this list can be searched at >> http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/ >> <http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/>. >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "VIPhone" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >> <mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>. >> To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com >> <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone >> <http://groups.google.com/group/viphone>. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout >> <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. > > > -- > The following information is important for all members of the VIPhone list. > > If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if > you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or > moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. > > Your VIPhone list owner is Cara Quinn - you can reach Cara at > caraqu...@caraquinn.com > > The archives for this list can be searched at > http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/ > <http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/>. > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VIPhone" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > <mailto:viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com>. > To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com > <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone > <http://groups.google.com/group/viphone>. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout > <https://groups.google.com/d/optout>. -- The following information is important for all members of the VIPhone list. 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