A thorough cleaning of the smartphone is a mandatory task before selling it, delivering it to a manufacturer/operator to reduce the purchase price of your replacement, or simply passing it on to a family member or friend. And we’re not just talking about physically cleaning the terminal, but about protect the user data it contains.

Smartphones are the most widely used electronic device today. He who does not have one is because he has two and in them we encompass a large part of our digital lives, both professional, family and leisure. In addition to storing thousands of files of all kinds, mobile phones contain the passwords to access many of the Internet services we use, and are also used as the preferred two-factor authentication device for purchase authentication, electronic banking, and the most sensitive services. Not to mention the health data when we connect it to the wearable devices we use for physical activity.

By this we mean what is known to everyone. The smartphone has become an essential part of our daily life. But there’s something worse than running out of mobile, and that’s it the data is known to third parties. acts and omissions. And here comes the tutorial that we are going to offer you today with the actions to follow to prevent this from happening.

How to thoroughly clean a mobile phone before selling it

The used smartphone market is moving a lot. There are promotions from manufacturers and operators that can be used as a delivery when buying new terminals, although they are not as generous as expected, and in addition – except for the Apple iPhone – they depreciate a lot with each new generation that is launched. In general, it is more profitable to sell it on a specialized platform or directly to another consumer. In both cases, you have to perform a series of tasks protect the data they contain, both so that they can be incorporated into the new mobile later, and so that they do not fall into the hands of third parties. We go with them.

data copy

The first thing you need to do is create a backup of all terminal data. This includes photos, videos, documents, messages, contacts and more. There are several ways to do this. Personally, I like to make a complete copy on a PC or an external disk, both the internal memory of the terminal and the microSD (if we have it installed) in case there is a problem with changing the terminal or with synchronization after Cloud services, which we certainly use.

We also need to make sure that these cloud services are updated with the latest changes and files added to the terminal. This includes general online storage services such as Dropbox or OneDrive, or photo-specific services such as Amazon Photos.

Same with the rest of the apps we use. Most of them have their own backup system and tend to sync regularly, but make sure you do. One of the most used, WhatsApp, creates automatic backup copies of the chat history (and content) linked to Google Drive, but it must be managed by the user in the settings.

Both Android and iOS have a backup tool integrated in general settings And it is another point that we need to check to make sure that they have done the last data backup. On Android, chances are you’re using a Google account, which makes this task easier because it automatically saves the important contacts section, calendar, Gmail, Play Store apps, and even other settings like wallpapers, language, time zone. etc. Manufacturers like Samsung offer their own “Cloud” in case you want to make copies there.

As for other apps, there are free tools to back them up. Personally, when changing devices, I prefer to install apps “manually” using cleanup, but if you are interested in something more automated, tools like Titanium Backup are some of the best, even if it requires the terminal to be rooted. There are several general applications of this type, as well as others for specific tasks, such as saving all SMS. An example is SMS Backup & Restore.

Data transfer

If you bought a new mobile phone before parting with the old one, you can try to transfer all the data. However, it is not easy to transfer data of external apps between Android devices. There is no official Google solution for this, and although some OEMs offer it, it generally does not work well with other brands of devices due to the customizations implemented.

If you are going to switch between Samsung devices, you can use the Smart Switch mobile application. Other manufacturers have their own like OnePlus which offers OnePlus Switch software. The results tend to be unpredictable and even terminals of the same brand have execution errors (as is common) on different Android models and versions.

If you don’t want complications or errors you can opt for a completely clean install, make a good backup of your files, data and applications if possible and then start your terminal from scratch. On most consumer smartphones, this will be a matter of minutes.

Data deletion

After a good season of working on the SAT, I have to tell you that I found everything. And in this case I mean equipment or components (oh! those hard drives) supplied with all kinds of personal and professional information. It is not unusual to buy a second-hand mobile and verify that there are applications installed on the internal memory and usernames and passwords to access various services. Or a microSD full of pictures, some in underwear…

If the mobile phone falls into the hands of someone unscrupulous and you haven’t deleted all the information, it can get you pretty confused. We have to remove absolutely everything before selling so that we do not leave our personal data in the hands of third parties. In addition to files, this includes user accounts and subscriptions to streaming services, cloud storage, etc. Absolutely everything.

Removal of any link

If your old terminal is Android, it is very likely that it has Factory reset protection (FRP). This is an additional layer introduced by Google as a security measure to prevent the terminal from being reset in situations of theft or loss of the terminal.

Obviously, you must remove this protection before selling the smartphone so that it can be used by a third party. To do this, you will need to remove all Google accounts that are signed in to the device. Go to Settings > Accounts, select and remove the Google account you first used to sign in to your device.

Factory reset

Once you have finished backing up your data, you must restore the terminal to factory state finish distancing yourself from it completely. This will remove all accounts, files and data from internal storage and essentially return the software to an unused state. This way, when the new owner of your phone gets their hands on the device, they will configure it from scratch just like we do when we buy a new mobile.

SIM and microSD

After completing the software tasks, it is time to remove the SIM card that we will use in the new terminal, as well as the microSD memory card, if it is installed. Personally, I don’t like to ship a microSD with a second-hand smartphone for data security reasons discussed in the previous points.

If you are going to include a microSD as part of a bargain mobile make sure you are doing a good low level format. There is a fairly effective specialized software with which you can recover data from memory cards where the data was simply deleted from the browser.

Now yes: external cleaning and transport

A thorough cleaning of the terminal would be necessary. You always have to do this, but more so after the COVID pandemic. If we keep the original packaging (as recommended), we only need to keep the mobile phone, charger, accessories that it came with as standard, plus what we bought separately such as covers, covers or screen protectors that may be useful for the new owner.

It is also a good idea to add an invoice if the terminal is still under warranty. If the battery is removable, it is better to remove it and place it outside the smartphone. Do not include used headphones, in this case for health reasons. The buyer will already have his own. If you want to include them, they must always be new, unused, sealed models.

It’s time to take some good photos of the smartphone and accessories and hang them in the places where we sell them. If it is in good overall condition and at a reasonable price, we will be able to sell this bazaar mobile. Donating it for a discount on the purchase of a new model is another option, although the manufacturers are not very generous and it usually pays to sell it to another user. if you do it don’t waste time because the loss in value will be constant every month.