Your smartphone still works not bad, but do you want to buy the latest gadget? Well, there is always an opportunity to sell it or give it to someone close to you.
However, there is no need to hurry. When making this decision, you must first make some preparations. You don’t want your personal information to become known to outsiders. So, what manipulations should be performed with the device before transferring it to a new owner?
Remove the SIM Card
Surely, you are well aware of what is a SIM card, and so if you want to sell your smartphone, the first thing you need to do is remove the old SIM card from your device.
No matter which SIM card you use, you cannot transfer your SIM card to another person. A lot of your contacts are stored on this chip. You don’t want to transfer your SIM card to a third party, do you?
To remove the SIM card from the tray, you will need a SIM card extraction tool. It comes in a box you have left after buying the device (if you have saved it, of course).
Why Can’t You Leave a SIM Card in the Phone?
Here are three reasons to remove your SIM card from the phone you are going to sell:
- One of the main reasons why users delete their SIM cards is to protect their data. The SIM card stores valuable data, including contacts, text messages, and call logs. By removing the SIM card from the device, you can be sure that your personal information will remain safe, even if the phone falls into the hands of fraudsters.
- Removing the cellular chip will prevent unauthorized access to your mobile phone. With a SIM card inserted, any person can access your phone. Thus, anyone can make calls, send messages, or access the Internet using their personal account.
- Another reason to remove the SIM card before selling a phone is to protect your privacy from surveillance. Concerns about government surveillance and corporate data collection have increased significantly in recent years. By removing the SIM card, you can limit the ability of external organizations to track your location.
How to safely remove a SIM card from a smartphone
How to remove your SIM card from the gadget you are going to sell? First of all, make sure that your smartphone is turned off to avoid possible problems. Then, find the place where the SIM card slot is located. It is usually located on the side or top of the device.
With a small flat object, such as an open paper clip or a special screwdriver, gently press down on the hole next to the SIM card slot. Do this carefully without too much pressure, so as not to damage the SIM tray mechanism and break the SIM card.
Once the SIM is extended, carefully remove it from the smartphone socket. Remember that even after turning off the gadget, the SIM card may contain important data and personal information.
Additional Pre-Sale Steps
Before selling the device, here are other pre-sale steps to take:
- Remove or disconnect the memory card
If your phone has a microSD card slot and a memory card in your phone, you will have to remove it. You can find the slot on the edge of the phone or behind the battery cover.
- Backup copy
In some cases, when the performance of backups for the user is not automated, before selling the smartphone, you need to do it manually. A copy is needed not only to save data from the phone somewhere but also to use it later on a new device (if the user needs this data, of course).
- Deleting data
There are two ways to delete the data. One can go to the settings menu and find the recovery or backup section or do it manually using the hardware buttons.
You should also log out of your email (Apple, Samsung, Gmail, Datum or any other app) before wiping your phone.
- Clean it up
Once you have finished cleaning the inside of the phone, work on the outside. When you use the phone, there are traces of your fingers on its front and back. Therefore, put a little effort into getting rid of them.
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