Company iPhones often sit in a drawer after an upgrade because nobody knows how to hand them over safely. Preparing a phone for buyback or return takes a few minutes per device, but the order of the steps matters. We describe it based on Apple’s instructions, including what applies only to company devices.
1. Back up your data
Before you erase anything, secure what the company or the employee still needs: an iCloud backup, a backup on a computer (Finder on a Mac) or a transfer to a new phone. Work data in company apps is usually already on servers — check this with your IT team.
2. Sign out of Apple ID
Signing out of your Apple Account (iCloud, App Store) turns off Find My iPhone and removes Activation Lock. This is the most important step — without it the new owner can’t activate the phone, even after it has been erased.
In recent versions of the system: Settings → [your name] → Sign Out (at the bottom of the screen), then enter your Apple ID password.
While you’re at it, remove the phone from the list of trusted devices on your Apple Account, and if an Apple Watch was paired with it, unpair it first.
3. Release the phone from Apple Business and MDM
This is the step you won’t find in guides for individual users. If the iPhone was managed by your company:
- Apple Business (formerly Apple Business Manager): an administrator releases the device from the organisation. Otherwise, after the erase the phone may automatically enrol again in your management system.
- MDM system: remove the device from MDM so that the management profile and company settings disappear.
- Activation Lock on a supervised device: if the employee has already left, an MDM administrator can usually remove the lock with a bypass code that the MDM system stores for supervised devices.
4. Erase content and settings
Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Erase All Content and Settings. The phone asks for the device passcode and your Apple ID password (if you didn’t sign out earlier). After the erase the iPhone returns to the welcome screen — that is how it should reach its new owner.
5. SIM card, eSIM and AppleCare
Remove the SIM card. For an eSIM, contact the carrier to transfer or end the service. If the phone has AppleCare, you can cancel the plan or transfer it to the new owner.
Buying back iPhones from businesses
We buy iPhones and iPads from businesses — from 2020 (e.g. iPhone 12 and newer), including damaged ones, usually for parts or recycling. We collect devices by courier from all over Poland, and you get paid within 7 days of the invoice. If you won’t manage to prepare all the phones, say so in your inquiry — we still diagnose every device we buy back and erase its data in a certified way. Devices with Activation Lock or still enrolled in MDM are accepted only with proof of purchase.