Loading...For many who can afford smartphones, getting a new cell phone is a yearly ritual. It is yearly, because almost every year, smartphone manufacturers release new gadgets. Because of the release of better gadgets, many consumers who buy newly released gadgets often ask themselves what to do with their old smartphone. Should they give it away to a friend or relative or even to a charity program? Should they just store it in their closet? Should they throw it away or try selling it? And the ultimate question: Is it safe to sell cell phones?
You might still be thinking about how your new phone works, but you should also think about the steps before deciding to get rid of your old one. One of the things you must do first is erase all of your personal information on your old smartphone.
Memory Card
Deleting your personal data on your smartphone is as easy as removing the memory card that was already in the gadget. But that’s only for most smartphones. Memory cards are often used to save the most of the data, whether it is a text message, contact numbers, e-mail addresses, photos, or videos. You are very lucky if your smartphone uses memory cards to store data. Why? It’s because everything will be easy for you. You can just remove the card from the phone and use the same card on your new phone. It’s less effort! After you have transferred the card onto your new phone, you don’t have to worry about any data on your old phone. However, if you are not going to use the same card, make sure that you safely keep the card somewhere.
SIM Card
Another card that you have to remove is the SIM card, which is from your cell phone service providers. The SIM card is not entirely for one phone only, so you don’t have to leave it in your old smartphone when you give it to a new owner. The new owner has to get his or her own SIM card when they sign up for service with the cell phone service provider that they want. In some cases, you also get a new SIM card for your new phone, but make sure that you discuss discarding your old SIM card with your provider.
Internal Memory
Now that you have removed the cards and you have stored or thrown them away properly, you can now check your smartphone to remove any other data that is still within your phone’s internal memory. When there are files on your phone’s internal memory, you just have to find the option to format your phone back to its original settings. If you cannot find the option, you can try connecting your phone to your desktop computer. You can use your computer to format the phone. If it does not work, you can just manually go through the files and folders and remove any personal data. It might take a long time to do this manually, but at least you’ll feel safe once you’re done erasing all of your data.
Conclusion
So, there you go. These are some of the things you have to remember if you want to get rid of your device. So, is it safe to sell your cell phone? Of course! You just have to make sure that all of your personal information is deleted, so that even if your old phone gets into the wrong hands, you don’t have to worry about identity theft.