How Do I Prepare My Mobile Phone for Recycling?

Recycling or selling your mobile phone not only contributes to environmental sustainability but can also put some extra cash in your pocket. Preloved Tech, a leader in ethical electronics recycling, offers a straightforward and secure way to recycle your mobile device and other tech hardware. However, preparing your mobile phone for recycling correctly is crucial to ensure you maximise its value and maintain data privacy. Here's how to do it:

Maximising Handset Value Through Preparation

Preparing your device for recycling is pivotal to ensure a smooth transaction. It's the first step to ensuring you get the best possible value for your handset. This process involves several important steps, each aimed at safeguarding your personal data and ensuring the mobile phone you are selling, recycling or trading in, can be refurbished and resold.

1. Backing Up Your Data

Before sending us your device, make sure to back up and save anything important. Photos, documents, apps, and passwords won't be recoverable once the handset undergoes our secure GDPR-compliant data destruction phase at Preloved Tech. Whether it's cloud storage or a physical backup on your computer or another device, ensuring all your valuable data is saved elsewhere is a crucial step.

2. Handling Apple iPhones

For Apple iPhone users, simply factory resetting your device is not enough. You must ensure you're logged out of your iCloud account and remove the AppleID from the handset before sending it in. Leaving these active will mean the device is still tied to you, and factory resetting your device with your accounts still logged in will result in the device being Activation Locked, both scenarios making it unacceptable for recycling at Preloved Tech.

3. Preparing Android Devices

Owners of Android devices, such as Samsung and Huawei, must also log out of any Google accounts before sending them for recycling. Factory resetting your device without doing so will activate FRP Lock (Factory Reset Protection), preventing access to the device for testing and data wiping.

4. The Business Customer

Many businesses, schools and colleges will use an Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution to manage their devices. Its crucial for all devices being sent for recycling are released from MDM management so we can safely access all areas of the devices and the can be tested, data wiped, refurnbished and resold.

Releasing devices from MDM is simple and can be done from the dashboard of your MDM solution. And dont worry if you miss a few, we can provide the serial numbers of the locked devices for you to remotely remove and we are good to go.

5. The Necessity of Factory Resetting

Interestingly, you don't need to factory reset the device yourself. Preloved Tech performs full GDPR-compliant data destruction on every received device, which permanently removes all user data with nothing left to retrieve. We even offer a certificate of destruction upon request, assuring you that all your personal data is safely obliterated permanently.

6. Accessories and Original Box

Sending in accessories or the original box with your device isn't necessary and won't affect the valuation of your handset. However, if you possess the original box and a charging cable that you no longer need, sending them along with the handset allows Preloved Tech to dispose of them ethically.

Preloved Tech has made the process of removing your devices from iCloud and Google accounts straightforward, with handy guides available on our website: Preloved Tech Guide.

By accurately removing all your credentials, together with accurately describing the device condition, you can ensure your device can secure its maximum valuation, and you avoid potential return of the device to remove account details. Preloved Tech’s team is readily available to offer assistance and advice via email or telephone, facilitating a smooth and hassle-free recycling process.

In conclusion preparing your mobile phone for recycling with Preloved Tech not only supports environmental efforts but also ensures your personal data's security. Following the steps outlined above guarantees your device is ready for its next life, potentially providing essential technology to someone else while offering you peace of mind and maximising your financial return.

In next weeks newsletter we discuss how to accurately grade your device to avoid condition mismatch at point of testing and potential value decreases.