The technological advancements in the field of communication have seen mobile phones being upgraded now and then. You will find that even the same smartphone you purchased less than a year ago, is already out with the latest and the coolest features. You don’t want to be left behind when everyone else is enjoying newer phone models. This only makes you appear archaic and out fashioned.

To keep up with the growing trends is no mere joke. It can cost you a lot of money if you are to purchase these latest phones all the time. Besides, where are you going to be keeping them all? To sort yourself out easily, you can simply sell or trade-in your old phone for a new one.

While this is not hard, there are a couple of factors you ought to consider before setting out to sell your phone safely.

1. Remove the Sim and SD Cards

Your Sim card is probably an essential part of a mobile phone, as it is what makes a phone carry out its primary function. Before you plan on selling it, you should safely take it out. There are different methods you can use, depending on the brand you are using. The SD cards should also not be left inside the phone. You should leave it as you had bought it without the cards.

2. Back up your data

You don’t want to lose your essential data once you have sold your phone. Always try to back them up through the different methods available. The safest way is to make use of cloud platforms such as Google Drive, Dropbox, Google Photos, iCloud, etc. to back up your files.

3. Unlock your phone

If you are planning to sell & trade in your phone onlineyou will most probably not physically meet up with whoever the new phone’s owner. If this is the case, you should try and unlock your phone before putting out on the sale, as this will increase the resale value. Unlocking your cellphone generally means that a new Sim card can function well inside the phone, especially when it was designed for only a specific operator before.

You can do so by merely talking to your service provider and see if they can unlock the phone on your behalf. Moreover, there are numerous third-party apps, companies, or websites which you can also use to unlock the phone.

4. Factory reset

After ensuring that all your data is safely backed up, all that is left now is to wipe off everything stored on the phone so that it appears brand new. You can do this by conducting a factory reset on the device. Be sure to disable the factory reset protection feature from your phone and delink it from the accounts you have set up on the device.

5. Gather the accessories

Once the phone has been wiped clean and looks good as new, you should now gather all the necessary accessories which probably came with it when you first bought it. Some of the most important accessories are the original charger, earphones, warranty card, and the box. With all these, it becomes easier for you to sell & trade in your phone online.