Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Preparing my 3G prior to sale...

Z

Zerozal

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Apr 3, 2009
443
4
PA
I'm getting ready to unload my 3G and I want to make sure that I "prep" it properly prior to selling it--i.e., making sure all my information is wiped.

I just went to Settings>General>Erase all Content and Settings

Is that all I need to do? Is it safe to keep my old SIM card in the phone for the new owner?

TIA!
 
Keep your SIM and definitely restore the phone to original settings (you can do this through iTunes). This way you'll be sure that all of your info on the phone is completely wiped out.
 
yeah I recently did this, connect to itunes with no sim card in and restore to factory settings. When done the iphone will only display logo telling the user to connect to itunes to activate(with a new sim card installed of course), just like when the iphone is new out of the box.
 
Where are you selling it?

Is it Jailbroke?

Is it Unlocked?

Just sold mine on Ebay for $336 Jailbroke/Unlocked, but only sold to a high level buyer. Was scared to death I would get scammed but he was an honest buyer and I ended up using that phone for two years for free!!! It allowed me to get a free iPhone 4!!!
 
SFC Archer said:
Where are you selling it?

Is it Jailbroke?

Is it Unlocked?

Just sold mine on Ebay for $336 Jailbroke/Unlocked, but only sold to a high level buyer. Was scared to death I would get scammed but he was an honest buyer and I ended up using that phone for two years for free!!! It allowed me to get a free iPhone 4!!!
Click to expand...

WOW, congrats. I have a 3g 8gb that is unlocked ready to be sold. Any tips?
 
circularforward said:
WOW, congrats. I have a 3g 8gb that is unlocked ready to be sold. Any tips?
Click to expand...

Mine was 16 so do not expect as much. You must jailbreak, unlock and when you build your description, reveal everything, if it is worn, then say so, be honest! Mine had been in a high quality case for two years, I had screen protectors on the whole time so I listed as used with micro scratches. I also gave away a case, all of the items that came with the original iphone, someof which were new and I stated which ones were new and which were used.

I took high quality pictures and showed everything that it came with. During bidding, I did not accept any bids from low level buyers. I would only accept bidders with a lvl 50 or higher. Run your sale for 48 hours or less. Give shoppers a chance to shop and mark for bidding.

The biggest thing I can recommend is that you MUST be honest and full disclosure. Jailbreak and Unlock...the tools are out there and it is easy.
Track the bidding and cancel out any of the low level scammers, you can tell who they are. Even then, you could utlimately get hosed, ebay is not what it used to be and I was on pins and needles for 2 weeks after he recieved the phone.

Hope that helps...Good Luck and most of all BE CAREFUL!

PS...Dont know if this will help but here is the listing: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160454692876&ssPageName=STRK:MEAFB:IT
 
I plan on doing the same thing. I have a 16gb 3G that I would like to put on eBay. Does it really fetch extra $$ if its jailbroken & unlocked? If so I'd def do it, How difficult could it be?

SFC Archer said:
Where are you selling it?

Is it Jailbroke?

Is it Unlocked?

Just sold mine on Ebay for $336 Jailbroke/Unlocked, but only sold to a high level buyer. Was scared to death I would get scammed but he was an honest buyer and I ended up using that phone for two years for free!!! It allowed me to get a free iPhone 4!!!
Click to expand...
 
yankeex777 said:
I plan on doing the same thing. I have a 16gb 3G that I would like to put on eBay. Does it really fetch extra $$ if its jailbroken & unlocked? If so I'd def do it, How difficult could it be?
Click to expand...

Yes it does...look on ebay and compare non broke to jailbroke/unlocked...was a big difference. You will not make as much now because of the new jailbreak and unlocks that were just released. I sold mine before the release. The links are on the iPhone tab of MacRumors...unlock just released and of course jailbreak is all over the place and very simple.

The biggest fallacy is that it will "brick" your phone if you make a mistake. This is totally untrue...you just have to restore it, sometimes in DFU mode and all will be fixed. You can not mess up your phone only make mistakes that require you to start over.

Only mess with it if you are sure of yourself and know that you cant hurt anything. As far as ebay goes...read my posts above...you could have a bad experience so do so at your own risk.
 
SFC Archer said:
Yes it does...look on ebay and compare non broke to jailbroke/unlocked...was a big difference. You will not make as much now because of the new jailbreak and unlocks that were just released. I sold mine before the release. The links are on the iPhone tab of MacRumors...unlock just released and of course jailbreak is all over the place and very simple.

The biggest fallacy is that it will "brick" your phone if you make a mistake. This is totally untrue...you just have to restore it, sometimes in DFU mode and all will be fixed. You can not mess up your phone only make mistakes that require you to start over.

Only mess with it if you are sure of yourself and know that you cant hurt anything. As far as ebay goes...read my posts above...you could have a bad experience so do so at your own risk.
Click to expand...


Would you mind giving me some advice?

I am about to sell me and my wifes phones and I am just not sure of the steps to take.

We have 3g (16 & 8gb), 3.1.3, 05.12.01

Do I erase the phones in settings, then restore and jailbreak? I kind of want to keep it at 3.1.3, would that be a problem?

Thanks!
 
xenuprime said:
Would you mind giving me some advice?

I am about to sell me and my wifes phones and I am just not sure of the steps to take.

We have 3g (16 & 8gb), 3.1.3, 05.12.01

Do I erase the phones in settings, then restore and jailbreak? I kind of want to keep it at 3.1.3, would that be a problem?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

In MY opinion: Because of the new Jailbreak AND Unlock for 4.0.1, the 3.1.3 and 05.12.01 is no longer required. Also, the new user may want at least the wallpaper and folder options that come with 4.0. Again, this is MY opinion, others may recommend keeping but I wouldnt.

Do a complete restore to NEW phone and do NOT sync anything. Make sure all tabs are unchecked in after you restore it to NEW. Then follow the jailbreak instructions which are all over the place and then unlock.

Follow the rest of my guidance/recommendations/warnings posted in this thread.

Good Luck
 
Thanks! That was the most direct advice on that subject I have ever gotten, haha!

The reason I was going to keep the 3.1.3 is because of the slow down 4.0 causes on the 3g (acording to some).

I can always downgrade back to 3.1.3 though because it is a 3g, right?
 
I just realized the phone will not have service after I restore as new. Will I be able to use wifi to jailbrea/unlock?
 
xenuprime said:
Thanks! That was the most direct advice on that subject I have ever gotten, haha!

The reason I was going to keep the 3.1.3 is because of the slow down 4.0 causes on the 3g (acording to some).

I can always downgrade back to 3.1.3 though because it is a 3g, right?
Click to expand...

If you look in my post and click on the ebay link...you will see at the bottom what tools I used to jailbreak and unlock. Using these tools allowed me to choose which 4.0 options to install. I only selected the folders and wallpaper choices for the 3G. I did not install backgrounding. I also went into settings, general, spotlight search and turned everything off except for Contacts, Notes, Mail and Calendar. After doing that...there was absolutely NO lag or hesitation.


xenuprime said:
I just realized the phone will not have service after I restore as new. Will I be able to use wifi to jailbrea/unlock?
Click to expand...

Yes, but make sure you clear your WiFi entry prior to shipping!
 
I sold an iPhone 3G 8GB for £212 These things sure lose value, this time last year I was selling an original iPhone and I got £200.. :S
 
SFC Archer said:
Mine was 16 so do not expect as much. You must jailbreak, unlock and when you build your description, reveal everything, if it is worn, then say so, be honest! Mine had been in a high quality case for two years, I had screen protectors on the whole time so I listed as used with micro scratches. I also gave away a case, all of the items that came with the original iphone, someof which were new and I stated which ones were new and which were used.

I took high quality pictures and showed everything that it came with. During bidding, I did not accept any bids from low level buyers. I would only accept bidders with a lvl 50 or higher. Run your sale for 48 hours or less. Give shoppers a chance to shop and mark for bidding.

The biggest thing I can recommend is that you MUST be honest and full disclosure. Jailbreak and Unlock...the tools are out there and it is easy.
Track the bidding and cancel out any of the low level scammers, you can tell who they are. Even then, you could utlimately get hosed, ebay is not what it used to be and I was on pins and needles for 2 weeks after he recieved the phone.

Hope that helps...Good Luck and most of all BE CAREFUL!

PS...Dont know if this will help but here is the listing: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160454692876&ssPageName=STRK:MEAFB:IT
Click to expand...

Thanks! GREAT tips! It really is too bad ebay is not what it used to be.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back