Restore Your Old iPhone's Factory Settings Before Upgrading
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Now that the new iPhones are here, you may be one of the many hoping to leave your old phone behind and upgrade.
But before you get rid of your old iPhone, make sure you clear all your personal information.
With the new iPhone 6 hitting shelves, it means it's time to say goodbye to your older model. But are you and your iPhone making a clean break?
"Customers come in and don't even realize that they need to reset their phone," said Shane Mericle, a cell phone repair manager.
At Mericle's cell phone repair shop, you might be shocked to find out what some people are leaving behind.
"As you can see, this phone still has pictures, texts, email," says Mericle of one of the phone's at his shop.
Pictures and texts may not be too bad to leave behind.
"In this case, he's got a PayPal account, there's a Chase Card account," said Mericle of the iPhone. "I could certainly request a password reset on that account, and while I have this phone, before it's been reset, make purchases on their behalf."
So what do you need to do before you upgrade?
Make sure you do a factory reset on your phone.
To do that on an iPhone, go to Settings, General, Reset, and then Reset All Settings. You can also erase all content and settings from that screen.
CTIA, a wireless communications industry group, says a factory reset may not wipe everything clean from all phones. It all depends on your phone maker and model.
In addition to the reset, CTIA says we should all:
Consider downloading a data eraser application to help wipe the phone.
Remove the SIM or SD card if it has one before selling or returning it.
Finally, if you want to be 100 percent certain your personal information is not at risk, don't sell it or trade it. Have it dismantled.
Some recycling companies may even melt your phone down to recycle valuable metals.
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