Retiring Company iPhones and iPads: A Business Buyback Checklist

A device refresh leaves a company with a box of iPhones and iPads that are still tied to its IT setup. Selling them is not hard once they are clean. The work is in the order you do things.

This checklist runs in the order that avoids the two expensive mistakes: releasing a device from your organization before its Activation Lock is off, and erasing a device before you have what you need from it. It ends with getting one quote for the whole batch on our wholesale lot builder.

Apple Business Manager (Apple's current guides call it simply Apple Business), Activation Lock and the Settings screens below are Apple's, and iPhones.LA is not affiliated with Apple Inc. We link Apple's guides for every step. If one ever says something different from this page, Apple wins.

Step 1: build the device inventory

Start from your device management (MDM) console, not from the box. Export every device you plan to retire with its serial number, model and assigned user, then match it to the devices in front of you.

Add the facts a buyer needs for each device. On an iPhone, Settings > General > About shows the model name, capacity, carrier lock status and IMEI on one screen, as Apple's guide to the About screen lists.

Keep the status column. It becomes your record of what was done. And chase anything on the export that is not in the box now, before you release anything.

Step 2: take off what you need to keep

Follow your retention policy for anything stored on the devices, and move what staff need to their replacements first. Then settle with your carrier which company numbers and eSIMs you are keeping, moving or cancelling, before a single device is erased.

Step 3: check the carrier lock while the phones still work

Phones bought through a business carrier account can be locked to that carrier. Check each one before you erase it, in Settings > General > About. "No SIM restrictions" next to Carrier Lock means unlocked. Anything else means locked, and Apple's unlocking page is clear that only the carrier can unlock it.

Unlocked phones pay more than carrier-locked ones, so ask your carrier about unlocking before you sell if the phones qualify. If they do not, sell them locked. They are still bought. The difference is explained in carrier-locked vs unlocked iPhone value.

Step 4: turn off Activation Lock

Activation Lock is the setting that stops a sale. A device still locked to an Apple Account cannot be bought by us, and on company devices it can come from two places.

• An employee's personal Apple Account. If someone signed in with their own account and turned on Find My, have them sign out (Settings > [their name] > Sign Out) before they hand the device in.
• Your organization's management. Apple's deployment guide on Activation Lock says a user with the right privileges in Apple Business can turn off both organization-linked and user-linked Activation Lock on a device the organization owns.

In Apple Business, Apple's Turn off Activation Lock steps are: Devices > Inventory, select the device, confirm under Details that Activation Lock is on, then More > Turn Off Activation Lock, tick the box that says you understand it cannot be undone, and confirm.

Do this before Step 5. Apple's guide is explicit that managing Activation Lock through Apple Business is not possible after a device is released.

If a former employee locked a supervised device and cannot be reached, your MDM may hold a bypass code for it. The same deployment guide explains how those codes work.

Step 5: release the devices from your organization

Releasing is how a device leaves your organization's device list. Apple's Release devices guide describes it for devices that have been sold, lost or cannot be repaired.

1. Sign in to Apple Business with a role that can release devices.
2. Choose Devices > Inventory and find the device. For a batch, you can paste up to 1,024 serial numbers, separated by commas.
3. Select the device or devices, then Release from Organization (or Release, for a batch).
4. Read the dialog, tick "I understand that this cannot be undone", then select Release.
5. When the activity finishes, search for the device and check that its status shows Released.

Two cautions from the same guide: do not release devices going to Apple for repair, and a released device needs to be erased and restored, which is the next step.

Also retire each device in your MDM console, following your vendor's steps.

Step 6: erase every device

If a company phone was paired with an Apple Watch, unpair the watch first. Apple's unpair and erase guide does it from the Apple Watch app on the iPhone: My Watch > All Watches, the info button, then Unpair Apple Watch. Unpairing erases the watch and removes Activation Lock, and if the watch has a cellular plan you choose to remove it when selling.

Then, on each iPhone, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. On an iPad the menu says Transfer or Reset iPad. Apple's Erase iPhone guide notes that if the device has an eSIM, you can choose to erase it or keep it. For a device you are selling, erase it.

An erased iPhone powers on to a "Hello" screen. One wrinkle from Apple: a device whose Activation Lock was turned off in Apple Business may still say Activation Lock is on after an erase, but it can be set up without the previous user signing in.

Step 7: document what you sold

For the audit and the asset register, keep for each device:

• The serial number and IMEI.
• The date Activation Lock was turned off and the date it was released. Apple Business shows the release date, and who or what released it, in the device's Activity section.
• The date it was erased.
• The order number and emailed quote from the sale, and the payment record. Our lot builder emails the quote the moment you send the lot.

Step 8: get one quote for the whole batch

On the lot builder, enter your email, then add each line by model, storage, carrier lock, grade and quantity, or press Paste a list and paste your spreadsheet. The page reads one device per line and flags anything it could not finish. It covers iPhones, iPads and Macs.

Most configurations price instantly, and the total updates as you build. A few have no instant price, and the page marks which; someone will be in touch with you about those shortly. A device still under management can be flagged as MDM locked, and someone will be in touch about that line, but releasing and erasing first is the cleaner path. The number on the page is our best number up front, not an opening offer. There is a lot minimum, and the page tells you if a lot is under it.

For the handoff, meet at our secured facility or a public spot in Los Angeles or Orange County, or ship the devices in. On lots of three or more units, IMEIs are checked in hand at the meetup. Payment is cash (in person only), Zelle (usually same day), Cash App (usually same day) or PayPal, the moment the devices check out.

Company phones are graded like anyone's: A is clean, B is light wear, C is heavy wear, frame damage or one cracked panel, and D is both sides cracked, any display damage or a bent frame. The bulk selling guide covers grading a mixed batch, and pages like the iPhone 14 and iPhone 13 show what storage and lock do to one phone's offer.

Planning a large refresh? Call or text (562) 999-4994, in English or Spanish, or use the contact page.

Frequently asked questions

How do I remove a company iPhone from Apple Business Manager?

Turn off Activation Lock first, then in Apple Business go to Devices > Inventory, select the device, choose Release from Organization and confirm. Apple's guide says a released device then needs to be erased and restored.

Should I turn off Activation Lock before releasing a device?

Yes. Apple's guide says managing Activation Lock through Apple Business is not possible after a device is released, so turn it off first.

Does erasing a company iPhone remove it from MDM?

Not by itself. The device stays in your organization's list until you release it, and a device still assigned to your management service can look for that service again when it is set up.

Can you buy company iPhones that are still enrolled in MDM?

You can flag a unit as MDM locked in our lot builder and someone will be in touch with you about that line shortly. Releasing and erasing the devices first is the cleaner route, and a device with Activation Lock still on cannot be bought.

What records should a business keep when selling old phones?

Keep each device's serial number and IMEI, the dates it was released and erased, and the order number, quote and payment record from the sale.