There are many different reasons why you might be thinking about selling or trading in your smartphone, but let’s start with the obvious one: cash. Money is an issue for, well, pretty much everyone right now. The rising cost of living continues to take a bigger and bigger chunk out of everyone’s paycheque. A lot of people are looking for cheaper ways of getting the same service as a result. For example, if you’ve recently bought a new top-of-the-line iPhone, you might be thinking about cashing in and swapping to a more reasonable option and even possibly look at refurbished phones.
On the other hand, you might be thinking that it’s time for a cheeky upgrade. Many mobile phone contract providers offer money off new phones if you return your old ones. Your model may have worked well enough for a while, but these machines have a limited lifespan. There will always be a point when you need to give up and trade-in. But the rising tide of cybercrime has made everyone a little twitchy about giving up something with so much of their personal information.
Delete Your Browsing History
If you’re going to be sending your phone off to be sold or refurbed, then it’s only prudent that you check that you have deleted your browsing history. It’s a good idea to do this on a pretty regular basis to reduce privacy risks. But it’s absolutely essential in this case. A vast amount of personal information can be gleaned from your browser history, even if you don’t have your passwords saved onto your devices. Going through your phone data and ensuring that you’ve erased all of your searches from all of the browsers you use can be tedious and time-consuming.
There are also some mobile phones and browsers which make it harder than it should be to get rid of your history. That’s why it makes all the more sense to use apps that keep your browsing history private so that it’s easier to clear searches on iPhone and other devices. If you want to keep everything, including your IP address, private, then you look at using a VPN. Check more tips and learn more about how to remove your history and find more apps to make your browsing experience less risky.
Check That You Have Uploaded Everything To The Cloud
Make sure that you’re not going to be losing anything that you’re going to miss. Most phone networks will keep your all the data uploading to the cloud automatically, but unless you’ve paid for the premium service, you may discover that it hasn’t been doing this for a while. It would be awful if you lost some treasured photos or important documents because you didn’t think to find a way to back them up.
You could always download them to another device, but this can be time-consuming. Some apps can help you pick and choose what you want to keep on the cloud, and this may be a better way of ensuring that you’re saving what you want to save.
What Can You Add To The Package?
If you’re selling or want trade in your old mobile phone, you may find some accessories you still have lying around, which can sweeten the deal. Everyone is looking for the least fuss and best price when buying a new piece of hardware. Finding all the chargers, earphones, cases, screen protectors, and so on can be a huge pain in the neck. It is worth adding these to the sale if you have kept them in decent condition.
If this sounds like too much hassle, remember that a lot of people who resell phones will be doing this as standard practice, and you don’t want to get underbid if you need cash quickly. On an environmental note, e-waste is a huge problem in the United Kingdom because people just throw so much of their electrical goods away instead of recycling them. Reselling all of your unneeded old handsets and accessories will be more environmentally friendly and help cut down on your personal carbon footprint.
Find A Replacement That Works For You
Finally, if you’re thinking of selling or trading in your phone, it’s vital that you think carefully about what you’re looking for in a replacement. Even if there are signs that the current rising of cost living might be easing a little bit, you still want the best deals to not end up shelling out again in a year or two because you didn’t do your research the first time around.
Remember that upgrades and updates come out at an incredible rate but that a good phone should give you support beyond that. So, what do you want from your phone? Is cutting-edge processing power important, value, best possible price, or do you want something with a battery life longer than your morning commute?
