It’s that time of the year again. Google has announced a new Pixel smartphone, which means it’s time for a lot of people to upgrade, or get a new phone.
But what do you do with your old (current) phone? Just leave it in a drawer? Nope. You can trade it in and get a pretty decent amount off of your new Pixel phone, or you can sell it. But how exactly do you do that?
That’s what we are here to explain. And to help you figure out the best path for you.
Check your phone’s condition
First things first, you’re going to need to check out the condition of your smartphone. If it’s in good shape and fully functional, you’re going to get more money for it. Keeping your phone in great shape means that you’ll get more money for it, and it’ll be easier to find a buyer for your phone.
If it has been in a case all year long, then it should be in pretty good condition.
Factory reset the phone
The next step is to factory reset your phone. But these days, it’s not as easy as just going into the settings and hitting the factory reset button. Thanks to Factory Reset Protection.
So first thing you’ll need to do is go into Settings than tap on Accounts. Find your Google account and then tap on “Remove Account”. It’ll give you a prompt to make sure you want to remove it. Then it’ll ask for your screen lock – whether that’s a PIN, password, etc – and then it’ll remove the account.
Now you’ll be able to simply hit the Factory Reset button. To do this, go into Settings, then tap on System. Scroll down and tap on “Advanced”. Now tap on “Reset Options”. You’ll now want to tap on the last option, which is “Erase all data (Factory Reset)”. Once you tap on that, it’ll show you all of your accounts, and tell you that you’re about to lose all this information. Tap on “Erase all Data” again. It’ll then start the factory reset process.
Deciding to trade in or sell
Now this is the big one. Should you sell your phone, or trade it into your carrier (or retailer from where you bought your new Pixel).
If your phone is in like-new or good condition, it’ll be better to try and sell it on something like Swappa. Right now, the Pixel 3 XL is going for around $329, which isn’t a lot more than the trade-in value that most carriers are offering – which is $260. So it may be better to avoid the hassle and just trade it in.
When new phones come out though, many retailers and carriers will offer bonuses for trading in your smartphone. It’s really worth it to check around and see which has the better deal for you. For example, Verizon is offering up to $450 for the Pixel 3 XL. You won’t get close to that, even if you are selling it.
It’s always good to look around and see who has the best offer for your old phone. Check sites like Swappa and eBay to see what the going price is, and then also check your carrier and other retailers to see what they are offering for a trade-in.