Here's how to factory reset a Samsung phone before selling it, in the order that keeps you out of trouble. Back up your photos, contacts and messages with Smart Switch or Google One. Remove your Google account and sign out of your Samsung account, which turns off Find My Mobile and the account locks that would stop the next owner at setup. Delete any eSIM, take out the SIM card and microSD card, then run Factory data reset from Settings, under General management. When the phone restarts to the welcome screen and never asks for your account, it's wiped, unlocked and ready for a buyer.
What to Have Ready Before You Wipe a Galaxy
Three things decide whether this goes smoothly: your passwords, a charged battery and a backup that actually finished. Miss any one and the reset either stalls or locks you out.
- Your Google account password. You may be asked for it when you remove the account. If you've forgotten it, recover it through Google before you start.
- Your Samsung account password. Signing out of the Samsung account asks for it. Without it, Find My Mobile stays on and the phone stays tied to you.
- Your screen lock PIN or pattern. The reset asks for it as a final check.
- A charge of at least half. A phone that dies partway through a reset can get stuck on a boot loop.
- Somewhere to put your data. A computer with Smart Switch, a new phone, or enough room in Google One or Samsung Cloud.
The password is the one that sinks most sales. A phone that's still linked to an account nobody can sign into is a phone a buyer can't set up. If you want the bigger picture beyond the wipe, our checklist on getting any phone ready to sell covers cleaning, photos and paperwork too.
Steps to Factory Reset a Samsung Phone Before Selling
Order matters here, because each step depends on the one before it. Signing out before you back up loses data, and resetting before you sign out can leave the phone locked.
- Back up with Smart Switch or Google One. Copy photos, contacts, messages and app data to a computer, a new phone or the cloud, because nothing comes back after the wipe.
- Unpair a Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Buds in the Galaxy Wearable app. That way the accessories can move to your next phone instead of staying linked to this one.
- Remove your cards from Samsung Wallet and Google Wallet. This cancels the payment tokens tied to this device on your bank's side.
- Remove your Google account under Settings, Accounts and backup, Manage accounts. This switches off Google's Factory Reset Protection, the check that asks the next owner for your password.
- Sign out of your Samsung account by tapping your name at the top of Settings. Samsung ties Find My Mobile and its Reactivation lock to your account, so signing out is what releases them.
- Delete the eSIM in Settings, Connections, SIM manager, and pop out the physical SIM. Your number lives on the SIM or eSIM profile, not on the phone.
- Take out the microSD card if your model has a slot. A factory reset only wipes internal storage, so the card keeps every file on it.
- Run Settings, General management, Reset, Factory data reset, then enter your PIN and tap Delete all. Galaxy phones encrypt their storage, and the reset throws away the key, so the old data can't be read back.
- Let it boot to the welcome screen and stop there. A phone that reaches setup without asking for your account is clean and ready for its next owner.
Selling an Apple Watch at the same time? It has its own unpairing routine, covered in our guide on wiping an Apple Watch for a buyer.
The Lock Sellers Forget, and How to Check for It
Most people assume the reset itself clears every lock. In practice, the locks live with your Google and Samsung accounts, not on the phone, and a wipe done the wrong way leaves them in place.
Here's the usual way it goes wrong. Someone removes the Google account but forgets the Samsung account, or skips both and wipes the phone from recovery mode with the side and volume buttons. A recovery mode wipe, or a remote erase from Find My Mobile, erases your data but keeps the account check. The buyer powers it on, connects to Wi-Fi and gets asked to sign in with an account that was on the phone before.
To check your own work, finish the reset, connect to Wi-Fi and walk a few screens into setup. If it asks to verify a previous Google account or your Samsung account, a lock is still on. Sign in with your own account, remove it again from Settings, and reset a second time.
Already handed it over? You can still help the buyer from your end. Remove the phone from the device list in your Google account's security settings, and remove it from your devices on Samsung's Find My Mobile site.
Want a second set of eyes before you hand the phone over? Find a walk-in store on our store locations page and bring the phone with your account details handy.
How Long the Whole Job Takes
Set aside about an hour from start to finish, and most of that is the backup. The reset itself is the quick part.
- Backup: anywhere from 15 minutes to over an hour, depending on how many photos and videos you have and whether you're copying over Wi-Fi or a cable.
- Unpairing, wallet cards and sign outs: about 5 to 10 minutes.
- SIM, eSIM and microSD: a few minutes.
- Factory data reset: usually 5 to 15 minutes, longer on phones with more storage.
- The welcome screen check: a couple of minutes.
Don't do it the night before a sale with the phone at low battery. Give the backup time to finish, then open the backup on your new phone or computer and spot check a few photos before you wipe anything.
When a Repair Shop Should Do It Instead
Say the screen on your Galaxy is cracked and the bottom third doesn't respond to touch. You can't reach the Remove account button, so you can't do the one step that matters. That's when a repair comes before the reset, not after.
Doing it yourself works for most phones. A professional makes sense when:
- The touchscreen is cracked, dead in spots or showing lines, so you can't tap through Settings.
- The phone won't power on or keeps restarting, and your backup is still on it.
- A button is broken and you need it to confirm the reset.
- The battery is swollen or drains too fast to get through a backup.
A shop can fix the screen or battery so you can sign out and back up yourself, which keeps your passwords in your hands. If you've lost a password, that part goes through Google or Samsung account recovery first, since nobody else can sign out for you. Before you sell a phone with damage, check Samsung phone repair options for your model and weigh the fix against what the phone is worth.
How Wireless Kinect Handles a Samsung Trade-In
Wireless Kinect buys Samsung Galaxy phones, from S models to Note, Fold and Z Flip, as part of its device buyback and trade-in service at four walk-in stores in Pennsylvania and Florida. The first thing checked on any phone is whether the Google and Samsung accounts are off, because a locked phone can't be resold to anyone.
What moves an offer is the same anywhere in the US: the exact model and storage, whether it's carrier locked or unlocked, the condition of the screen and back glass, battery health, and whether the accounts are signed out. A few of the things people worry about matter less than they think, and our post on what really lowers trade-in value sorts those out.
Whoever you sell to, ask three things. Do they check for account locks before paying? Do they wipe the phone again before it goes back out? And what ID do they need? Rules for buying used phones vary by state, and in many states a store that buys them has to record the seller's photo ID, so bring one. If you're deciding what to buy next, our Galaxy versus iPhone comparison for used buyers lays out the trade-offs.
If a cracked screen or tired battery is dragging the phone's value down, look at what a phone repair covers for your model before you decide to sell as is.
Samsung Reset FAQ
Does a factory reset remove my Google account from a Samsung phone?
It erases the account from the phone, but the safe order is to remove the account first in Settings. That way Factory Reset Protection can't stop the next owner at setup.
Can I sell a Samsung phone that has FRP lock on it?
Most buyers won't take it, because the next owner can't get past setup. Sign in with your own Google account to clear it, or recover the password through Google before you sell.
Do I need to sign out of my Samsung account if I removed my Google account?
Yes. Samsung's Reactivation lock and Find My Mobile are tied to the Samsung account, separate from Google, so both have to come off.
Does a factory reset delete everything on a Samsung phone?
It deletes everything in internal storage, including apps, photos and settings. It doesn't touch a microSD card or a physical SIM, so take those out yourself.
How long does a Samsung factory reset take?
The reset usually runs 5 to 15 minutes. The backup before it is what takes time, often half an hour or more.
What is the difference between Factory data reset and a recovery mode reset?
Factory data reset runs from Settings on a phone you're signed into. A recovery mode reset uses the buttons and keeps the account locks in place, so it's not the one to use before selling.
Should I use Smart Switch or Google One to back up?
Smart Switch is the better pick if your next phone is a Galaxy, because it copies settings and app layouts too. Google One works across any Android phone, and plenty of people use both.
Do I need to remove the SIM card before a factory reset?
Take it out either way, since the reset doesn't erase it and it carries your number. If you use an eSIM, delete it in SIM manager first.
Ready to Sell Your Galaxy?
Your Galaxy is backed up, signed out and wiped, or close to it. If a broken screen or dead button is the one thing in the way, get an instant repair quote for your exact model and see your options before you sell.