Your phone contract is about to expire and you plan to resell or give it away when you get a new contract? Here's what you should do before you give up your device.
1. Make sure the phone is unlocked
If you purchased your cell phone before 2017, it could be blocked. This means that it will be impossible to use it with a provider other than the one who sold it to you initially, be it Bell, Rogers, Videotron or even Fido.
Since 2017, providers can no longer only block devices, but must also let you unlock them for free.
2. Make a backup of your device
Backup is an important step to preserve the data in your phone. Whether it's your contacts, your photos, or even your messages.
This backup can then be transferred to your new device.
3. Delete phone data
So that the person who got your old phone cannot access your data, you should delete it by resetting it.
“Resetting the phone returns it to its basic settings, just as it was on the day you bought it. This process will erase all data stored on the phone. It will be like new when it leaves the factory,” it says on the website of French telecom company Orange.
Note that this process may take a long time and the phone will need to be fully charged or connected to an electrical outlet.