Remove your iCloud account from an iPhone or iPad

In this blog we take a look out how to remove an iCloud account from an iPhone or iPad and restore the Apple device back to factory settings.

How to Remove an iCloud Account From Your iPhone or iPad

If you’re thinking of upgrading your current iPhone or iPad for a nice new refurbished iPhone or iPad, then you will need to back up your data first, then remove your iCloud account before finally removing all data and restoring to factory settings on your existing handset. Once this is complete, your Apple device will then be totally free from any of your data and can then be sold or given to a friend or relative. 

What is an iCloud Account?

The iCloud is a service that allows Apple users to store data, like photo’s, passwords, Apps and documents safely onto the cloud. All this data can then be accessed at any time using the same Apple ID on any Apple device.

To create an iCloud account, first create an Apple ID and register an email address, where you will then be able to manage and customise your account and add as many Apple devices to it as you like. iCloud is built into every Apple device and includes a free 5GB of storage. More storage is available but there is often a small charge for this, of typically around £0.79 for 50GB and £2.49 for 200GB.

It is worth noting, all data stored onto the iCloud is fully secure as this is encrypted and requires a two-factor authentication to access your account. 

How to Back Up an iPhone or iPad

Whether you are upgrading your device for a new refurbished iPhone or iPad or not, it is always worth frequently backing up your data. This will then minimise any possible data losses should you lose, break or have your device stolen.

To do a backup, this can be done using the below steps:

• Open Settings then press your name at the top of the screen
• Select iCloud then tap iCloud Backup
• Turn on the iCloud Backup option which will then automatically back up your iPhone or iPad when it is connected to Wi-Fi.
• You can also perform a manual Backup by tapping the Back Up Now option. 

To view all your iCloud backups. Open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud, Manage Storage, and select Backups. This will then bring up a list of your Backups where you can then delete, and choose a backup from the list.

How to Remove an iCloud Account From an iPhone or iPad

Once your data has been backed up, the next step is then to remove your iCloud account from your Apple iPhone or iPad.

• First open Settings and then tap your name at the top of the screen
• Scroll down to the bottom of the page and tap Sign Out
• You will then be prompted to enter your Apple ID password. Input this information and then tap Turn Off
• Finally tap Sign Out to confirm the removal.

Once these steps have been completed, your iCloud account will then be removed from your device. You can double check this by opening settings and you should not see your name at the top of the screen. If your name is still visible, restart the process again to remove.

How to Factory Restore an iPhone or iPad

The final steps once you have backed up your data and removed your iCloud account, is to remove all your data and factory restore the iPhone or iPad back to factory settings. Simply follow the below steps to carry this out.

• Open Settings, then scroll down to General
• Scroll down to the bottom of the page to Transfer or Reset iPhone
• Tap Erase All Content and Settings
• Confirm the Erase

When you have confirmed the Erase, the process will take around 2 – 3 minutes to complete, and your Apple iPhone or iPad will power off and on again during the procedure. You will see that once the restore has completed, the screen will show the welcome page, where you can then select the language and set the phone up, as if it was a new device.

How to Remove an Apple iCloud Account Remotely

Another method to remove your Apple iCloud account and remove all data, is to do this remotely online. To do this follow the below:

• On any device, open icloud.com
• Enter the Apple ID and Password for you iCloud account
• Tap “Find My iPhone” then click “All Devices” at the top of the screen, where you can then select your iPhone or iPad
• Erase the device by clicking the “Erase button”. This will then perform the erase and all content and settings from the device will restore back to factory settings. When prompted, do not enter a phone number or message. Do not click Next until the device is erased
• Once the erase has completed, click “Remove from Account” to remove the device from the account

Once you have removed your iCloud account and restored the device back to factory settings, you are then ready to pass on the iPhone or iPad to a friend or relative or sell it and get some money for it to help your upgrade to a new device. If you’re looking to purchase a new refurbished iPhone or refurbished iPad, check out our great range at a fraction of the cost of a brand new device.