Selling a Samsung Galaxy means backing it up, removing your accounts and doing a factory reset, in that order. The order matters: if you reset the phone while your Google account is still on it, Android's Factory Reset Protection (FRP) will ask for your Google password when the phone is set up again, and nobody else can use it. Here is how to do it properly on a Galaxy running One UI.
1. Back up your phone
Use Settings → Accounts and backup → Back up data (Samsung Cloud), back up photos to Google Photos, or use Smart Switch to copy everything to your new phone or a computer.
2. Remove your Google account
Go to Settings → Accounts and backup → Manage accounts, tap your Google account and choose Remove account. Repeat for every Google account on the phone. This is what turns off Factory Reset Protection.
3. Sign out of your Samsung account
Tap your name at the top of Settings, scroll down and tap Sign out. Signing out also turns off Find My Mobile (SmartThings Find), which would otherwise keep the phone linked to you.
4. Factory reset
Go to Settings → General management → Reset → Factory data reset, tap Reset, enter your PIN and tap Delete all. When the phone restarts on the welcome screen, it is ready to send.
5. Remove your SIM and memory card
Take out the SIM tray and remove your SIM and any microSD card. If you use an eSIM, remove it under Settings → Connections → SIM manager before the reset, unless you are moving it to a new phone.
What if the screen is broken?
You can still remove your accounts remotely. Erase the phone from Google Find My Device (android.com/find) and from SmartThings Find (smartthingsfind.samsung.com), then remove it from your Google account's device list. A cracked or faulty Galaxy is still worth selling: pick the matching condition when you get your quote.
Checklist
- Backed up
- Google account removed: Factory Reset Protection off
- Signed out of your Samsung account: Find My Mobile off
- Factory reset: phone shows the welcome screen
- SIM and microSD removed
See what your Galaxy is worth on the Sell My Samsung page or in our trade-in value guide. For screenshots of each step, see our Samsung account removal guide.
