How to Sell a Loved One’s Phone or Laptop After They Pass

Sorting through a loved one’s phone and laptop is one of the quieter, harder jobs after a death, and there is no rush to do it. When you are ready, this guide walks through the order that protects their photos and your options: saving what matters first, getting past account locks the right way, closing carrier lines, and only then deciding whether to keep, sell, donate or recycle each device. It is written for family members and executors selling a deceased person’s devices, and it starts with what you can do today without any paperwork.

Quick Answer

Before you reset anything, save the photos, messages and files you want to keep, because erasing a device is permanent. Next, clear the account locks through the official channels: Apple’s Digital Legacy process (a Legacy Contact access key, or a death certificate and possibly a court order), Google’s deceased-user request, and Microsoft’s own guidance. A phone or laptop still locked to their account cannot be sold on a marketplace or used by anyone else. Once a device is unlocked, paid off and wiped, you can keep it, give it to family, sell it, or recycle it. For the selling steps themselves, see How to Sell Used Electronics: The Complete Guide.

First, Save What Matters

Most of what people want from a loved one’s phone is photos, videos, voicemails and messages. Some of it lives on the device, and some lives in their cloud account. Do these things before anything else:

• Leave the devices charged and switched on, if they are still unlocked or you know the passcode. Do not sign out of accounts or reset anything yet.
• Look for passcodes and access keys. Check estate planning papers, a password manager, a notebook, or ask the people closest to them. Apple users may have named a Legacy Contact, and that person holds an access key.
• Copy photos and files to your own storage if you can open the device: a computer, an external drive, or your own cloud account.
• Save voicemails from their phone line before the line is closed. Verizon, for example, says you can save voicemails before disconnecting.
• Watch the clock on some cloud accounts. Microsoft says Outlook.com and OneDrive accounts are frozen after one year without sign-in, and the email and files are deleted shortly after.

If a device will not turn on or is damaged, do not wipe or recycle it until you have tried to recover the data. Common Repair Costs by Device gives a sense of what a repair shop visit might cost.

Worth knowing: Erasing a phone or laptop cannot be undone. Once the data is saved, or you are sure nothing on it is needed, then you can reset it.

Here is what each company asked families for when we checked their pages on October 15, 2026:

Unlocking an iPhone, iPad or Mac

Apple ties each device to an Apple Account, and Activation Lock keeps anyone else from setting it up after a reset. Apple has a formal process for families, called Digital Legacy, and which path you take depends on what you have.

If you are their Legacy Contact. You need two things: the access key they created when they added you, and their death certificate. You can start the request on your own iPhone or iPad (Settings, your name, Sign-In & Security, Legacy Contact) or on Apple’s Digital Legacy website. You do not need your own Apple device. After Apple approves it, you get a special Legacy Contact account to download data such as photos, messages, notes, files and device backups. Purchased movies, music and books, and saved passwords, are not included. Apple says it cannot replace a lost access key.

If you are not a Legacy Contact. Apple requires legal documentation, which generally includes a death certificate and might also require a court order. In the US, a court order can name you as the rightful inheritor and ask Apple to provide access to the account’s data. Only one person can request access. If you only want the account closed, you can request permanent deletion instead, using your own Apple Account and the required documents.

What happens to the devices. After a Legacy Contact request or a deletion request is completed, Apple says Activation Lock is automatically removed from devices that used the account. iPhones and iPads still need to be erased and restored before someone else can use them. Apple also says it cannot remove a passcode lock without erasing the device, so anything that was only on the phone, and not backed up, may be lost when it is erased.

Once Activation Lock is gone, the device can be reset like any other. iCloud Activation Lock: How to Avoid It on a Used iPhone explains how to confirm the lock is really off.

Unlocking an Android Phone

Android phones are tied to a Google account, and a factory reset does not remove it. That protection is Factory Reset Protection (FRP): after a reset, the phone asks for the Google account that was last signed in.

If you know the screen lock. This is the simplest case. Save what you want, then remove their Google account in Settings before you reset the phone. Samsung phones may also be signed in to a Samsung account, which should be removed the same way. Android FRP: How to Avoid a Locked Used Phone shows what a cleared phone looks like.

If you do not know the screen lock or the Google password. Google has a request form for a deceased user’s account. It works with immediate family members and representatives, and it offers three options: close the account, request funds from the account, or obtain data from it. Two points from Google’s own page matter most:

• Google cannot give out passwords or other login details.
• If you ask Google to close the account first, it cannot turn over the contents later. If you want the photos or email, make the data request first and wait for it to finish.

Google’s page does not say whether closing the account clears FRP on a phone. If the phone still asks for their account after a reset, it cannot be listed for sale, and the options are covered in the last section below. We could not find a published process for Samsung accounts of people who have died, so contact Samsung support directly if a Samsung account lock is the problem.

Laptops and Windows Accounts

Macs follow the Apple process above. For Windows laptops and Microsoft accounts, Microsoft’s guidance is short:

• You do not need to report the death to Microsoft.
• If you know their Microsoft account sign-in, you can close the account yourself. It can be reopened within 60 days, then it is permanently deleted. Save files from OneDrive and email first.
• If you do not know the sign-in, Microsoft generally cannot give information to anyone else. It considers releasing data only after a valid subpoena or court order, and even then it may not be able to help. Unused accounts close after two years of inactivity.

On the laptop itself, a Windows device locked by Microsoft’s Find My Device cannot be sold until it is cleared, and many laptops use BitLocker encryption, which asks for a recovery key after certain changes. BitLocker Recovery Key on a Used Laptop: What It Means and What to Do explains where that key is usually stored. If the laptop belonged to their employer, contact the employer: it is their property and may be locked to company management, which BIOS Locks and MDM Enrollment: Used Laptop Gotchas to Avoid describes.

Carrier Lines and Payment Plans

A phone line keeps billing until someone closes or transfers it, and a phone still being paid off belongs partly to the carrier. Sort this out before deciding what to do with the phone.

Verizon’s page for deceased account holders is a good example of the choices you may have. If the phone still has device payments left, Verizon lets you:

• Disconnect the line and return the phone. Verizon sends a return kit, and the remaining balance is forgiven once it gets the phone back.
• Keep the phone and keep paying, or pay off the balance.
• Keep the phone and disconnect the line, with the remaining balance due on the next bill.

Verizon handles disconnects at its own Company Stores or by phone at 800-922-0204, not at authorized retailers, and asks for documents such as a death certificate or executor paperwork. Other carriers have their own processes, so call the carrier on the bill and ask what happens to the line and to any balance on the phone.

A phone with an unpaid balance cannot be listed on Swappa until it is paid off, so if the carrier will forgive the balance in exchange for the phone, returning it may be the simplest choice.

This is general information, not legal advice. If you are not the executor, or the estate is not settled yet, check with the executor or an estate attorney before you sell or give away anything of value.

Selling, Donating or Recycling the Devices

Once a device is unlocked, paid off and its data is saved, you can decide what to do with it. There is no wrong answer, and keeping a phone for a while is fine too.

Keeping or passing it on. A family member can set up an erased iPhone with their own Apple Account, or an Android phone with their own Google account, as long as the old account is removed.

Selling it. To sell on a marketplace, the device has to be wiped, free of every account lock, fully paid off and in working order. When you list on Swappa, you also confirm you have the right to sell it, which is where executor authority matters. How to Wipe Your Device Before Selling covers the reset, and Swappa’s seller fee is 3% of your asking price, plus payment processing, only when it sells.

Sell a Phone or Laptop

Listing is free. Sellers pay 3% plus payment processing when it sells.

If it is broken, very old, or still locked. A cracked or water-damaged device cannot be listed on Swappa, and a device you cannot unlock cannot be sold to a person who needs to set it up. Some Swappa Trade-In partners buy broken and water-damaged phones, and some accept locked or financed devices, so it is worth checking. Very old phones often get no offer at all: on October 15, 2026, trade-in quotes for an unlocked iPhone 6S were $0. For those, recycling through a certified electronics recycler, or donating a working phone, is a good ending. Selling Broken or For-Parts Devices for Cash and E-Waste and Sustainability: Why Buying Used Matters cover both routes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sell a deceased family member’s iPhone if it is still locked?

Not until Activation Lock is removed. Apple removes it after a Legacy Contact request or an account deletion request is completed, which requires a death certificate and, without an access key, possibly a court order. A device still locked to their Apple Account cannot be set up by a buyer, so it cannot be listed for sale.

How do I get photos off a deceased person’s phone?

If you know the passcode, copy the photos to your own computer or cloud storage before resetting anything. If you do not, Apple’s Legacy Contact process can give access to iCloud photos and backups, and Google accepts data requests for a deceased user’s account. Apple cannot remove a passcode without erasing the phone.

Will Google or Apple give me a deceased person’s password?

No. Google says it cannot provide passwords or other login details. Apple gives an approved Legacy Contact a separate account to access the data, and the original Apple Account stops working. Both require proof such as a death certificate.

What happens to a phone payment plan when someone dies?

It depends on the carrier. Verizon lets families return the phone and have the remaining balance forgiven, keep paying, or keep the phone and pay the balance on the next bill. Call the carrier on the account and ask what applies.

Do I need a death certificate to unlock a loved one’s phone?

For Apple, yes: a Legacy Contact needs the access key and the death certificate, and other family members generally need a death certificate and possibly a court order. Google reviews each deceased-user request carefully, and Microsoft considers releasing data only after a subpoena or court order. If you already know the passcode and account password, you can remove the accounts yourself.

When You Are Ready

Take it one device at a time: save what matters, clear the locks through the official channels, settle the phone line, and then decide. If you choose to sell, the Swappa fees page shows exactly what comes out of the sale, and our team of real people is there if you have questions along the way.

See How Selling Works

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