Gadgetwise: Cleaning Off and Selling the Old iPad

I plan to get a new iPad later this month. How do I erase all my data on my old one before I sell it?

If you want to transfer content and settings from your old iPad to the new one when you get it, you should back up the data on the old iPad with iTunes first. To do so, connect it to the computer with its USB cable, and when the iPad icon shows up under the Devices list in iTunes, right-click (or control-click) on it and choose Back Up from the pop-up menu. This may take a few minutes.

Later, when you connect the new iPad to the computer for the first time, you can restore all the data in the backup file to it through iTunes as well. If you do not get the option to restore from a previous backup during the setup process, right-click on the iPad’s icon in iTunes and choose Restore from Backup from the menu. For specific instructions on creating and restoring iPad backups, check out Apple’s page on the topic.

An alternative way of erasing the data on the iPad is to restore it to its original factory settings through iTunes. To go this route, connect the tablet to the computer and click in the iPad icon when it appears on the left side of the iTunes window. Click the Summary button at the top of the iTunes window and then click the Restore button on screen. Confirm that you want to erase everything on the iPad and let iTunes get to work. When iTunes has restored the iPad to its original condition, unplug the tablet from the computer.

If you don’t care about backing up your data to transplant it on the new tablet (or do not want to use iTunes), skip the computer and tap the Settings icon on the iPad’s Home screen. On the Settings screen, tap General on the left side of the screen and then tap Reset at the bottom of the list. On the Reset screen, tap the “Erase All Content and Settings” button and confirm your decision. You may also want to make sure the iPad is plugged into a power source so that it doesn’t run out of battery power before the job is done.

If you are not using eBay or Craigslist to sell your used iPad, gadget buyback sites like Gazelle and BuyMyTronics are other options for selling preowned gear.

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