Protecting your photos before iPhone repair or trade-in

By The StrongRoom team · Published 2026-10-30 · Updated 2026-10-30 · Last verified on iOS 26.x on 2026-10-30

Before a repair or trade-in, follow Apple's own checklist: back up the phone, and for a trade-in or a mail-in repair erase it. Then think about what is on the phone that no ordinary backup carries. A StrongRoom Vault is kept out of phone backups on purpose, so make an Export Package and write down your Recovery Phrase before the phone leaves your hands.

Two different situations

A repair and a trade-in look alike but are not the same. In a repair, the phone usually comes back to you, possibly erased. In a trade-in or a sale, it does not. Apple publishes separate pages for each, and they are the place to start.

Repair: what Apple says

Apple's page "Prepare your iPhone or iPad for a service appointment" starts with a backup. It says iCloud can back up your iPhone daily when it is on power, locked and on Wi-Fi, and that a Mac or PC backup is also an option. It also covers these points:

• Check that the iCloud features you use have finished syncing.
• Remove cards and passes from Wallet and turn off Apple Cash.
• If a part shows "Finish Repair" in Parts and Service History, finish that repair first, or you may be charged or the service may be denied.
• On iOS 27 or later, Apple recommends Ready for Repair or Trade In, which keeps Find My on throughout an eligible repair. On iOS 26 or earlier, Find My has to be turned off before service.
• For a mail-in repair, erase the phone after backing up, under Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings.
• The phone may come back erased. If you set it up as new and later restore, do it soon, or the earlier backup can be overwritten.

Because the page does not describe what a technician can open on an unlocked phone, assume that anything visible once the phone is unlocked is visible to whoever has it. Ask the repair provider before you go what they require from you, and give them only that.

Trade-in or sale: what Apple says

Apple's page "What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone or iPad" says to back up and transfer your data first, then remove personal information. In outline: unpair an Apple Watch, sign out of iCloud and the App Store, remove Apple Pay cards, then go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. Apple notes that this erases photos, contacts and apps from the phone, that your content stays in iCloud, and that erasing turns off Find My and Activation Lock. If the phone has an eSIM, choose to erase it too. If you no longer have the phone, Apple advises changing your Apple Account password.

What a phone backup does not contain

This is the part Apple's checklist cannot cover. StrongRoom's data is excluded from iCloud and computer backups, so nothing is copied off the phone unless you export it. A copy of the app's files is useless on another device, because the data is tied to your phone. That is the point of the design, and it has a consequence: if the phone is erased, swapped or replaced and you have no Export Package, the Vault does not come back. Restoring a phone backup does not restore it.

Move the Vault with an Export Package

1. Unlock the Vault, open Settings and choose Export Package. An Export Package is an encrypted copy of the whole Vault.
2. Type the Vault's Recovery Phrase, tap Make Export Package and save the file somewhere you control that is not this phone: Files, a computer, a drive. The file is encrypted and needs the Recovery Phrase to open.
3. Check that you have the Recovery Phrase on paper: twelve words, shown once when the Vault was created or the phrase was last rotated. We keep no copy and cannot show them again.
4. On the new or repaired phone, choose Restore from an Export Package on the first screen and type the phrase. Restore works on a phone that has no Vault yet, so do it first.

The Recovery PIN does not replace the phrase for this. It is tied to the phone and cannot open an Export Package on a new one. See the limits page.

A checklist

For a repair:

1. Make an Export Package and keep the Recovery Phrase on paper.
2. Back up the phone the way Apple describes.
3. Decide whether private items need to be on the phone at all while it is away. If not, delete them from the Vault after exporting.
4. Follow Apple's steps for Find My and Wallet.
5. Ask the provider whether they need your passcode, and give nothing else.
6. After the repair, restore and check the Vault.

For a trade-in or sale:

1. Make the Export Package and check that you hold the Recovery Phrase on paper.
2. Back up and transfer as Apple describes.
3. Check that private photos are not left in Photos, in Recently Deleted or in any shared album.
4. Sign out, erase, and remove the phone from your trusted devices.

Where StrongRoom does not help

It does not erase the phone for you, change what Apple or a shop can see on an unlocked phone, or move itself in a phone backup. It cannot recover a Vault whose phrase and Export Package are both lost. And it does not hide in a phone that someone else holds unlocked.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Prepare your iPhone or iPad for a service appointment (Apple Support), checked on 2026-10-30.
• What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone or iPad (Apple Support), checked on 2026-10-30.