Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

nldd

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 14, 2018
26
5
Hello everybody,

I'll be getting a new iPhone soon and I'm going to sell my current one.

I'm going to create a new Apple ID for the new phone but keep my old number.

Can anyone tell me what steps I need to take in order to completely disassociate my phone number from my current Apple ID/iPhone?

Thanks in advance!
 

eyoungren

macrumors Penryn
Aug 31, 2011
28,792
26,879
Sign out of all your iCloud services for the phone then Erase All Contents and Settings from the device.

It is especially important that you sign out of Find My iPhone.

Note. Your phone number is attached to your SIM card, not your device. And your phone number is only attached to your Apple ID as long as you are logged in on that device and have Find My iPhone turned on.

Creating a new Apple ID is entirely unnecessary. Just put the old SIM in the new phone. Or if the old SIM is incompatible with the new phone have your carrier reprogram the new SIM to your number. That will deactivate the old SIM.
 
  • Like
Reactions: chabig

nldd

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 14, 2018
26
5
@eyoungren - Thank you. I'll make sure of that. Don't I have to sign out of iMessage and Facetime on the old iPhone as well, before I move on to the new one?

Creating a new Apple ID is just my personal preference. I know it's not necessary.

The idea is that I don't want my phone number to be associated with the old Apple ID, once I create the new one.

Thanks again!
 

chabig

macrumors G4
Sep 6, 2002
11,255
8,952
You don't have to do anything because your AppleID isn't associated with a phone number. You seem to think that AppleIDs are associated with phones and phone numbers, but they are not.

All you need to do to remove the phone from your account and clear its contents is go to Settings and tap General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. See https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201351

Creating a new AppleID is unnecessary.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nldd and eyoungren

eyoungren

macrumors Penryn
Aug 31, 2011
28,792
26,879
@eyoungren - Thank you. I'll make sure of that. Don't I have to sign out of iMessage and Facetime on the old iPhone as well, before I move on to the new one?

Creating a new Apple ID is just my personal preference. I know it's not necessary.

The idea is that I don't want my phone number to be associated with the old Apple ID, once I create the new one.

Thanks again!
That's why I said sign out of all your iCloud services. Everything that uses your Apple ID.

Creating a new Apple ID is your prerogative, but as both I and @chabig have said it's not necessary. Your phone number is not permanently associated with your Apple ID.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nldd and chabig
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.