Back up and transfer the adult’s information, sign out correctly, erase all content and settings, remove the old trusted-device relationship where appropriate, then set the phone up with the child’s own account and family controls.
Why this decision matters
A hand-me-down can be a sensible first phone, but it has two setup projects: close the adult’s ownership safely, then create the child’s environment cleanly. Mixing them makes recovery, purchases, contacts, photos, and Screen Time harder to reason about.
A practical starting sequence
Protect the adult’s data
Complete the backup and transfer first. Do not manually delete synced photos or contacts as a substitute for a proper erase.
End the old ownership
Follow Apple’s current give-away steps, including sign-out, erasure, SIM or eSIM decisions, and trusted-device review.
Start the child setup from Hello
Use the child’s own account, Family Sharing, parental controls, and a fresh test of calls, requests, web access, and location.
What the child experiences
The child should receive a clean phone with no adult inbox, photo library, saved password, payment credential, or unexpected account prompt.
An erase removes data from the handset; it is not a substitute for confirming that the adult’s data was backed up and the device was removed from the correct account relationships.
When to review it
Review the old owner’s device list and the child’s family membership after setup. Recheck cellular service, recovery, and app requests before the phone leaves home.
Rebuild the phone in the right order
Use the iPhone guide after the erase so the child account and controls are configured as a system.
Current official sources
Interfaces and defaults change. These first-party sources were checked for this page; verify the live device before publishing or relying on an exact menu path.
- Apple: Prepare an iPhone or iPad to give away
- Apple: Create a Child Account
- Apple: How Family Sharing works
- Apple: Use Screen Time for a child