Reset your console before trade-in: PS5, Xbox Series, Switch
4 min read · Updated on June 16, 2026
Your console is heading off for trade-in? Before you box it up, there's a step plenty of people skip: wiping it properly. Your accounts, your games, your saved games and your payment methods are all still on it. We'll walk through it console by console, controllers included.
Why wipe and deactivate your console (not just a reset)
A console means your account, your saved credit card, your digital games and years of saves. If you just switch the machine off, the new owner could stumble onto your info, and you risk losing access to your game library. The right move happens in two steps: first detach your account from the console, then launch the factory reset.
Why this order? Because on PlayStation just like on Xbox, your console is registered as your primary console. As long as it is, your games and subscriptions stay tied to it. Deactivating first means keeping control of your licences through your account. Remember to back up to the cloud too before you erase everything.
PS5: deactivate the primary console, then factory reset
1. Backup: Settings > Saved Data, send your saves to the cloud (PlayStation Plus) or onto a USB drive. 2. Deactivate your console as primary: Settings > Users and Accounts > Other > Console Sharing and Offline Play > Disable. 3. Launch Settings > System > System Software > Reset Options > Reset Your Console.
Tip: if you no longer have the console (already shipped), you can deactivate all your PS consoles remotely from your account on the PlayStation website, once every 6 months. The factory reset wipes everything: accounts, games, captures, network. The console reboots like it just came out of the box.
Xbox Series X/S: remove the account and reset
1. Backup: on Xbox, your saves sync to the cloud by default, check the last session has uploaded. 2. Deactivate the console as your home Xbox: Settings > General > Personalization > My home Xbox > This is not my home Xbox. 3. Reset: Settings > System > Console info > Reset console.
At reset, pick 'Reset and remove everything' (not 'keep my games and apps'). If your account doesn't get removed automatically, do it via Settings > Account > Remove accounts before you finish.
Nintendo Switch: unlink the Nintendo Account and format
1. Saves: use transfer or cloud backup (Nintendo Switch Online subscription). Some saves can't be transferred, check before. 2. Unlink your Nintendo Account: on your account (via a browser), dissociate the linked console. 3. On the console: System Settings > System > Initialize Console.
Initializing wipes everything: accounts, captures, downloaded games, saves. If you're reselling your cartridges, take them out before shipping. Don't forget the dock and the cable for a classic or OLED Switch, having them counts toward the condition of the bundle.
Final checklist (controllers, accessories, box)
The detail people forget: the controllers. A PS5 or Xbox controller comes back clean with the console reset, but check they're all in the box, in good shape, with their cables. For the Switch, don't forget both Joy-Con and their straps. Remove any personal SD card or USB drive.
Your checklist: account signed out and console deactivated as primary, saves kept safe, factory reset done, cartridges/discs removed, controller(s) gathered, memory card retrieved. Your price is locked for 14 days, round-trip shipping is free, payment within 48 h after we receive and verify it.