Their phone is the most useful object they left, and the easiest to ruin. It knows every account they had. It receives the security codes that unlock the others. It probably holds the last photos, the last messages and the last voicemail. And one well-meaning relative doing "a factory reset so it can be sold" can lose all of that in ninety seconds.
This guide is about what to do with the phone itself: what to do in the first week, what to do if you know the passcode and what to do if you do not, where the photos really are, and when it is finally safe to wipe it.
In short: keep it charged, keep the SIM live, and do not reset it. If you know the passcode, back it up and export what matters before touching any account. If you do not, the phone itself is out of reach, but most of what is on it is also in an Apple or Google account, and there are routes to those. Wipe it last, after every other account is closed.
The first week
Turn off notifications if they are painful, but keep it powered. A phone that stays on keeps receiving the texts that other accounts send to prove it is you.
Not to sell it, not to hand it down, not yet. A reset deletes everything on the phone that is not backed up, and on an iPhone or Android it also locks the phone to the person's account so that nobody can use it anyway.
Tell the network about the death when you are ready, but ask them to keep the SIM active for now. Our phone contract guide has every UK provider's bereavement team and explains what you are entitled to.
The apps on the home screen, the names of the accounts in Settings, the banks and shops that send notifications. This is the beginning of the list of accounts you will work through.
If you know the passcode
You can do everything below from the phone itself. Do it before you contact any platform, because the moment an account is closed or memorialised, the phone loses access to it.
- Back the whole phone up to a computer, or check when the last iCloud or Google backup ran and let it run again.
- Export the photos. Copy the camera roll to a computer or a drive. On an iPhone, check whether iCloud Photos is on, because then the phone may only hold small versions and the originals are in iCloud.
- Export the WhatsApp chats you want to keep, with media. The WhatsApp guide explains how, and why WhatsApp deletes the account after 120 days of inactivity.
- Open the email. It is the master key. Search it for "your account", "renewal" and "receipt" to find the accounts you did not know about.
- Look in the password manager and the browser's saved passwords. Do not use them to log in as the person; platform rules forbid it. Use them to make the list.
- Note the two-factor apps such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator. Some accounts cannot be closed without a code from them, so keep the phone until those accounts are done.
- Record the voicemail greeting by calling the number from another phone and recording the message. Save the voice notes and the videos with sound.
Knowing the passcode does not make you the account holder. Closing and memorialising still go through each platform's own bereavement process, which is what the rest of our guides cover.
If you do not know the passcode
Neither Apple nor Google will unlock a phone for a family, whatever documents you bring, and Apple says plainly that it cannot remove a passcode without erasing the device. Guessing is risky: an iPhone can be set to erase itself after ten wrong attempts, and Android phones lock for longer after each failure.
The phone itself is therefore out of reach, but most of what is on it is somewhere else too:
- iPhone: photos, contacts, notes and backups are usually in iCloud. If the person set up a Legacy Contact, that person can request access with their access key and the death certificate. If not, Apple asks a UK family for a court order, and the no Legacy Contact page explains what that means and what you can still do without one.
- Android: photos are usually in Google Photos and contacts in the Google Account. Google's deceased user process can close the account, and can release money owed, but data needs a court order. Our Google UK guide covers it.
- Either: a laptop or tablet the person also used may be unlocked or have a known password, and holds its own copies. Shared albums, messages sent to relatives, and a partner's phone hold more than families expect.
A locked phone should still be kept charged and on for the security codes, and it should still be kept until the accounts are closed.
Where the photos really are
Families assume the photos are "on the phone". Often the phone holds only recent ones, or small copies, and the full library is in iCloud Photos, Google Photos, Amazon Photos, OneDrive or Dropbox, whichever app was set to back up automatically. Check the phone's storage settings and the apps installed. The finding accounts guide lists the places to look, and the Apple guide explains the one warning to read before asking Apple to close anything: closing the account deletes the library.
Keeping or releasing the number
If a relative wants to keep the number, the network can transfer the account into their name, or issue a PAC code so the number moves to their own contract. If nobody does, close the account once the security codes are no longer needed. Either way, the network will not charge an early termination fee because of the death. Tell the people who need the new arrangements: the bank, the GP surgery, and any account that still lists the old number for verification.
When it is safe to wipe it
Only after every account that used the phone for codes has been closed or moved, the photos are saved somewhere else, and the person's Apple or Google account has been removed from the device or closed. On an iPhone, Activation Lock means the phone stays tied to the Apple Account even after a reset; Apple can remove it with proof of purchase and the death certificate. On Android, Factory Reset Protection works the same way with the Google Account. Do that first, then erase, then it can be sold, donated or handed down.
When to hand it over
The phone is the list. The work is what comes after: the requests to Apple, Google, Meta and the rest, the documents, the chasing. Departed Digital does that part for families, with the documents sent once and a written record at the end. If the phone is locked and the family wants what is in the Apple or Google account, we will tell you honestly what is realistic before you spend anything. Packages start from £149.
Got the list from the phone? Start a case and tick the accounts you found. Or email us what you are trying to get off it, free.