YOU can knock hundreds off the price of a new iPhone by trading in your old one – and you don’t even need to go to the Apple Store.
There’s an online version of Apple‘s Trade In program, and you can get up to £645 off the price of a new model.
You can still go into the Apple Store if you prefer, but you might find it easier to do it online.
First you’ll want to get an iPhone trade-in estimate by going to Apple’s Trade-In page on the official website.
Then you can choose a new Apple product (the iPhone 16 is currently the latest model) and add your trade-in device.
Check out and you’ll get a trade-in confirmation email.
This will explain how to back up your personal data and get your old device ready for sending in.
You’ll then receive instructions on how to return your device.
Apple will send you a mail-in kit so you can return your phone without actually having to go to an Apple Store.
If you don’t want to swap for a new device immediately, you can also trade in for an Apple gift card that can be used at any point.
Apple says online trade-in usually takes about two to three weeks.
“Your trade-in device needs to be sent to us within 14 days of receiving your new device,” Apple explains.
“The sooner we receive your trade-in, the sooner we can verify its condition and process your credit or gift card.
“It may take 3–5 business days for your credit to be processed.”
You can also get an estimate online and then go to trade in at the Apple Store.
If you do it in store, an Apple specialist will value your device on the spot.
This might end up being different from your online estimate depending on the condition of your device.
Similarly, if you go for an online trade-in, you might get a revised trade-in value offer.
“If the condition of your device is different from what you described, we’ll provide a revised value,” Apple explains.
“If the revised value is lower than the initial estimate, you can either accept or reject it.
“If you accept it, we’ll continue with the trade-in. If you paid monthly and received an instant credit, we’ll charge the difference in value to the provided payment method.
“If you paid in full, the revised amount will be credited to your original payment method (or in some cases, via bank transfer). If you reject it, we’ll cancel the trade-in and return your old device.”
There’s a chance that the revised value might be even more than you were originally offered however.
If that’s the case, you’ll automatically get an increase to your trade-in credit.
Here are Apple's official instructions for removing your personal info from your old iPhone...
It’s difficult to say exactly how much you’ll get because it can depend on the condition of your iPhone.
But Apple does provide a list of iPhone models and their estimated trade-in values.
Here’s the full list for Apple’s UK Trade-In program:
If it turns out that your device isn’t eligible for any trade-in credit, Apple will offer to recycle it for free.
Or you can hang on to it and sell it yourself somewhere else.
