How to Sell Broken iPhones for the Best Price

Do you have an Apple iPhone with a cracked screen, dead battery, or other cosmetic or functional issues? If so, you might be wondering where the best place to sell a broken iPhone is. Instead of letting your broken phones gather dust in a drawer, why not sell broken iPhones and keep them out of the electronic waste stream?

The amount you can get for your broken iPhone today depends on several factors, including the phone’s model, storage capacity, type and extent of damage, resale value, and more. Of course, where you choose to sell your damaged iPhone is a major factor as well. Find out how you can get the most cash for your used iPhone!

Why Should You Sell a Broken Phone?

Even if your iPhone has a shattered screen, won’t turn on, or requires frequent recharging, there are still valuable components under the hood that can be recycled. When you sell a broken iPhone, you’ll get a return on your investment that you can use toward your next device.

Additionally, it’s an environmentally conscious decision. Smartphones include toxic materials that should never end up in landfills. If they do, these devices can leak toxins into the air, soil, and water, damaging our environment. Selling your broken iPhone keeps it out of the landfill and also cuts down on the overproduction of new iPhones.

Furthermore, we all like to channel our inner Marie Kondo sometimes. Simply put, cleaning and tidying your home just feels good. Decluttering your home by selling your broken electronics is a great way to tackle spring cleaning tasks, any time of the year!

How Much Can You Get for Your Broken iPhone Today?

There are several important factors in play when determining resale values for used electronics. How much you’ll get for a broken iPhone depends on its model, condition, and where you choose to sell it. Let’s walk through each category and discuss how it affects your iPhone’s worth.

Model and Storage Capacity

Whether you have a broken iPhone or one in flawless condition, its exact model and storage capacity will always have a big impact on its resale value. For example, if they’re in similar condition, a new phone like an iPhone 16 with 512 GB of storage will almost always be worth more than an iPhone 7 with 32 GB of storage.

Type and Extent of Damage (Cracked Screen, Dead Battery, etc.)

You might be surprised by what types of broken iPhones you can still sell. Many broken phones still have decent resale value, depending on what’s wrong with them. Here are a few common issues that may not prevent you from getting a solid payout for your used device.

• Cracked Screen: This is an extremely common problem, and one that often won’t prevent you from selling your phone. Especially if it still turns on and has a responsive touchscreen, you can still get a decent payout for your device.
• Battery Problems: Does your battery drain too fast or require frequent recharges? Does it fail to power on at all? Usually, these issues can be resolved by replacing the battery, which isn’t too terribly difficult.
• Water Damage: This is where things start getting tricky. Phones with mild water damage that still turn on might still get a reasonable offer. That said, extensive water damage can make selling a broken iPhone difficult.
• Locked Device: If you have a locked iPhone, it might not be possible to resell it. This is especially true if it’s still logged into your Apple ID or iCloud account. Many resellers and buyers refuse to purchase iPhones that are activation locked.

Where You Sell Your Apple iPhone

The other major factor when determining the value of your old phone is where you choose to sell it. In short, some buyers will pay much higher prices than others. Let’s quickly discuss a few different ways you might sell your phone and how they can affect its resale value.

• Online Marketplaces: There’s a market for broken iPhones on sites like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, or Craigslist. These sites are full of resellers who refurbish broken devices, and you can often get a reasonable price for them. That said, there are some significant hassles involved with these platforms. If you don’t want to create and maintain a listing for your phone, negotiate with potential buyers, or wait for lengthy shipping periods, this might not be the best route for you.
• Pawn Shops: Pawn shops are known for their instant payments, but they often offer bargain-basement prices, especially for broken iPhones. In fact, many pawn shops will only buy and sell iPhones that are in good working order. There’s often some haggling involved when selling items at pawn shops as well.
• Official Trade-In Programs: Apple has its own in-house trade-in program, and your wireless carrier (i.e., T-Mobile, Verizon, etc.) likely has one, too. You can even trade in a used device at Best Buy. That said, all of these programs typically only accept iPhones that are fully functional. Furthermore, even if they do make you an offer, they’ll likely only offer store credit — they probably won’t pay cash for your old iPhone.
• ecoATM: Here at ecoATM, we proudly offer cash for most iPhone models, although how much you get still varies based on the iPhone’s model and condition. We pay great rates for a wide variety of devices, and we offer a convenient, simple process for selling them. Just visit your nearest ecoATM kiosk or use our online pricing tool to see how much you can get!

How to Prepare Cell Phones for Resale

No matter where you sell it or how much you’re getting for it, you’ll need to follow a few important steps to get your iPhone ready for resale.

First, you should back up your phone to prevent the loss of personal data. You can use iCloud to create a backup file, or you can transfer your important files (photos, videos, app data, etc.) to a computer using a USB cord.

Next, you’ll sign out of your Apple accounts and any other logins you have stored on your iPhone. Remember that you will often be unable to sell your device if it’s still an iCloud-locked iPhone. “Find My iPhone” should also be deactivated at this time. This sets the stage for erasing all your data from the device by performing a factory reset. This restores the iPhone to its original factory settings and prepares it for use by its new owner. Once your data is completely wiped, you can skip ahead to the next step.

This is also a good opportunity to remove your SIM card if you have one — newer-model iPhones don’t have SIM card slots anymore, but if you have a SIM card, you’ll want to take it with you.

Finally, depending on where you sell it, you might want to include your iPhone accessories (or not!). For example, when you sell your iPhone at an ecoATM kiosk, we don’t offer any additional money for your chargers, cords, original packaging, etc. While we accept these items for recycling (just drop them in our accessory bin), we won’t increase your payout if you include an Apple Watch with your iPhone, for example. That said, if you sell your iPhone on eBay, the buyer may want these accessories and offer the most money if they’re included.

How to Sell Your Broken iPhone at an ecoATM Kiosk

Here at ecoATM, we offer top dollar for used phones and tablets, and we’ll often still offer cash payouts (or a Venmo or PayPal transfer) for broken iPhones. To find out how much you can get, use the “Price Your Device” tool on our website or visit your nearest ecoATM kiosk. With over 6,000 kiosks in reputable retail centers from coast to coast, it’s likely that you live or work near one of our locations.

One of the big advantages of ecoATM is our commitment to protecting the environment. To date, we’ve already helped recycle over 50 million smartphones and tablets, reducing e-waste and contributing to the circular economy. When you bring your old device to an ecoATM kiosk, you not only get competitive prices, you also get the peace of mind that your broken iPhone will be responsibly recycled.

We offer some of the highest trade-in values you’ll find anywhere, and there’s no need to wait — we offer cash today! We buy iPhones and other Apple products in all sorts of conditions, so bring all of your unwanted devices to your local ecoATM kiosk and experience how our hassle-free process works.

With ecoATM, you can make a positive impact while making some quick cash. What’s better than that?