Guide · Repair, sell or upgrade
Is my iPhone worth repairing?
A straight answer, with real numbers.
Two honest rules, one for each plan. Keeping the phone? Repair it if the repair costs less than replacing it, after counting what your broken phone would fetch. Selling it? Repair first only if the repair costs less than it adds to what you would be paid. Here is how to work that out in two minutes, using our actual prices.
✓ Repair and sell prices side by side·✓ No pressure either way·✓ Fixed prices, warranty up to 12 months
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4,000+Devices repaired
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Up to 12Month warranty
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5.0Google rating
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Apple trainedSelf Repair programme
The rule
Three numbers decide it
- The repair price. Fixed per model and fault, screens, batteries, ports, cameras, back glass. Diagnostics (won’t turn on, water) are £20, deducted from the repair.
- What we would pay for it broken. We buy broken iPhones, so this is a real number, not zero.
- What we would pay for it working. Our offer for the same phone in working order.
If you are keeping the phone, the other way to a working phone is to sell yours broken and buy an equivalent one: so compare the repair price with the replacement’s price minus what we would pay for your broken phone. If the repair costs less, repair it. If you are selling it, repair first only if the repair costs less than the gap between “broken” and “working”; when the gap is smaller than the repair (an older phone, a big repair) sell it broken and put the money toward an upgrade. The quote tool shows the repair price and our offer for your model.
Worked examples
Two phones, two different answers
iPhone 13 with a cracked screen. Aftermarket OLED screen: £119, warranty up to 12 months. We would pay roughly £40 to £65 cash for it cracked, and roughly £60 to £100 working. Selling it? Repairing first adds at most about £60 to what you would be paid (£100 working against £40 cracked), less than the £119 repair, so sell it as it is. Keeping it? Compare £119 with the price of another working iPhone 13 minus the £40 to £65 you would get for this one: if that comes to more than £119, repair it.
iPhone 11 with a cracked screen and a tired battery. LCD screen £79, plus the battery at 20% off as the second repair (£39) = £118. We would pay roughly £35 to £55 cash for it working and roughly £20 to £35 cracked (towards the lower end with the tired battery too). Selling it? Repairing adds at most about £35 (far less than £118) so sell it broken. Keeping it? Repair it only if a replacement you would be happy with, minus the £20 to £35 you would get for this one, costs more than £118.
Ranges are our calculator’s figures for good condition at the smallest storage; your exact numbers depend on storage and condition. These are worked examples from our prices, not a quote for your phone.
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Usually worth repairing
If you are keeping it: iPhone 12 and newer with a single fault, screen, battery, charging port, camera or back glass. The phone keeps working for you and the repair has a warranty of up to 12 months. (Selling it? Check the gap first, see the examples.)
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Depends, get both numbers
iPhone 11 / XR / XS with one fault, or a newer phone with two or three faults. Bundled repairs get 20% off the additional ones, which often tips it.
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Usually better to sell
iPhone X and older with more than one fault, or, if you are selling, any phone whose repair costs more than it would add to the sale price. We buy it as is and the money goes toward something newer.
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Won’t turn on or water damage
Unknown until diagnosed: a £20 diagnostic tells you the real cause and repair price, and comes off the repair. Or sell it dead, we still pay for those.
Things people forget
Four factors beyond the price
- Data. If your photos are not backed up, a repair that gets the phone working (even temporarily) may be worth it for the backup alone.
- Battery health. A phone at 78% health will not last the day, and once a battery can no longer deliver peak power iOS may start throttling to prevent shutdowns, so it can feel slow too, though capacity alone does not prove it. Adding a battery to a screen repair is cheap and bundled repairs get 20% off.
- “Unknown Part”. What Settings shows depends on the model and the part: on iPhone 12 and newer an aftermarket part shows “Unknown”, a new genuine part “Genuine” and a reclaimed genuine part “Used”; on XR to 11 a replaced battery may show “Unknown” whichever battery is fitted. It is a repair record, not a fault, Apple says it does not stop you using your iPhone, and it does not affect what we pay you for it.
- Warranty. A repaired phone carries 12 months on the repair; a refurbished replacement carries 12 months on the whole phone (Excellent or Good). Both are covered, different things.
FAQ
Common questions
A single fault, yes, if you are happy with the phone, a battery is £49 and an LCD screen £79. Two faults (a screen and a battery come to £118 with 20% off the second) cost more than twice what we would pay for it working, so selling it broken and trading up is usually the better call.
On iPhone 14 (non Pro), 15 and 16 the back glass is a separate part and cheap to replace, so yes. On 13 and earlier it is a full housing and costs more, worth it on a phone you plan to keep, less so on one you plan to sell.
A repaired phone sells for its working value, so a cheap repair can pay for itself, but only if the repair costs less than the difference. The quote tool shows both figures; run it before deciding.
Yes. We repair and we buy, so we have no reason to push either. If the numbers say sell, we say sell.