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The Street

Jacob Krol

Here's How to Trade in an iPhone

iPhone Apple ATT Verizon Decluttr Mobile (Organization) TMobile

If you haven’t heard, there are four new iPhones in town -- 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max --, which all went up for preorder on Sept. 9. But along with the excitement of wanting the new iPhone and getting one, you might be curious about what to do with your current one.

For instance, if you’re leasing one through Apple ((AAPL)) directly with a plan like the iPhone Upgrade Program, you give that device back. But if you bought one outright or are paying monthly installments to eventually own it, there are few other options. Including trading in your current model -- especially if you own it right -- to get some cash.

If you have an iPhone 12 or an iPhone 13, select models are getting nearly $700 value, which can be used towards the new iPhone. Remember they start at $799, $899, $999, and $1,099 respectively.

So ahead we’re breaking down how to and where to trade in your iPhone. And, of course, if you’re not after the brand new iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, or 14 Pro Max, you can always look at purchasing a certified refurbished device from Apple or a third-party.

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How to Trade in an iPhone

First step is to identify your current iPhone model — namely what generation it is and the storage size. You can easily find this by navigating into “Settings” then “General” and “About.” Apple’s menu system is intuitive and gives you all the details.

Once you have that you’ll be off to the races, and that’s for if you’re trading into a third-party like Decluttr, a carrier like AT&T (T), T-Mobile (TMUS), or Verizon (VZ), and even Apple directly. And you’ll also want to look over the device and get a sense of the overall condition. At times, a cracked screen or areas that don’t work might reduce the value.

Trading in for Cash

One of the most popular routes for trading is to get you cash, likely sent via a service or a check back to you from the company. I’ve used Decluttr a few times, but there are plenty of other options like Gazelle.

With any of these you’ll plug in your iPhone model, storage size and it will ask you for the overall condition. Be honest with your choice, as these companies will double check them. With any of these you’ll then get an estimated valuation and a label to ship the device in.

Related: Everything Apple Announced at its 'Far out' event

Once received, the company or service will check them, and then confirm the final value with you. If it’s lower and you don’t want to accept it, all of these will ship back to you.

Trading in for Credit

Now you likely know that AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon are all providing up to somewhere around $1,000 off an iPhone 14 with an eligible trade-in, but did you know you can also process those through Apple, as well as the carriers directly. It’s pretty neat. Remember though that to fully get the up to $800 off the 14 or 14 Plus, up to $1,000 off 114 Pro or 14 Pro Max, you’ll need to be active on an eligible plan as well.

And the advantage here is that you’re trading in the iPhone you’re upgrading from and it lowers the overall cost -- and therefore the monthly installments -- of your new iPhone 14, 14 Plus, 14 Pro, or 14 Pro Max.

In some cases trading the device in with a carrier could be a higher valuation or a lower one than a third-party service. It’s good to shop around and get a few valuations as well.

You’ll find the trade-in options at AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon on the purchase pages for the new iPhones as well, which makes it a bit easier to set this all up and see how much you’ll get in one swing.