Cracked iPhone: Repair It or Sell It As It Is?

Get a quote for your cracked iPhone as it is before you pay for a repair. Repair it only if the repair costs less than it adds to the price, or if AppleCare+ makes the fix cheap. Otherwise, sell it cracked: a cracked screen or back glass changes the quote, not whether the phone is bought, and you avoid paying for a repair you may never get back.

Cracks are one of the most common reasons people start thinking about selling a phone, and one of the easiest places to lose money by doing things in the wrong order. This guide walks through the decision for the iPhone 15, 16 and 17 families, the models we buy broken or working, and explains how to describe and post a cracked phone safely.

What counts as a cracked iPhone?

Three different kinds of damage get called "cracked", and they are priced differently:

• A cracked screen that still works. The glass is broken but the display and touch respond normally. This is the most common case.
• A damaged display. Lines, dark patches, flickering, a green or black screen, or areas where touch stops working. The glass may or may not be cracked; the panel underneath is damaged.
• Cracked back glass. The front is fine, but the glass back is broken. On the iPhone 15 and 16 standard models, the back is colour-infused glass that can crack under a case without the owner noticing.

In our form, the first two go under Screen: Cracked or damaged. Back glass has its own box: Back glass cracked under "Anything not working?". If you have both, answer both.

How do you work out whether a repair pays?

Do the sums in this order, with real numbers from the two sources that matter:

1. Get a quote for the phone as it is, describing the crack honestly and adding a photo of the damage.
2. Look up the repair price for your exact model. Apple lists its own prices on its iPhone repair page; choose the model and the type of repair. An independent repairer may be cheaper, but read the next section before you choose one.
3. Estimate what the repair adds. The simplest way is to ask what the same phone would be quoted at undamaged. The difference between the two quotes is the most a repair can earn you.
4. Compare. If the repair costs more than that difference, sell it cracked. If it costs clearly less, and you have the time, repairing can make sense.

The step people skip is the first one, and it is the one that stops you spending money on a repair that adds less than it costs.

Does AppleCare+ change the answer?

Often, yes. With AppleCare+, accidental damage is repaired for an excess fee, and Apple says the fee is the same at Apple and at Apple Authorised Service Providers. That is usually far less than the full repair price, and the result is a genuine Apple part. Check your cover at checkcoverage.apple.com. If the phone is covered, repairing before you sell is frequently the better route.

What happens if the phone was repaired with non-Apple parts?

Modern iPhones keep a record. Under Settings › General › About › Parts and Service History, the phone lists parts that have been replaced, and a screen, battery or camera that is not a genuine Apple part is flagged there. A buyer will see it during inspection.

That does not make the phone unsellable. It means two things for you as a seller:

• If you are choosing a repair now, a genuine part keeps the phone simpler to sell later. A cheaper third-party screen can also behave differently from the original, for example in brightness or True Tone.
• If the phone has already been repaired, say so in the message box when you ask for a quote. A repair described up front is priced fairly. One discovered at inspection means the quote has to be revisited, which is slower for everyone.

How should you post a cracked iPhone?

Safely, for you and for whoever opens the box.

• Tape over shattered glass. A strip of clear packing tape across a badly cracked screen or back keeps loose shards in place. It does not affect the quote.
• Take photos before you pack it. The front, the back, the screen switched on, and a close-up of the damage. Our form takes up to four, and they get you a firmer price.
• Use a small padded box, not a jiffy bag. A cracked phone is more fragile than a whole one.
• Sign out and erase it first, exactly as for a working phone. A cracked screen that still responds to touch can be signed out normally. If the screen does not respond, remove the phone from your Apple Account at iCloud.com in Find Devices instead.

Our checklist for preparing an iPhone for selling covers signing out, erasing and moving your eSIM, and the free Royal Mail QR code, printable label or collection comes with the quote once you accept it.

Can a cracked iPhone still be worth selling if other things are wrong too?

Yes. A phone can have a cracked screen and a tired battery, or cracked back glass and a camera fault. Answer every question in the form that applies: the screen, the back glass, battery health, Face ID, cameras, buttons, speaker and charging port. A person reads all of it together and prices the phone by hand, so the quote reflects the phone as a whole. Our guide to iPhone battery health and resale value explains the battery question in detail.

The short version

Get the quote first. Repair only if AppleCare+ makes it cheap or the repair clearly costs less than it adds. If an earlier repair used non-Apple parts, say so. Tape the glass, photograph the damage and pack it in a small box. If your iPhone is a 15, 16 or 17, you can sell your iPhone to us cracked or whole, with free sending and payment by bank transfer within 24 hours of inspection.