The $1,199 problem

The iPhone 18 Pro lands September 18 starting at $1,199. Preorders are open now, and trade-in credit is the fastest way to cut that number down.

Apple raised values twice

Apple bumped its trade-in payouts twice this year, most recently after the September 9 event. Older phones are worth noticeably more than they were in spring.

Carriers pay the most

AT&T and T-Mobile will hand you up to $1,200 in credits toward an iPhone 18 Pro or Pro Max. You need to trade in an iPhone 14 or newer to hit the ceiling.

“up to $1,200 in trade-in credits”

Apple caps out at $885

Trading directly with Apple is simpler but pays less. The absolute maximum through Apple Trade In is $885, more than $300 short of the carrier offers.

What a 17 is worth

Apple pays $885 for an iPhone 17 Pro Max and $785 for a 17 Pro. The iPhone Air and the standard 17 both top out at $585.

The iPhone 16 tier

A 16 Pro Max now fetches $720, up from $695. The 16 Pro jumped to $630 from $560, the biggest single raise in the lineup.

Older phones, smaller checks

An iPhone 15 Pro Max gets $530 and a 15 Pro gets $420. Drop back to an iPhone 14 and you are looking at $235.

Back it up first

On the phone, go to Settings, your name, iCloud, iCloud Backup, Back Up Now. On a Mac running Catalina or later, plug in and back up through Finder instead.

Turn off Find My

Find My can block the next owner from activating the phone. Settings, your name, Find My, switch it off and enter your Apple Account password.

Escape iMessage purgatory

Texts used to vanish into a traded-in iPhone when people switched to Android. Apple fixed it, but disabling iMessage under Settings, Apps, Messages costs you nothing.

“those still scarred by "iMessage purgatory"”

Forget your AirPods

AirPods will pair to a new iPhone without being unpaired from the old one. Still, open Settings, Bluetooth, tap the info icon and pick Forget This Device.

Unpair the Apple Watch

In the Watch app, go to My Watch, All Watches, tap the info circle and unpair. On a cellular model, choose to remove the plan since the phone is leaving.

Sign out of iCloud

Settings, your name, Sign Out, then your Apple Account password. This clears iCloud, iTunes and the App Store in one move.

Erase everything

Once the new phone is set up, go to Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Erase All Content and Settings, and approve the prompts.

Pull the SIM

Phones before the iPhone 14 still have a physical SIM holding your number, billing data and security details. Pop the tray with a paper clip and keep the card.

“It identifies you, your phone, and a lot of your activity on your phone.”

Apple pays in credit

Apple Trade In gives you a credit or gift card, applied to your card once the device is received and verified. Installment buyers get the credit immediately.

Best Buy and GameStop

Best Buy offers about $275 in gift card value for a 512GB iPhone 15 Pro. GameStop quotes $267.30 cash or $297 in store credit for the same phone.

Selling yourself pays more

eBay suggested listing that same iPhone 15 Pro at $510, and Swappa shows an average sale price of $544. You handle photos, listing and shipping.

Fast cash, lower price

uSell quotes roughly $268 for a 512GB 15 Pro, ships free, and pays by check or PayPal once it confirms the condition you described.

Shop the offer, not the brand

The same phone swings from $267 to $544 depending on where it goes. Check AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon promos before you commit, and expect quotes to shift.

“Trade-in values were accurate at the time of publication. Your mileage may vary.”