5 Disadvantages Of Buying A Used iPhone

https://www.bgr.com/2207582/disadvantages-of-buying-used-iphone/

Publish Date: 2026-07-05 19:17:00

José Adorno/BGR

The iPhone is one of the best smartphones you can buy; in fact, Apple phones are the most popular in the United States. Even when you buy a second-hand iPhone, or one that is a few years old, it might still be better than many mid-range Android options. Still, buying a used iPhone has its disadvantages. You might not receive many more iOS updates, the hardware may age faster, and it is harder to trust the refurbished market when you don’t necessarily know a device’s origin.

All of those factors could make a somewhat cheap phone a lot more expensive in the long term. After all, if you get a phone with counterfeit parts, then you may need to spend extra on genuine replacements. Apple is making it almost impossible for customers to use counterfeit parts on newer devices, as every internal part now requires validation from Apple, even if you take it to a third-party repair shop.

Whenever someone asks me what’s the best iPhone they could get for the cheapest price, I never recommend getting a used device. I usually say that the best iPhone they can get is the newest one that their money can buy, as they can make sure the phone will last longer before running into issues. These are some of the disadvantages of buying a used iPhone.