I sent in a well-kept iPhone 15 Pro Max as a trade-in toward an iPhone 18 Pro Max, but Apple rejected it and marked it as ineligible. Support could not explain the reason beyond mentioning an issue with the serial number, so they are mailing the phone back to me. Find My was disabled, the phone was erased properly, and it has been paid off for about two years. The phone is actually a warranty replacement from T-Mobile, so it has a different serial number from the original device. Once I receive it back, can an Apple Store inspect it and process the trade-in, or would I be better off selling it elsewhere? The nearest store is about an hour and a half away, so I would like to know whether they can actually help before making the trip.
3 Answers
A common cause is Find My still being enabled, but another possibility is a carrier lock or an unpaid device balance. Since you already confirmed Find My was turned off and the phone has been paid off for years, the warranty replacement's different serial number seems like the more likely explanation.
An Apple Store may be able to evaluate the phone and offer an in-store trade-in, but they might still reject it if the serial number is flagged in Apple's records. I would call that specific store first and ask whether they can look up a warranty replacement and process it manually before driving there.
That is the main thing I am trying to determine. The closest store is about 90 minutes away, so I do not want to make the trip if they will just tell me the same thing.
You may get more money by selling the phone directly or taking it to a reputable phone-buying store. Compare a few offers, since Apple's trade-in value is not always the highest and a private sale can avoid a confusing mail-in assessment.
That may be the safer option at this point. I have used carrier mail-in trade-ins for years without trouble, but this was my first time sending one directly to Apple, and the experience has made me hesitant to repeat it.
That is what I suspect too. It was a replacement phone from T-Mobile, so the serial number does not match the original iPhone 15 Pro Max. It seems unreasonable for a properly working warranty replacement to be automatically rejected, though.