When does an iPhone really become worthless?

Each year, thousands of older iPhones are taken out of commission and stored in drawers, abandoned, or worse—thrown away. Too many people believe that once an iPhone is cracked, sluggish, or no longer current, it's useless. However, the reality is that the vast majority of those phones continue to function, retain their value, and still have years of life left in them.

Whether it’s a six-year-old iPhone or one with a broken screen, the idea that your phone is “done” is a myth. Let’s break it down with facts, real data, and what we’ve learned from repairing and refurbishing thousands of iPhones.

How Long Do iPhones Receive iOS Updates?

• Apple is known for supporting iPhones with iOS updates for much longer than most people realize.

• Average iPhones receive 6–8 years of iOS updates until Apple no longer supports them.

• Some receive more than that—the iPhone 6S, for instance, was released in 2015 and received almost an update for eight years.

• As of 2025, even the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR (released in 2018) are being supported with iOS 18.

• That is, if you purchased your iPhone at any point after 2018, there is a good chance that it still receives the newest software features and security patches.

Future proof: Apple is likely to end support for the iPhone XS and XR with iOS 26 in late 2025. But even then, those phones will be perfectly usable for calls, messages, music, maps, and web browsing.

Do Chips Keep iPhones Alive Longer?

Yes. Your iPhone's chip does matter.

With the A7 chip (2013), Apple's own silicon has enabled iPhones to last so much longer. Users of the A12 Bionic (2018) or newer are still trucking along today—and will continue to get supported for another year or two or so.

So if you're still clinging to an iPhone 11, 12, or 13, you can breathe easy—these phones will be supported for years to come.

What Really "Breaks" iPhones?

From our repair statistics here at fone4u.ie and industry-wide, most of the things that people claim go wrong with iPhones are basic and repairable:

• Battery degradation (roughly half of all iPhone repairs).

• Screen cracks are the second most prevalent issue.

Neither of those issues renders your iPhone unusable. Actually, a replacement battery or replacement screen can sometimes make your phone feel like new again—and it's a whole lot less expensive than purchasing a new one outright.

Why Your Old iPhone Still Has Value

Here's the bit that everyone seems to forget: even if your iPhone is ancient, battered, or unsupported by the latest iOS, it still has actual value.

Here at fone4u.ie, we:

• Sell iPhones in any state—broken, dead, or faulty iPhones.

• Repair and recycle them in-house, breathing new life into them.

• Save e-waste, and keep your cash in your pocket.

That iPhone sitting in your drawer might be worth a lot more than you realized.

Find out how much your iPhone is worth in seconds

Final Thoughts

So when is an iPhone useless? The answer: way more than you'd think.

iPhones are refreshed for 6–8 years.

• Fewer than the oldest "broken" phones require anything more than a new screen or battery.

• Even though they no longer get updates, older iPhones remain just fine for everyday use.

• And then, when you absolutely must upgrade, that phone still has value to trade in.

It has never been simpler to sell your iPhone at fone4u.ie, regardless of its condition. We give you an immediate quote, give that old device a second life, and let it live longer than it would have if it had otherwise been discarded.