Upgrading Your iPhone: A Step-by-Step Guide!

Apple releases a new iPhone every year. There are intense debates about whether that is a good practice — for the environment, people, and society’s rampant consumerism. But that’s not what you’re here for, right?

The truth is that Apple sells millions and millions of iPhone units every year. Its latest series — iPhone 15 — sold over 69 million units in the first 5 months of its availability. One practical wisdom behind yearly releases is that people always have access to the latest iPhone models (features and security patches) released the same year even if they are upgrading after a gap of 3-4 years.

So whether you’re an iPhone enthusiast who likes to upgrade their phone every year or you’re a more “I’ll sell my iPhone and then buy a new one” kind of customer, Apple has your back.

Steps to Upgrading Your iPhone

Below we share the details of how to upgrade your iPhone successfully. We go over the available options and find the right one for you.

• Sell your old iPhone for cash and then upgrade

A quick and easy way to get rid of your old iPhone especially if you’ve had it for some time, is to sell it for cash. The longer you keep it the more value it loses. By the day.

And while trade-in options are available, they keep the major chunk of the profit and you never get a good deal. In contrast, if you sell an iPhone 14 Pro Max 1 TB in good working condition to a company like Cash for Used Laptops, you not only get a great deal but also vetted consumers, a hassle-free process, and fully transparent transactions.

We also offer the best prices for selling iPhone 12 Pro Max 512 GB and iPhone 14 Plus 256 GB.

Another reason you might consider us the best place to sell your iPhone is that we accept broken and damaged phones too. While Apple and other carriers offering iPhone upgrade deals might only want a working phone to trade in, we help you get the maximum value out of a phone that no longer works.

The money you get from these sales can fund your new phone purchase without putting a dent in your pocket.

• Use the Apple Upgrade program

Apple runs its own iPhone Upgrade Program. Though the program is titled ‘Upgrade’, it’s also available to first-time iPhone users. When you join the program, Apple sells you the iPhone on a long-term lease of 24 monthly payments. So instead of paying the full cost of an iPhone upfront, which is often quite a lot, the program allows you to pay smaller monthly payments, with zero percent interest.

What’s more? You also get Apple’s insurance coverage, AppleCare+.

The most relevant to our article, though, is the program’s offer to upgrade to a new iPhone after about a year. You just have to meet two conditions:

• a) Your iPhone must be in good working condition
• b) You must have paid the equivalent of 12 monthly payments.

What if you have only paid the equivalent of 5 or 9 months’ payments? You pay the balance in your new lease plan when upgrading the phone.

The iPhone Upgrade Program is available both online and at Apple Stores. Just keep your debit/credit card and two forms of ID handy as you apply for the upgrade.

• Find a carrier upgrade deal

In addition to Apple’s official upgrade program, national service carriers also offer their own programs to facilitate customers who want to buy or upgrade their iPhones.

• AT&T

AT&T offers two programs: a standard AT&T Instalment Plan and AT&T Next Up.

The standard plan consists of 36-monthly installments for new phone purchases but does not offer early upgrade options. When you pay off your device in full, you can upgrade to a new phone. Trade-ins aren’t available. You can switch to the Next Up plan within 14 days of buying a new phone. If you’re a business customer, you have 30 days to make the switch.

The Installment Plan with Next Up allows you to upgrade your old iPhone when you’ve paid 50% of your 36-monthly installments. Meaning, half of the device’s cost. The Next Up option charges a $6 monthly fee for the service, too.

Under this plan, you can upgrade to the latest iPhone every year. Just avail the option, receive the new phone, and mail in the old one after.

• Verizon

Verizon offers iPhone upgrades on certain models. To know if you’re eligible, here’s the criteria:

• You must have an eligible phone. See the list.
• You must have had the phone for at least 30 days with a Verizon lease.
• You must have paid off at least 50% of the iPhone’s purchase price.

If you satisfy all these conditions, you can be eligible to upgrade your iPhone early. Needless to say, the phone must be in good working condition and you must ship it back to Verizon within 30 days of upgrade.

• T-Mobile

T-Mobile offers two plans for smartphone upgrades: Go5G Plus and Go5G Next.

Go5G Plus:

You can upgrade your iPhone every two years. As long as the two years pass, your phone becomes upgrade-ready with this package plan.

Go5G Next:

If you’re an early iPhone adopted, this is the plan for you. Your phone becomes upgrade-ready after 6 months. You can upgrade your iPhone any time after that with this offer if you’ve paid 50% of the phone’s cost. The phone must be in good condition.

Set up your new iPhone and enjoy!

Once you’ve received your new iPhone, just set it up and enjoy the latest that Apple has cooked up for you. Before we part, remember we’re always looking to buy old gadgets that you no longer need. This includes computers, laptops, smartphones, and more.

If you decide to choose an upgrade option with no trade-ins available, sell your old iPhone to us and get a guaranteed good deal. Check out our website to learn more.