Is It Worth Repairing Your iPhone, or Buying New?
By Riki Baker · Updated 28 June 2026
The short answer: if it is one fault on a phone you otherwise like, and it still gets iOS updates, repairing is usually the cheapest way to keep going. But repair is not your only option. You can also sell the phone to us for cash, or put its value towards a refurbished upgrade. Here is how to weigh it up, with real prices.
Start with the cost against what it is worth
There is no magic formula, and we are not going to pretend there is one. The honest way to decide is simple: put the repair price next to what the phone is actually worth today, then look at how much life it has left. A small repair on a phone still worth a few hundred pounds is easy maths. A big repair on a tired old handset is not. Here is a real one from our shop.
Worked example: iPhone 13
Real mendmyi prices, updated automatically
Worth today (refurbished)
£266
in our shop
Aftermarket screen
£99
Genuine screen
£129
Our honest take: a £266 phone with a £99 or £129 screen repair is well worth fixing, you spend a fraction of the phone's value and keep a device worth far more than the bill. If the same phone needed a screen, a battery and a back glass all at once, that is when we would point you to the other options below.
Three quick checks before you decide
Two minutes with the phone in your hand tells you almost everything you need to know.
Battery health
Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging shows a percentage. Apple flags 80% as the point you notice shorter life, but it is a guide, not a cliff edge. A new battery is one of the cheapest, quickest jobs we do and often makes an older iPhone feel new again.
Does everything else work
Cameras, Face ID, charging, speakers, buttons. One broken thing on an otherwise healthy phone is a clear repair. Two or three faults at once is when we start being honest about whether it is throwing good money after bad.
Is it still supported
If your iPhone still gets new iOS versions it has years left in it. iPhone 11 and later are covered by iOS 27; older than that and it has reached the end of the road. Full list just below.
Which iPhones still get updates
If your iPhone is on the supported list, it keeps getting new features and security fixes, and it is well worth maintaining. If it has dropped off, that is the natural point to move on.
Supported by iOS 27
No longer supported
On an older model? Selling it or trading it in usually beats repairing it.
Your three options at mendmyi
Whatever you decide about the old phone, there is a sensible route, and we will tell you honestly which one fits.
Repair it
If it is one fault on a phone you are happy with, this is almost always the cheapest way to keep going. Fixed written quote first, most screens and batteries done the same day, 12 months warranty on the parts we fit.
See iPhone repair pricesSell it to us for cash
Done with it, even broken? We buy phones outright. Tell us the model and condition for a clear quote, get paid by cash or bank transfer, and let us deal with wiping and reselling it. We often pay more than a faceless trade-in site because we repair in-house.
Get a price for your phoneTrade it in for an upgrade
Fancy something newer? Put the value of your old phone towards a professionally refurbished one from our shop, and pay less than buying outright. You walk out with a better device and a 12-month warranty.
Browse refurbished phonesBuying from us? We move everything across for you
The bit people dread about a new phone is the setup. When you buy or trade in with us, we do it for you, in store: your photos, messages, apps and accounts moved across, the new phone signed in and ready, the old one wiped. You walk out with a phone that already feels like yours, not an evening of backups and logins ahead of you.
The same maths applies to your console
Consoles are where this really bites right now. Sony put the standard PS5 up to £570 in April 2026, a jump of around £90, so replacing one stings more than it used to. Meanwhile the most common PS5 fault we see, a damaged HDMI port from a yanked cable, is a fixed-price repair.
PS5 HDMI port repair
£126 · about 22% of a new one
Same logic as a phone: a repair at a fraction of the replacement cost, on hardware that has plenty of life left, is almost always the better call. We repair PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and Steam Deck too.
From the workbench: when we would tell you not to bother
We turn work away when it is not in your interest. A phone that has taken a proper soaking and is now glitching is a gamble, we will diagnose it, but we will be straight about the odds. A model off Apple's update list has a hard ceiling on its useful life. And once faults arrive in threes, the numbers point to replacing.
When a repair is not economical, we say so. But the bill is not the only thing that matters: if the only copy of your photos, messages or contacts is on that phone, a repair that does not stack up on paper can still be the right call to get your data back safely. We lay the money and the data side by side and let you choose.
On the other side, the newer the phone the easier the decision. Recent models hold their value well, so a single screen or battery repair is nearly always worth doing.
Do not forget the hidden cost of a new phone
A new phone is rarely just the sticker price. There is the backup and restore, signing back into every app, re-verifying banking and authenticator apps, moving photos across, and the odd thing that never transfers cleanly. A repair sidesteps all of it, and if you do upgrade with us, we handle the migration so even switching does not cost you that evening.
The bottom line
If your iPhone has one fault, still gets updates, and you are happy with it, repair it, that is the cheapest way to keep a phone worth far more than the fix. If it is tired, failing in several places, or you simply fancy a change, do not pour money into it: sell it to us for cash, or trade it in towards a refurbished upgrade and let us set the new one up for you. There is no wrong answer, only the one that suits you, and the quickest way to find it is to ask. Bring it in or get in touch, and you will get a fixed written quote and an honest steer before you spend a penny.
Repair or replace: your questions answered
Is it cheaper to repair or replace an iPhone?
For a single fault on a phone you are otherwise happy with, repairing is almost always cheaper than replacing: you spend a fraction of the phone value and keep a device worth far more than the bill. Replacing makes more sense when a phone is failing in several places at once or has dropped off Apple update list. Put the repair price next to what the phone is worth today and the answer is usually clear.
How do I know if my iPhone is worth fixing?
Two minutes with the phone tells you most of it: check the battery health, whether everything else works, and whether it still gets iOS updates. One fault on a supported phone is a clear repair; several faults on an old, unsupported handset is when we are honest about moving on.
Will my iPhone still get iOS updates?
iPhone 11 and later are covered by iOS 27, due September 2026. If your iPhone is on the supported list it has years of features and security fixes ahead of it and is well worth maintaining. Older than that and it has reached the natural point to upgrade.
Can I trade in a broken phone towards a newer one?
Yes. Even broken, your old phone usually has value. You can sell it to us for cash or put its value towards a professionally refurbished upgrade, and we tell you what it is worth up front.
Do you move my data to the new phone?
Yes. When you buy or trade in with us, we move your photos, messages, apps and accounts across and set the new phone up in store, then wipe the old one. You walk out with a phone that already feels like yours.
How long does a repair take and is it guaranteed?
Most screen and battery repairs are done the same day. We give you a fixed written quote first so there are no surprises, with a 12-month warranty on the parts we fit.
Tell us about your device
A fixed written quote, the real value of your old phone, and an honest steer on the best route for you, all backed by our 12-month warranty.