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Why did my Apple device receive a $0 trade-in value?

I went to my Local Apple Store to do an in-store trade in and the smart assessment gave the device a 0$ value despite it not having any issues. I spoke with someone at the Genius Bar and they said the diagnostic was fine and the device should be full value


[Re-Titled By Moderator]

iPhone 16 Pro Max, iOS 18

Posted on Nov 9, 2024 2:03 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 11, 2024 6:24 AM

Hey guys i also attempted to do a trade in towards a post purchase and i got $0 value for the trade in phone.

reasoning given: Functional defects found

• Unauthorized modification detected (zero value provided)

There is NO WAY this phone has been modified,

has anyone ever gotten this?

16 replies

Nov 9, 2024 2:31 PM in response to Tradeboss

Your tag line says that you have an iPhone 16 Pro Max.


If that is the device that you were trying to trade in, Apple might not be accepting those for trade-in yet. Looking at the iPhone Trade In Values list on the U.S. Apple site, I see estimated values for the iPhone 7 Plus through iPhone 15 Pro Max. No iPhone 16 series phones on the list.


Maybe the "smart assessment" gave the device a $0 trade-in value because Apple isn't accepting iPhone 16 series phones for trade-in yet. They might only be interested in taking those after the iPhone 17 series phones come out.

Nov 19, 2024 4:50 PM in response to DannyiPhones

We are trying to trade in lower model iPhones that Apple does currently accept for trade in.


Well, that just might explain things.


What exact models are you trying to trade in?


The iPhone 7, iPhone 6, iPhone 5 and other lower models are not eligible for trade in.


You can find a complete list of iPhones that are eligible for trade in here:


Apple Trade InAppleApple › shop › trade-in


A model that is not edible will of course have zero value on trade.




Nov 19, 2024 8:16 PM in response to Tradeboss

Its more than likely Apple running trial testing to pick up on replaced parts and show $0 value on people trying to trade in phones with changed parts. This feature will probably roll put sometime soon but in the meantime the system keeps shooting out $0 unauthorized modifications on most if not all phones tested using the automatic smart assessment.

Nov 21, 2024 6:45 PM in response to DannyiPhones

DannyiPhones wrote:

Never modified and Apple can’t give me a direct answer on what the issue is. Phone is fully functional. They just use general terminology “Functional defects found
• Unauthorized modification detected (zero value provided)” that can technically mean anything.

Did you physically take the device to the Apple Store for trade-in or was this using the online trade-in?

Why did my Apple device receive a $0 trade-in value?

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