Can You Sell an iPhone With Face ID Not Working?

First, make sure Face ID is actually broken

A lot of "my Face ID stopped working" turns out to be software, or something sitting over the sensors. Try these before you pick a grade:

1. Update iOS. Settings › General › Software Update. Apple lists this as the first fix.
2. Clear the top of the screen. Take off the case and any screen protector that covers the notch or Dynamic Island, and wipe the glass there.
3. Reset Face ID. Settings › Face ID & Passcode › Reset Face ID, then set it up again.
4. Look for the alert. If your iPhone says "A problem was detected with the TrueDepth camera. Face ID has been disabled," that's a hardware fault, not a setting.
5. Check the parts history. Settings › General › About. On iOS 15.2 and later it shows replaced parts, and it can flag a Face ID issue or an unknown part.

If Face ID works again after a reset, good news: grade your phone by how it looks and skip the rest of this article.

Why a dead Face ID gets the Cracked price

Cracked is our broken category. It covers anything a buyer would want fixed before paying for a working phone: a cracked screen, cracked back glass, a broken camera lens, or Face ID and Touch ID that don't work.

Face ID is a harder fix than a screen. It runs on the TrueDepth camera, and Apple says only a trained technician should service it. Apple also treats Face ID parts as security parts. Its parts-support page says third-party parts used for Face ID are the exception to its rule of not disabling third-party parts, and on iPhone 16 and later a replaced TrueDepth camera has to go through Apple's Repair Assistant before Face ID works. A cheap part swap can't be counted on to bring Face ID back. That repair is what the price gap reflects.

If the screen is cracked too, the phone still goes in the same Cracked grade, though a phone with heavier damage can get a bit less after inspection. Everything else still counts the normal way: battery health has to be 80% or better, and the parts have to be original.

What broken Face ID costs you, by model

These are our current cash offers for unlocked, paid-off phones. "Good" is a fully working phone with light scratches. "Face ID broken" is the Cracked grade.

On most of these models, broken Face ID takes roughly half off the Good price. Older phones can lose a bigger share: a 256 GB iPhone 13 Pro goes from $260 to $75.

Phones locked to AT&T, T-Mobile or Verizon get a little less than unlocked. Your quote shows the exact number for your carrier. For every storage size and grade on one model, see the iPhone 16 Pro price guide or the iPhone 15 Pro price guide.

Fix it first, or sell it as-is?

Do the math before you book a repair. Get Apple's price for a Face ID repair on your model, then compare it to the gap in the table above. If the phone is still under warranty or AppleCare+, ask Apple before anything else.

• The repair costs more than the gap: sell it as-is. You'd be spending more than you get back.
• Apple can fix it for less than the gap: fixing first can pay off. A repair with genuine Apple parts shows up that way in the parts history.
• A cheap fix at a corner shop: usually not worth it if you're about to sell. We require original parts, so an aftermarket part gets graded down anyway.

Face ID stopped after a screen repair?

This one comes up a lot. If Face ID quit right after a shop replaced your screen, the phone now has a non-original screen and a Face ID fault. We require original parts. A phone with an aftermarket screen is graded down, and a poor-quality aftermarket screen is graded Cracked. Pick Cracked when you get your quote and you're much less likely to see a revised offer later.

What happens when your phone gets here

Every phone goes through diagnostic software that tests every function, including Face ID, the OLED screen for burn-in, speakers, microphones, GPS and cellular signal. We also run an IMEI check to confirm it isn't blacklisted and to see its lock status. Battery health has to be 85% or better for Flawless and 80% or better for every other grade.

• Your grade matches: you're paid instantly once it passes inspection, by Zelle, PayPal, Venmo or Apple Cash.
• We find something different, like a phone listed as Good that fails the Face ID test: you get a revised offer with photos and the reason, and 3 days to decide. Say no and we ship it back free.

Either way, you get the full test report, so you can see exactly what passed and what didn't. If Face ID is the reason you're thinking about a new phone anyway, our iPhone 14 Pro vs 18 Pro guide shows what the upgrade really costs after you sell.

Get your offer

Pick your model, choose Cracked as the condition, and you'll see your price in about two minutes. It's locked for 14 days, and the shipping label is free.