Sell Any Phone in Dubai: What We Actually Buy

Sell Any Phone in Dubai: What We Actually Buy

We buy iPhone 13 and newer, and Samsung Galaxy from the S22 generation onwards, which covers the S, A and Z foldable ranges. Damage, a missing box, a flat battery and a bad screen all lower the grade rather than stop the sale. The only thing that genuinely stops it is an account lock.

Want a figure? Check your price on the iPhone calculator, the Samsung calculator, or send the model on WhatsApp.

Free pickup anywhere in Dubai, paid before we leave, cash or bank transfer. Same condition, same price: if the phone matches what you told us, the number does not change at your door.

Most people who search this are not comparing prices. They are asking a smaller and more awkward question: is there something wrong with my phone that means nobody will want it.

Usually there is not. The screen is cracked, the box went in the bin two years ago, the battery dies by four in the afternoon, and the phone is still worth money. But almost nobody writing about this says plainly what they will and will not take, so people guess, and a lot of them guess wrong and keep a phone in a drawer that was worth selling.

So this page is the list. What we buy, what lowers the figure, and the few cases where the answer is actually no.

Key Takeaways

• iPhone 13 and newer. That includes the mini, the Pro and the Pro Max of every generation since.
• Samsung Galaxy S22 and newer, plus the current A series and the Z Flip and Z Fold foldables.
• Damage lowers the grade, it does not end the sale. Cracked screens and weak batteries are normal.
• An account lock is the one real blocker. Find My or a signed-in Google account makes a phone unsellable until it is cleared.
• The box is worth about AED 200 on a recent phone and nothing much on an older one.
• Imported or UAE version makes no difference to what we pay.
• Not on the list? Ask anyway. Send the model on WhatsApp and you get a straight answer, not a form.

What Phones Do You Actually Buy in Dubai?

Two brands, with a clear cut-off on each. This is the whole list.

The two calculators cover these ranges with live prices. Check an iPhone or check a Samsung. If your model is not listed, that does not mean no, it usually means nobody has asked for it recently.

The cut-off is not arbitrary. Below the iPhone 13 and the Galaxy S22 the UAE second-hand market thins out very quickly, and a phone that nobody is buying cannot be paid for properly by anybody. A buyer who offers you a confident figure for an iPhone 11 is usually offering a very small one.

How Old Is Too Old?

Five years, roughly, and the line is clearer than people expect.

The iPhone 13 launched in 2021 and still sells well used, partly because it is on the iOS 27 update list, so a five-year-old iPhone is still running current software. That is unusual and it is why old iPhones hold value in a way old Android handsets generally do not.

The Galaxy S22 arrived in 2022 and sits at the edge of our range for the opposite reason: its update window is closing, and once a phone stops getting security patches the resale market for it drops away quickly rather than gradually.

If your phone is older than those two, it is not worthless, it is just not something we can price fairly. Our guide on selling an old phone that still works covers what the realistic options are, and the last section of this page covers what to do if the answer is nobody.

Will You Take a Cracked or Damaged Phone?

Yes, and this is the question we are asked more than any other. Damage changes the grade. It does not end the conversation.

People routinely underestimate a damaged phone. A cracked iPhone 15 Pro Max is worth more than a flawless iPhone 13, because the model matters more than the glass. If you have been assuming yours is scrap, it is worth thirty seconds on the iPhone calculator before you decide.

Our guide on selling a broken or damaged phone in Dubai goes through each kind of damage, and the iPhone condition grading guide explains how the grades are decided.

What If the Phone Is Locked to an Account?

This is the one that actually stops a sale, and it is worth being blunt about it.

An iPhone with Find My still switched on, or a Samsung still signed in to a Google account, cannot be activated by the next owner. It is not worth less. It is not sellable at all until the lock is cleared. Any buyer who tells you otherwise is either planning to strip it for parts or is not being straight with you.

The good news is that in most cases this is a two-minute job you can do yourself. On an iPhone, sign out of iCloud and turn off Find My. On a Samsung, remove the Samsung account and the Google account, then factory reset. Do it in that order, because resetting first does not remove the lock.

Where it gets difficult is a phone you inherited, bought second-hand, or whose password nobody remembers. Our guide on selling an iCloud locked iPhone covers what can and cannot be done in those cases, honestly, including the ones where the answer is nothing.

No Box, No Charger, No Bill?

All fine. None of these stops a sale and only one of them moves the number much.

• The box adds roughly AED 200 on a recent handset and close to nothing on an older one. Worth finding if it is in a cupboard. Not worth delaying a sale for.
• The charger makes very little difference on its own, because almost everybody already has one.
• The receipt or bill does nothing for our offer. It matters on a private sale, where a buyer wants proof the phone is not stolen.
• A case and screen protector are worth more than people think, because they usually mean the phone underneath is in better condition.

Our guide on selling an iPhone without the box has the figures. The short version is that people delay selling for weeks while hunting for a box that was worth less than the value the phone lost in the meantime.

What If It Does Not Switch On?

Ask before you book, because this is the one case where the answer genuinely varies.

A phone that is simply flat will wake up once it has been on a charger for twenty minutes, and plenty of phones described to us as dead are just that. A phone that got wet, or that went black mid-use and never came back, is a different situation and the answer may be no.

What we would rather not do is send the team across Dubai for a handset that cannot be assessed. Send a short description on WhatsApp first, including what happened and when, and you will get a yes or no before anybody gets in a car.

What We Do Not Buy, and What to Do Instead

Being honest about this saves everybody an afternoon, and almost no page in this market will tell you.

• iPhone 12 and older. The UAE used market for these has thinned out to the point where a fair offer is barely worth the pickup.
• Galaxy S21 and older, and older A series handsets, for the same reason.
• Huawei. We do not price it. The UAE market for used Huawei handsets has not recovered since the software situation changed.
• Anything still locked to an account we have not been able to clear, as above.
• Phones with no identifiable IMEI, which we cannot buy for reasons that should be obvious.

If your phone falls into one of those, it is still not rubbish. A working older handset is genuinely useful to somebody, and giving it to a family member or a domestic worker who needs a phone is worth more than any offer you will get for it in Dubai.

If it is beyond use, recycle it properly rather than putting it in a bin. Dubai Municipality operates e-waste collection and there are several licensed recyclers in Al Quoz, Al Qusais and Dubai Investment Park, some of which will issue a data destruction certificate. There is a directory of drop-off points linked at the end of this page.

Not sure which side of the line yours is on? Send the model on WhatsApp. A one-line answer is faster than reading a list, and we will tell you no if it is a no.

How to Sell Any Phone in Dubai

1. Find the exact model. On an iPhone, Settings then General then About. On a Samsung, Settings then About phone. A Pro Max and a Pro are priced very differently and they look similar in a case.
2. Get today's price. Use the iPhone calculator or the Samsung calculator, or send the model and condition on WhatsApp.
3. Say what is wrong with it. Cracked screen, weak battery, dent in the corner. Describing it accurately is what keeps the quote the same at your door.
4. Clear the accounts. Sign out of iCloud and turn off Find My, or remove the Samsung and Google accounts, then factory reset. This is the step that stops sales.
5. Book a free pickup anywhere in Dubai. We check the phone in front of you and pay on the spot, cash or bank transfer.

Same condition, same price. The figure you were quoted is the figure you get, as long as the phone is what you described.

Frequently Asked Questions

What phones do you buy in Dubai?

iPhone 13 and newer, and Samsung Galaxy from the S22 generation onwards, which includes the S, A and Z foldable ranges. If your phone is outside that list, send the model on WhatsApp and you will get a straight answer in a minute rather than a form to fill in. We would rather tell you no quickly than waste your afternoon.

How old a phone will you take?

The oldest iPhone we buy is the iPhone 13, which launched in 2021. On Samsung it is the Galaxy S22, from 2022. Anything older than that has almost no resale market in the UAE, so a buyer who offers you a figure for it is usually offering very little. If you have an iPhone 11 or 12 and have seen it listed somewhere on our site, that listing is out of date and we are fixing it.

Do you buy broken phones?

Yes. A cracked screen, a weak battery or a dented frame all lower the grade rather than disqualify the phone. The one thing that stops a sale is a lock rather than damage. Our guide on selling a broken or damaged phone in Dubai goes through what each kind of damage does to the figure.

Can I sell a phone that is locked to an account?

Not while it is still locked, and no honest buyer in Dubai will tell you otherwise. An iPhone with Find My active or a Samsung with a Google account still signed in cannot be set up by the next owner, which makes it unsellable rather than cheap. If you know the password it takes about two minutes to fix. Our guide on selling an iCloud locked iPhone covers the cases where you do not.

Do I need the original box to sell my phone?

No. The box adds roughly AED 200 on a recent handset and nothing at all on an older one, so it is worth finding if it is in a cupboard and not worth delaying the sale for. The same goes for the charger and the receipt. Our guide on selling an iPhone without the box has the detail.

Do you buy phones that do not switch on?

Sometimes, and it depends entirely on why. A phone that is simply flat will switch on once it is charged. A phone with water damage or a failed board is a different matter and the answer may be no. Send a description on WhatsApp before booking a pickup, because this is the one case where we would rather check first than have the team arrive for nothing.

Do you buy Huawei, Xiaomi, Google Pixel or other brands?

Our calculator covers iPhone and Samsung Galaxy, because those are the two with a real second-hand market in Dubai. Other brands are handled case by case rather than on the calculator, so send the model on WhatsApp and you will get an answer the same day. If the answer is no, this page explains what to do with it instead.

Does it matter if my phone was bought outside the UAE?

No. An imported handset is paid the same as a UAE unit of the same model and condition. It can matter on a private sale, because a buyer there loses the local warranty, but it does not change what we pay.

My phone is not on the calculator. Does that mean you will not buy it?

Not necessarily. The calculator covers the models we price most often, and it is updated regularly, but a model can be missing simply because nobody has asked for it yet. Send the model and storage on WhatsApp and we will price it manually.

Find Out What Yours Is Worth

Cracked, old, no box, imported, still in the drawer. Check an iPhone, check a Samsung, or send the model on WhatsApp. Free pickup across Dubai and payment before we leave.

and you will get a straight answer in a minute rather than a form to fill in. We would rather tell you no quickly than waste your afternoon.

How old a phone will you take?

The oldest iPhone we buy is the iPhone 13, which launched in 2021. On Samsung it is the Galaxy S22, from 2022. Anything older than that has almost no resale market in the UAE, so a buyer who offers you a figure for it is usually offering very little. If you have an iPhone 11 or 12 and have seen it listed somewhere on our site, that listing is out of date and we are fixing it.

Do you buy broken phones?

Yes. A cracked screen, a weak battery or a dented frame all lower the grade rather than disqualify the phone. The one thing that stops a sale is a lock rather than damage. Our guide on selling a broken or damaged phone in Dubai goes through what each kind of damage does to the figure.

Can I sell a phone that is locked to an account?

Not while it is still locked, and no honest buyer in Dubai will tell you otherwise. An iPhone with Find My active or a Samsung with a Google account still signed in cannot be set up by the next owner, which makes it unsellable rather than cheap. If you know the password it takes about two minutes to fix. Our guide on selling an iCloud locked iPhone covers the cases where you do not.

Do I need the original box to sell my phone?

No. The box adds roughly AED 200 on a recent handset and nothing at all on an older one, so it is worth finding if it is in a cupboard and not worth delaying the sale for. The same goes for the charger and the receipt. Our guide on selling an iPhone without the box has the detail.

Do you buy phones that do not switch on?

Sometimes, and it depends entirely on why. A phone that is simply flat will switch on once it is charged. A phone with water damage or a failed board is a different matter and the answer may be no. Send a description on WhatsApp before booking a pickup, because this is the one case where we would rather check first than have the team arrive for nothing.

Do you buy Huawei, Xiaomi, Google Pixel or other brands?

Our calculator covers iPhone and Samsung Galaxy, because those are the two with a real second-hand market in Dubai. Other brands are handled case by case rather than on the calculator, so send the model on WhatsApp and you will get an answer the same day. If the answer is no, this page explains what to do with it instead.

Does it matter if my phone was bought outside the UAE?

No. An imported handset is paid the same as a UAE unit of the same model and condition. It can matter on a private sale, because a buyer there loses the local warranty, but it does not change what we pay.

My phone is not on the calculator. Does that mean you will not buy it?

Not necessarily. The calculator covers the models we price most often, and it is updated regularly, but a model can be missing simply because nobody has asked for it yet. Send the model and storage on WhatsApp and we will price it manually.

Find Out What Yours Is Worth

Cracked, old, no box, imported, still in the drawer. Check an iPhone, check a Samsung, or send the model on WhatsApp. Free pickup across Dubai and payment before we leave.