Refurbished iPhone 16: is it worth it, and where to buy one in the UK?
What a refurbished iPhone 16 costs in the UK at Back Market, eBay, Amazon Renewed and Apple, 128GB and 256GB, against £799 new, and whether a new iPhone 16e is the better buy.
On this page
Apple still sold the iPhone 16 new on 04/10/2026, but only with 128GB and at £799, and on 13/10/2026 the shops charged the same. Refurbished phones fill the gap below that, including 256GB models you can no longer buy new. We read every seller we compare on 13/10/2026, by grade and storage, with their warranty and returns.
Is a refurbished iPhone 16 worth it?
Yes, for most buyers. A new 128GB iPhone 16 was £799 at Argos and £789.31 at Amazon (sold by Amazon) on 13/10/2026, and a refurbished one cost £300 or so less:
| Seller | Price on 13/10/2026 |
|---|---|
| eBay | 128GB £479 (Very Good); 256GB £529.99 (Very Good) |
| Back Market | 128GB £496 (Fair), £498 (Good), £507 (Excellent); 256GB £529 (Fair) |
| Amazon Renewed | 256GB £649 (Excellent) |
| Apple | 128GB £659, 256GB £739 |
| New, at the shops | 128GB £799 at Argos, £789.31 at Amazon; no 256GB |
So a refurbished 128GB saved £320 against Argos's new one at eBay and £292 to £303 at Back Market. Apple's refurbished phone saved £140, but it comes with the most behind it (see below). For 256GB, refurbished is the way: Argos had no new 256GB iPhone 16 on 13/10/2026, and Apple's store listed only the 128GB on 04/10/2026.
Show 2 more listings (out of stock or no price)
Retailer links may earn OwlyFinds a commission. It never changes the order. How we make money
Check any eBay "new" listing before you count on it being sealed: on 13/10/2026 the cheapest new one on eBay, at £567.69, was listed as New but titled "like new with box", from a private seller taking no returns.
Where to buy a refurbished iPhone 16 in the UK
- Apple. Its refurbished store had the 128GB at £659 and the 256GB at £739 on 13/10/2026, each with the same one-year warranty as a new iPhone, a new battery and a new outer shell. The dearest refurbished iPhone 16, and the closest to new.
- Back Market. Refurbishers it vets, graded Fair, Good, Excellent and Premium. Its iPhone 16 page on 13/10/2026 gave a 12-month seller warranty and free 30-day returns, and a new battery for £99 more at the Fair grade (£595 against £496).
- eBay. Many refurbishers, graded Good, Very Good or Excellent. The £479 phone came from a business seller with 30 days' returns. Check each listing for its warranty.
- Amazon Renewed. Phones from marketplace sellers under the Amazon Renewed Guarantee, a year's cover if one is faulty (as our Back Market vs Amazon Renewed guide reported on 17/09/2026). On 13/10/2026 it had a 256GB graded Excellent at £649 and no 128GB in stock.
- musicMagpie. Refurbishes its own phones with a free 12-month warranty (its warranty page, read 09/10/2026), but had no iPhone 16 in stock at our overnight check on 12 to 13/10/2026.
For how these sellers compare in general, see where to buy a refurbished iPhone in the UK.
Refurbished iPhone 16 or new iPhone 16e?
On price, refurbished: the 128GB iPhone 16e was £599 new at Argos and Amazon on 13/10/2026, £120 more than the refurbished iPhone 16 at £479. The iPhone 16 also has the second, ultra wide camera, MagSafe and the Dynamic Island, which the 16e leaves out. What the 16e gives you is a new phone with a full manufacturer's warranty and a battery that has never been charged.
A refurbished 16e costs less again: £379.99 from Amazon Renewed (graded Excellent) on 13/10/2026, and £508.15 from Argos's own eBay shop (graded Very Good, with 60 days' returns). Our iPhone 16 vs 16e comparison covers what the 16e leaves out, and what each costs to own.
Which grade should you buy?
Fair or Good, unless marks bother you. The grade describes the outside: the phone should work fully at any grade, and the warranty is the same. At Back Market on 13/10/2026 the 128GB cost £496 in Fair, £498 in Good and £507 in Excellent, so the step up to Excellent was only £11. Spend it, and check the battery: Back Market's new battery option and Apple's refurbished phones take the battery question away. Here is what each grade means, and what changes when you buy second hand.
Here is every live price for the 256GB iPhone 16:
Show 1 more listing (out of stock or no price)
Retailer links may earn OwlyFinds a commission. It never changes the order. How we make money
The box's eBay row, £599.99 in our last check, had gone out of stock at source by 13/10/2026; the cheapest 256GB on eBay that day was £529.99, graded Very Good, from a business seller.
And here is the cheapest price we have seen each day for the 128GB, new and refurbished together:
Since we started tracking on 09/09/2026, the line has fallen from £558.99 (09/09/2026) to a low of £445.30 (11 and 12/10/2026), always on a refurbished phone. For every new iPhone price, see iPhone prices in the UK.
What to do
- Decide between a refurbished iPhone 16 and a new 16e first: on 13/10/2026 the refurbished 16 was £120 cheaper and has the second camera.
- For 256GB, look at refurbished first: on 13/10/2026 Argos had no new 256GB iPhone 16.
- Compare eBay, Back Market and Apple on the same day; Apple costs more but gives a new battery and a year's warranty.
- Buy from a business with a warranty and at least 14 days to return it, and check the battery health when it arrives.
- Set a price alert on the iPhone 16 page with Refurbished ticked, to hear when it drops.