Used iPhone grades explained: what A+, A, B and C mean, and what they leave out

The short answer: there is no official grading standard for used iPhones. In the wholesale trade, Grade A+ or "mint" usually means no visible wear, Grade A means light marks, Grade B means visible wear, and Grade C means heavy wear, all fully working. Grades describe cosmetics only. They say nothing about battery health, replaced parts, locks or the market the phone was made for, so put those in writing before you buy.

What the grades usually mean

Every trader uses the same letters and nobody means quite the same thing. As a rough guide to how they are used in the trade:

• A+ / Mint / Like new: no visible marks on screen, frame or back at arm's length.
• Grade A: light marks you see when you look for them, typically on the frame. Screen clean in normal use.
• Grade B: visible wear: scratches on the frame or back, light marks on the screen that disappear when it is on.
• Grade C: heavy wear, dents or deep scratches, still fully working.
• Grade D / For parts: faulty in some way. Fine for a repair shop harvesting parts, if the faults are listed and the phone is not locked.

Notice what is missing. Two "Grade A" iPhone 13s can have batteries at 98% and 79%, an original screen and a replacement, and come from two different countries. Both are honestly Grade A.

Battery health: the number that decides your returns

An iPhone shows its own battery health in Settings, under Battery. Apple says iPhone 14 and earlier models are designed to keep 80% of their original capacity at 500 full charge cycles, and iPhone 15 and later at 1,000 cycles. Below 80%, the phone may show a service message, and your customer will notice the battery before you do.

So set a minimum per grade, for example 85% for Grade A and 80% for Grade B, and ask for the reading on every phone, not a sample.

Replaced parts: check the phone's own history

On iOS 15.2 and later, Settings, General, About shows a Parts and Service History section when a phone has had parts replaced. It lists the battery, display or camera as a genuine Apple part, an "Unknown Part", or, on newer models, a "Used" genuine part from another iPhone. A phone with an Unknown Part display can be perfectly usable, but it is not the same product as one with its original screen, and it shouldn't be the same price.

The written spec that protects your margin

Before you buy a single box, agree this in writing with your supplier:

• What marks are allowed on the screen, frame and back for each grade.
• The minimum battery health for each grade.
• Whether replaced parts are allowed, and if so which, and declared phone by phone.
• No Activation Lock, no remote management (MDM), no blacklisted IMEIs, ever.
• Network-unlocked, or the lock status declared per phone.
• Which markets the phones were made for (US, Japan, Hong Kong, Europe), shown by model number.
• What happens to phones that don't meet the spec: replaced, credited or returned.

We work exactly like this: your definitions, checked on every phone, with a test record and a video of your batch before you pay the balance. See wholesale used iPhones.