Apple Mistakenly Tells Customers Their iPhone Trade-Ins Are 'Canceled' [Updated]

Apple today sent an email to some iPhone Upgrade Program members to inform them that their previously-completed iPhone trade-in has been "canceled," but the email was almost certainly sent in error based on the circumstances.

iPhone Trade In Box
Apple told customers it never received their iPhone, even though they sent it in months ago. In many cases, the customers physically handed their iPhones to an Apple Store employee in person, so there is no possible way they could be at fault.

"Because you didn't trade in your iPhone, we are unable to complete the trade-in process," the email says, according to a screenshot shared with us by reader Quinn Everett. "The associated loan on this iPhone will resume."

Everett and others said the Apple Store app also shows their iPhone's trade-in status has changed to "canceled," suggesting that Apple's email is legitimate. The email has been widely shared across the MacRumors Forums, Reddit, and X, with many customers receiving it in the early hours of Thursday morning in the United States.

Many customers who received the email completed their iPhone trade-in last September, when the iPhone 15 series launched, so the delayed timing of the email suggests that it was sent as a result of a system glitch. Apple did not immediately respond to our request for comment, but we will update this story if we receive an explanation.

Update — 10:35 a.m. Pacific Time: We have confirmed that this email was sent erroneously and that customers who received it do not need to take any action.

Update — 11:51 a.m. Pacific Time: Apple has now sent a follow-up email to affected customers that says to "please disregard the previous email we sent."

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Top Rated Comments

iksretep Avatar
15 months ago
Oh boy, well if Apple doesn't want them ... send all trade-ins here
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
lazyrighteye Avatar
15 months ago
OMFG. I woke to the same email from Apple, sending me into a legit panic. What the actual F?
Guess I'll not be needing coffee to get going this morning. Thanks Apple!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
now i see it Avatar
15 months ago
Artificial Intelligence at its finest. Better get used to it folks cuz we ain’t seen nothin yet.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
re5i5tor Avatar
15 months ago

Okay, so Apple screwed up. But people going into a Stage Three panic over a couple hundred dollars is well…a sign they don’t have any real problems.
It's a serious **** show when Apple tells you "we didn't get your trade in" that you did in fact ship to them -- been through it, a real nightmare.

This also could very well have signaled that one's Apple account had been hacked and someone had figured out a scam involving fake trade-ins.

So alarm is justified, IHMO.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vegetassj4 Avatar
15 months ago
OK. Apple, where is the bug that mistakenly sends me a Mac Pro w/ Wheels? Or, at least a polishing cloth.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
odyssey924 Avatar
15 months ago
I received this email as well. I purchased in an Apple Store on launch day back in September and definitely turned my phone in to them…
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)