iPhone Repair by Post UK (2026): How It Works, What It Costs, What's Covered

You don't need a repair shop on your high street to get your iPhone fixed properly. celltech is a UK-wide, mail-in-only iPhone repair specialist: you post your iPhone to our workshop, our technicians repair it on the bench, and we post it straight back – tracked and insured both ways, covered by a 27-month guarantee.

"iPhone repair by post" sounds like a compromise, but for newer iPhones it's often better than a quick local fix – you get a specialist who works on the same handsets all day, honest published pricing, a choice of screen grade, and a guarantee that runs for more than two years. This guide explains what can be repaired by post, how the process works step by step for an iPhone, what it costs (with links to our full price guides), and how we keep your data and Face ID intact.

Direct answer: Almost any iPhone repair can be done by post. You back up your phone, turn off Find My iPhone, post it to us with the tracked, insured label, and we repair, test and return it under our 27-month guarantee. Common postal repairs range from around £39.95 for a battery on an older iPhone up to £569.95 for a genuine-grade screen on the iPhone 17 Pro Max. Your price depends on the model, the part (screen, battery, back glass, charging port, camera, Face ID, water damage or board-level), and – on screens – whether you choose a standard or premium panel.

What Can Be Repaired by Post on an iPhone

Nearly everything. An iPhone travels safely in a small, well-packed parcel, and almost every repair is done at a workbench rather than in front of you. By post we routinely fix:

• Screen replacement – cracked glass, dead touch, lines, black screen. The most common postal repair by far. See our iPhone screen replacement cost guide.
• Battery replacement – rapid drain, unexpected shutdowns, "Service" warnings, swelling. Full pricing in our battery replacement cost guide.
• Back glass replacement – the laser-welded rear panel, a specialist job. Prices in our back glass replacement cost guide.
• Charging port repair – intermittent charging or no charge (often just dirt, which we'll tell you honestly).
• Cameras – front and rear modules, cracked rear lenses, blurry or shaking output.
• Face ID – the TrueDepth sensor array, where the fault is repairable.
• Speakers, earpiece and microphones – muffled calls, no sound, people can't hear you.
• Buttons and haptics – volume, power, the Action button and the Taptic Engine.
• Water damage – ultrasonic cleaning and component-level work; just send it powered off.
• Board-level (microsoldering) repair – boot loops, no power, no backlight, charging-IC and signal faults that most shops won't attempt.

We cover roughly 2,467 device models, and iPhones – from the iPhone 7 to the latest 17 Pro Max – are the most-repaired range of all. If a fault is fixable, it's almost certainly fixable by post.

How iPhone Repair by Post Works, Step by Step

The process is deliberately simple, and a couple of steps are iPhone-specific – especially Apple's activation lock.

1. Book online and see your price up front

Choose your model and repair and you'll see the exact published price before you commit – no "from" estimates, no quote-wall. Standard repairs include free diagnostics, so if anything else needs attention we'll find it and tell you.

2. Back up your iPhone

Most repairs – screens, batteries, back glass, cameras, ports – never touch your data, and your phone comes back exactly as you sent it. Even so, back up first as you would before an iOS update: iCloud (Settings → your name → iCloud → iCloud Backup) or a computer. It takes minutes.

3. Turn off Find My iPhone

This is the one step unique to Apple devices. Find My iPhone enables Activation Lock, which stops anyone but you using – or testing – the phone after repair. Go to Settings → your name → Find My → Find My iPhone and switch it off before you post (you'll need your Apple Account password).

4. Pack it and post it – tracked and insured

Wrap the iPhone well, include your booking reference, and send it with the tracked, insured postage provided. Your device is covered in transit both ways and accounted for from the moment it leaves you to the moment it's back in your hands. Because we're mail-in only, this works identically wherever you are in the UK.

5. We diagnose, repair and test

A technician confirms the fault (free diagnostics on standard repairs), carries out the repair, and runs a full function test – touch, True Tone, Face ID, cameras, speakers, charging – before signing it off. If we find something unexpected, we contact you first; we never do work you haven't approved.

6. We post it back under the 27-month guarantee

Your repaired iPhone is returned tracked and insured. Standard component repairs – screens, batteries, cameras, speakers, buttons – carry our 27-month guarantee: more than double the 12 months most independent UK repairers offer, and far beyond Apple's 90-day repair warranty. Board-level and liquid-damage repairs carry their own shorter cover, reflecting the complexity of that work.

Genuine vs Aftermarket: Choosing Your iPhone Screen Tier

The biggest reason screen quotes vary so wildly is the panel grade – and most repairers won't tell you which one they're fitting. We offer two tiers openly.

Standard – high-quality compatible panel

A high-grade aftermarket panel (a "soft OLED" on OLED iPhones, or a quality incell panel on older LCD models). Colour, brightness and touch are excellent for everyday use, True Tone is preserved and Face ID is fully transferred. For most people on an iPhone 11 through 14, this is the sensible choice – you genuinely lose very little.

Premium – genuine-grade panel

Either OEM-grade or a refurbished original Apple display, visually indistinguishable from the factory screen. On Pro and Pro Max models it's the tier that fully restores ProMotion (120Hz), which is why the premium price jumps sharply there – an LTPO ProMotion panel is one of the priciest parts in the range. Our screen cost guide lists both tiers for every model.

What iPhone Repair by Post Costs

Posting your iPhone costs the same as bringing it in – our pricing is by model and repair, not by location. The snapshot below covers popular models; for the complete, model-by-model breakdown, follow the cost guides.

Those are standard-tier prices and include free diagnostics, component transfer and the 27-month guarantee. For every model, both screen tiers and the other repairs, see our screen, battery and back glass cost guides. For the wider postal process – packaging, safety and what to expect – see our guide to how mail-in phone repair works.

Why Posting to a Specialist Beats a Quick Local Fix

For an older handset, a fast fix round the corner can be fine. But for newer iPhones – broadly the iPhone 12 onwards – there are real reasons to post it to a specialist instead:

• Newer iPhones are harder to repair well. Bonded OLED panels, ProMotion, paired Face ID sensors, laser-welded back glass and tight waterproofing demand the right parts, tooling and daily experience.
• You see the price before you commit – published per model, no surprises on collection, unlike repairers who hide behind a "bring it in for a quote" wall.
• You choose the screen grade – standard or premium, your call.
• The guarantee is far longer – 27 months on standard repairs versus the 12 months typical of independents and Apple's 90 days.
• Board-level repair is on the table – many local shops just swap whole modules or refuse a phone that won't power on; a specialist can often repair the board itself and keep your data on the original hardware.

Your Data and Face ID Are Safe

The two worries we hear most are "will I lose my data?" and "will Face ID stop working?". Both have reassuring answers.

Your data stays put

The vast majority of repairs never touch your storage. We don't wipe anything; your phone returns exactly as you sent it. Turning off Find My iPhone is about Activation Lock, not about us accessing your files. Even in serious board-level cases, our aim is to repair the existing board so your data stays on the same hardware it has always lived on.

Face ID is preserved – when it's done right

Face ID is tied to the TrueDepth sensors, not the glass. On a screen replacement we carefully transfer your original dot projector, infrared camera, flood illuminator and ambient-light sensors to the new screen, then test Face ID before it goes back. This is exactly where cheap repairs fail: damage or swap those paired sensors and Face ID is gone for good – which is why a specialist matters. If those sensors were already damaged, we'll tell you honestly at the diagnostics stage.

Is It Worth Posting Your iPhone for Repair?

For the vast majority of iPhones, yes. Apple supports iPhones with iOS updates for six to seven years, so even an iPhone 11 or 12 has plenty of life left – and a repair is almost always far cheaper and more sustainable than a new handset. Posting simply removes the "is there a good repairer near me?" problem: wherever you live in the UK, you get the same specialist, the same published price and the same 27-month guarantee.

The repair makes the most sense when the fault is contained – a cracked screen, a tired battery, a dodgy port. If a very old, low-value iPhone has several problems at once, it's worth pricing everything up together first, and our free diagnostics will give you an honest steer either way.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can any iPhone be repaired by post?

Almost any model and almost any fault. We repair iPhones from the 7 to the latest 17 Pro Max – screens, batteries, back glass, charging ports, cameras, Face ID, speakers, buttons, water damage and board-level faults – all by post. The work is done on a bench either way, so posting it changes nothing about the quality of the repair.

How much does iPhone repair by post cost?

The same as in person – pricing is by model and repair, not by location. Common postal repairs range from around £39.95 for a battery on an older iPhone up to £569.95 for a genuine-grade screen on the iPhone 17 Pro Max. For exact figures see our screen, battery and back glass cost guides.

Is it safe to post my iPhone for repair?

Yes. Your device is sent with tracked, insured postage both ways, so it's accounted for at every stage to us and back. Pack it well, include your booking reference, and use the postage option provided. Our service is built mail-in only so customers anywhere in the UK can get specialist repair without travelling.

Do I need to turn off Find My iPhone before posting?

Yes – this is the one iPhone-specific step. Find My iPhone enables Activation Lock, which stops the phone being used or tested by anyone but you. Go to Settings → your name → Find My → Find My iPhone and switch it off before you post, and back up your phone first as a precaution.

Will Face ID still work after a postal repair?

Yes, when the repair is done properly. Face ID depends on the TrueDepth sensors, not the glass, and we transfer your original sensors during a screen replacement and test Face ID before returning the phone. Budget repairs that damage or swap those paired sensors permanently break Face ID – which is why a specialist matters.

Genuine or aftermarket screen – which should I choose?

Both preserve True Tone and Face ID and both carry our 27-month guarantee. On a non-Pro iPhone at 60Hz, our standard tier is excellent value and the premium upgrade is subtle. On a Pro or Pro Max, the premium genuine-grade tier is worth considering because it fully restores 120Hz ProMotion. Our screen cost guide shows both tiers side by side.

Is it worth posting an older iPhone for repair?

Usually, yes. Apple supports iPhones with updates for six to seven years, so a model as old as the iPhone 11 still has life in it, and older-model parts are inexpensive. It's only the oldest, lowest-value devices with several faults at once where replacement may make more sense – and our free diagnostics will tell you honestly which side of that line your phone sits on. Book your iPhone repair to get started.