Is a Refurbished iPhone 12 mini Still Worth Buying?

On October 28, 2026, the cheapest unlocked unit was a 64GB phone at $129 at eBay Refurbished, and the cheapest unit of any kind was a 64GB phone locked to AT&T at $110, also at eBay Refurbished. RefurbMe counted 51 in-stock US offers that day: 37 at Back Market, 12 at eBay Refurbished and 2 at Amazon Renewed.

RefurbMe's Time-to-Refurb median for the iPhone family is 67 days (as of October 2026, RefurbMe iPhone stats). Time-to-Refurb counts the days from Apple's announcement of a model to the first refurbished unit RefurbMe saw in stock. The 12 mini is a 2020 phone and long past that wait, so the question today is how worn the remaining units are, not whether you can find one.

Quick verdict: who should buy a refurbished iPhone 12 mini

Buy one if pocket size matters most and you mostly call, message, browse and take photos. The iPhone 12 mini has a 5.4-inch Super Retina XDR OLED display, the A14 Bionic chip, 5G and MagSafe wireless charging, and it weighs 135 grams. (Apple)

Skip it if you are a heavy user. Apple rates the 12 mini at up to 10 hours of streamed video, an hour less than the iPhone 12, and every unit on sale today runs on a battery that has aged since 2020 unless a seller replaced it. Skip it too if you want Apple Intelligence, which the 12 mini does not get.

If your budget stretches, the 13 mini is the better small phone. On October 28, 2026, Back Market's cheapest unlocked 128GB iPhone 13 mini was $210, $61 more than eBay Refurbished's cheapest unlocked 128GB 12 mini at $149, for the A15 chip and three more hours of rated streamed video playback. Our iPhone 12 mini vs iPhone 13 mini comparison reaches the same verdict for most buyers.

How much does a refurbished iPhone 12 mini cost?

A refurbished iPhone 12 mini starts at $129 unlocked on RefurbMe today. Apple's launch release priced the iPhone 12 mini starting at $699, in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB models. It reached stores on November 13, 2020. (Apple Newsroom)

These are the cheapest in-stock US listings, read from RefurbMe's live prices on October 28, 2026. Listings were seen in the past three days unless a date is given.

The grades were not checked listing by listing. RefurbMe's product page lists the $110 AT&T unit and the $149 unlocked 128GB unit at eBay Refurbished as Fair, and the $194 unlocked 256GB unit as Good, so read the grade on each listing before you pay.

Apple no longer sells the iPhone 12 mini new. The "All models" shelf of Apple's US iPhone store lists the iPhone Duo, iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, iPhone Air, iPhone 17, iPhone 17e and iPhone 16, which we checked on October 28, 2026. Compare every live listing on the refurbished iPhone 12 mini page.

Prices in Canada and the UK

Canadian supply is thin, with 13 in-stock offers on October 28, 2026. eBay Refurbished had an unlocked 64GB unit at CA$259, and Amazon Renewed had one at CA$278.

UK buyers have more choice, with 66 in-stock offers. Back Market had an unlocked 64GB unit at £134, MusicMagpie one at £144 and Reboxed one at £163. At 128GB, Back Market had an unlocked unit at £155, and at 256GB one at £170. The lowest UK price RefurbMe has recorded for the model is £119, at eBay Refurbished on October 4, 2026. The policy table below uses each seller's US pages, so check the UK or Canadian terms before you order.

Battery life: the real trade-off

Battery is the main risk on this model. Apple rates the 12 mini at up to 15 hours of video playback and up to 10 hours streamed, against 17 and 11 hours for the iPhone 12 and 17 and 13 hours for the 13 mini. Those figures describe a new battery, and an original 2020 battery will fall short of them.

Ask for 85 percent battery health or more and treat 80 percent as the floor. Apple says batteries of iPhone 14 models and earlier are designed to retain 80 percent of their original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles under ideal conditions. (Apple)

The 12 mini shows less battery data than newer models. Apple says the cycle count appears in Settings only on iPhone 15 models and later. Open Settings, tap Battery, then tap Battery Health & Charging to see the maximum capacity, and do it the day the phone arrives, inside the return window.

Then open Settings, tap General, and then tap About. If the phone has been repaired, you see a Parts and Service History section there. (Apple) A recent genuine battery replacement is the best news you can get on a 12 mini. Our iPhone battery health guide explains what happens to performance below 80 percent.

Each seller sets its own battery floor. eBay Refurbished lists 85 percent or more at Excellent and 80 percent or more at Very Good and Good. Amazon Renewed promises more than 80 percent, and more than 90 percent on Renewed Premium. Back Market promises a minimum 80 percent battery capacity on its Excellent, Good and Fair phones and 90 percent on Premium.

How long will Apple support the iPhone 12 mini?

The iPhone 12 mini runs iOS 27, the current release. Apple's iOS 27 compatibility page lists the iPhone 12 mini, and the oldest phones on that list are the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone SE (2nd generation). (Apple) Apple's security releases page lists iOS 27.2, dated October 26, 2026, for iPhone 11 and later.

It does not get Apple Intelligence. Apple says Apple Intelligence in iOS 27 is "available on iPhone Duo, iPhone 16 models or later, iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone Air". (Apple)

Apple publishes no end-of-support date for any iPhone, so nobody can promise the 12 mini a set number of future releases. It is one generation newer than the oldest phones on the iOS 27 list, which points to more updates than an iPhone 11 but guarantees none. Our breakdown of how long Apple supports iPhones has the full history.

What still holds up, and what dates it

The screen and the size are the reasons to buy it. Apple lists a 5.4-inch OLED display at 2340 by 1080 pixels and 476 ppi, in a body 5.18 inches tall that weighs 135 grams. The A14 Bionic chip still handles everyday apps, and the phone has 5G (sub-6 GHz and mmWave), Face ID and MagSafe wireless charging. (Apple) Apple's MagSafe charger page says the iPhone 12 mini gets up to 12W. (Apple)

It is rated IP68 to a depth of 6 meters for up to 30 minutes. The dual 12MP Wide and Ultra Wide cameras shoot Night mode photos and record 4K video at up to 60 fps.

Four things date it. The battery has the shortest rating of any phone in the table below. The port is Lightning, not USB-C. The base model has 64GB of storage. The display reaches 625 nits max brightness (typical), against 800 nits on the 13 mini, so it is harder to read in direct sun.

64GB, 128GB or 256GB: which storage to pick

Pick 128GB. On October 28, 2026, eBay Refurbished's unlocked 128GB unit was $149, only $20 more than its unlocked 64GB unit at $129. A 64GB phone fills fast once photos, 4K video and iOS updates pile up.

At 256GB, Back Market's cheapest unlocked unit was $207, and eBay Refurbished listed a Good-grade unit at $194 on October 22 that may have sold. Pay for 256GB only if you shoot a lot of video.

Seller grades and warranties compared

One seller's "Excellent" is not another's, so compare the terms before the price. The table below comes from each seller's own US policy pages, fetched on October 28, 2026.

eBay Refurbished says products are assigned a condition, "Good, Very Good, Excellent, and Certified". Amazon sorts Renewed products into "one of four conditions: Premium, Excellent, Good, or Acceptable". Back Market says an Excellent device shows "Almost no signs of wear. The body may have very light micro-scratches."

Amazon says most Renewed items include a 90-day return period, and that select items include its 30-day return period followed by a free 11-month limited warranty serviced by Asurion. For how grades map across sellers, see our guide to refurbished grades A, B and C.

Carrier-locked vs unlocked listings and how to check

The cheapest 12 mini is carrier-locked. On October 28, 2026, eBay Refurbished's 64GB unit locked to AT&T was $110, $19 less than its cheapest unlocked 64GB unit at $129.

At Back Market the saving is small or negative. Its 64GB unit locked to AT&T was $175, $14 less than its unlocked 64GB unit at $189, while its 64GB units locked to Verizon or T-Mobile were $213, $24 more than unlocked. No carrier-locked 128GB or 256GB unit was listed.

Buy unlocked unless you already use that carrier. A locked phone works only on that carrier until the carrier unlocks it, and Apple says "Only your current carrier can unlock your iPhone". To check a phone you receive, open Settings, General, About. If "No SIM restrictions" appears next to Carrier Lock, your iPhone is unlocked. (Apple) Our guide to unlocked refurbished iPhones explains the trade-off.

iPhone 12 mini vs a refurbished 13 mini or iPhone 12

Pick by size first, then by battery. The 13 mini keeps the 5.4-inch size and adds the A15 chip, a brighter screen and a bigger battery. (Apple) The iPhone 12 has the same A14 chip in a 6.1-inch body with a longer-rated battery. (Apple)

Sources: Apple's iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 13 mini and iPhone 12 spec pages; prices from RefurbMe's live listings seen in the past three days.

The 13 mini is the better small phone. At 128GB it cost $61 more than the 12 mini on October 28, 2026, for the A15 chip, 800 nits of typical brightness and three more hours of rated streamed video playback. Our refurbished iPhone 13 mini guide covers its sellers.

The iPhone 12 is the pick if size is not the point. At 128GB it cost $44 more than the 12 mini, for the same chip and an extra hour of rated streamed video in a 6.1-inch body. Our iPhone 12 mini vs iPhone 12 comparison and refurbished iPhone 12 guide cover the bigger phone.

Where to buy a refurbished iPhone 12 mini

We list the sellers by the best US offer on an unlocked 64GB iPhone 12 mini, from RefurbMe's live prices on October 28, 2026. Grades were not checked listing by listing, so read each listing's grade before you pay.

1. eBay Refurbished. The cheapest unlocked unit at $129 for 64GB, the cheapest unlocked 128GB unit at $149 and the cheapest unit of any kind at $110, locked to AT&T. Its grades come with a battery floor, a one-year warranty from vetted sellers and 30-day free returns.
2. Amazon Renewed. An unlocked 64GB unit at $164. Most Renewed items come with a 90-day return period, but Amazon adds an 11-month Asurion warranty only on select items, so check the product page.
3. Back Market. An unlocked 64GB unit at $189 and the cheapest unlocked 256GB unit seen in the past three days, at $207. Back Market promises a minimum 80 percent battery capacity on its Excellent, Good and Fair phones, with a 12-month warranty and 30-day free returns.

For more detail on each seller, read our guide to the best places to buy refurbished iPhones and the reviews of Back Market and Amazon Renewed.

Will refurbished iPhone 12 mini prices keep falling?

Not by much. The lowest price RefurbMe has recorded for a refurbished iPhone 12 mini in the US is $110, at eBay Refurbished on October 5, 2026, and today's $110 AT&T unit matches it. The cheapest unlocked unit, at $129, is $19 above that record.

RefurbMe's Refurb Discount for the iPhone family, the median saving of a refurbished unit against its launch price, is 77 percent (as of October 2026, RefurbMe iPhone stats). That median covers every iPhone RefurbMe tracks, from this year's models to ones many years old, so it says little about where the 12 mini goes next.

At these prices, the battery and grade of the unit matter more than a few more dollars off. Set a price alert if you want to wait for an unlocked unit nearer the record.

FAQ

To compare every refurbished iPhone 12 mini listing across sellers in real time, head to the refurbished iPhone page and filter by model, grade and price.