Recently we have seen a lot of confusion between the iPhone 5, 5C, and 5S models and we felt that a blog post highlighting some of the key differences may help you identify the correct model - resulting in an accurate quote when looking to sell your iPhone.

At ItsWorthMore.com we take customer satisfaction very seriously and attempt to keep all our customers happy. Satisfied customers results in repeat business, referrals, and less stress in the work area. It is generally in our best interest to simply hit the “Accept” button once we receive and inspect an item. Less work for us and a happier you. Believe us when we tell you that our technicians’ lives would be so much easier if every item that came in was accurately described. Approving an offer is just one button, where as adjusting requires explaining the adjustments to the customer and takes so much more time.


1. How they look:

iPhone 5: The iPhone 5 comes in either White or Black. The home button (that is the circular button at the bottom of the screen) has a rounded edge square on it.
iPhone 5S: There are three color options here. Space Gray, Gold, and Silver. The home button on this guy has a ring around it either black, gold, or silver (the space gray has a black circle not a gray circle I do not know why).
iPhone 5C: This is the “colorful” iPhone in the 5 series. The home button is the same as the 5 however; these phones have a plastic back cover that comes in white, blue, pink, yellow, or green. How this phone is confused with other models I fail to understand but regardless, the colorful plastic is a dead giveaway. 

2. Model Numbers:  Please reference the back of your phone near the bottom.

iPhone 5: A1428, A1429, A1442

iPhone 5S: A1453, A1457, A1518, A1528, A1530, and A1533.

iPhone 5C: A1456, A1507, A1516, A1529, and A1532.

There is another way to get the model number based off the back of the phone or via the settings of the phone.  Please use the IMEI number either starting in a 01 or a 99 and enter this into either:

selfsolve.apple.com or iPhoneox.com and this will give you the model number of your phone.

If you are reading this blog and you want to know whether you have a 6 or a 6 plus, the IMEI starts with a “3” in this model and you can plug it in the exact same way into the websites mentioned above.

3. Key Features

As the 5S is worth more, many customers tend to input their 5 or 5C as an iPhone 5S when submitting an offer. One of the key features that differentiate this phone compare to the others is the Touch ID feature. If your phone is in the 5 series and does not have a Touch ID feature, then you can narrow it down to either a 5 or 5C. At that point you can look at the back and see if there a colorful plastic cover, if that’s the case, you got a 5C, if its black or white, it’s a 5.

One very common point of confusion is the Siri feature. This feature came into play during the iPhone 4S and despite a widespread belief, the “S’ in 5S does not stand for Siri. Just because your iPhone has Siri does not mean it’s an iPhone 5S.

We hope this helps you distinguish between the different models and avoid any surprises when you trade-in your iPhone with us.