Where can I find the best deal on an iPhone with iOS 17?

TennesseeHog · 2026-10-25T13:52:00+00:00

Who has the best deal on a I-phone that has IOS system? [Re-Titled by Moderator] Original Title: I have an obsolete I-8 phone. I want to buy a I-phone with an IOS 17 system.

2 replies

Servant of Cats

Level 9 (55,707 points)

Oct 25, 2026 4:22 PM in response to TennesseeHog

If your goal is to purchase an iPhone and keep it on iOS 17 indefinitely, that would be a Very Bad Idea:

You would almost certainly be looking at a used iPhone, sold by some outfit other than the online Apple Certified Refurbished Store. It would be very easy to spend your money on an Activation-Locked or blacklisted "brick", on a phone locked to a carrier you can't use, etc. (The All Too Common SAD Reality of Buying a Used iPad/iPhone – Apple Community).
The supply of used iPhones that have been updated to some version of iOS 17, and no further, is likely to be tiny. Most people with phones compatible with iOS 17 would have let those phones update to iOS 18, 26, or 27 by now.
Come next January, a key security certificate is set to expire. Apple has not issued an updated certificate for iOS 17 – so if you keep an iPhone on iOS 17, instead of letting the phone update to the latest version of iOS it can run (18.* or 27.* depending on model), things will break. Including Messages and FaceTime calls.

If the issue is that you have an iPhone that is too old to run some app that requires "iOS 17.0 or later", the solution is to buy an iPhone that is compatible with iOS 27 ("later"), not to buy one that has been held back on iOS 17 or that is forever limited to iOS 18.

Bob Timmons

Level 10 (199,348 points)

Oct 25, 2026 2:01 PM in response to TennesseeHog

Sorry, but this is a site for user who are having technical problems with their iPhones.

We are unable to do your shopping for you. Even if we could, we would have no idea where the best deal might be.

iOS 17 is no longer available. Look for an iPhone that is capable of running iOS 27.