If you got your iPhone Duo on launch day, Oct. 23, your window to return it closes Friday, Nov. 6. Under the Apple return policy, you have 14 calendar days from the date you received the item, and you start a return by signing in to your Order Listing page with your Apple Account, selecting the item and choosing Start a Return.

The 14 days run from receipt, not from the order date. If your Duo arrived after Oct. 23, your deadline is later; count 14 days from your own delivery date. Nov. 6 applies to launch-day receipt.

How to start a return

Apple's returns page lists these steps for something you bought online from Apple:

  1. Sign in to your Order Listing page with your Apple Account.
  2. Select the item and choose Start a Return, then Get Started.
  3. Choose Initiate Your Return and print the label.
  4. Schedule a carrier pickup or drop the package off.

You can also bring the item to any U.S. Apple Store, and the refund is processed at that time.

Repackage the phone with all the cords, adapters and documentation that came with it.

What to check before you send it back

  • Where you bought it. Only items bought directly from Apple, online or at an Apple Retail Store, can be returned to Apple. If you bought your Duo from another retailer, that retailer's returns and refunds policy applies, not Apple's.
  • Your wireless plan. The iPhone return policy does not cancel your service for you. Apple says returning an iPhone may not automatically cancel or reset your wireless account, and you are responsible for your wireless service agreement and any fees on it. Contact your carrier separately.
  • Refund timing. Apple says a refund is initiated once it receives the item. For card payments, the refund goes to the card-issuing bank within five business days of Apple receiving the return.

Does the iPhone Duo have its own rule?

Not on the page we read. Apple's returns page gives no iPhone Duo-specific return rule, so the standard policy above is what applies to the page's wording. We have not seen a separate Duo exception or extension from Apple.

Why this matters now

The Duo went on sale Oct. 23, as we covered in our pre-order and price story. Apple's U.S. store has since shown a Jan. 22 ship date for new orders, so a replacement order would not arrive soon; see our shipping story. If you are returning because of the inner display, our hinge and screen reports story covers the reports and your other options.

If you are undecided, the deadline is the practical limit: decide by Nov. 6 if you received it on Oct. 23.

What we checked

We read Apple's U.S. Returns & Refunds page on Nov. 5, 2026. The Oct. 23 launch date comes from our earlier iPhone Duo coverage. Other countries' terms and carrier return rules may differ, and we did not check them.