What to check when buying a used iPhone?
What to check when buying a used iPhone?
When You buy a used iPhone from a private seller, instead of saving €200, You might be left with a non-working device worth €500. There is no doubt buying a pre-owned phone is the best option for many people, thus the second hand smartphone market is rapidly growing but you have to take precautions and be thorough with testing the device.
When buying from a private seller, You risk getting a defective smartphone.
Imagine a situation, You buy a used iPhone off the Internet - Facebook marketplace or any other advertisement sites. When You meet the seller, You quickly check out the key features of the iPhone, everything seems to work, and You buy the phone. At home, You connect the iPhone to a charger, but it doesn't charge or doesn't turn on when it is charged, Your bluetooth headphones don’t connect to Your phone etc. You want to contact the person who sold You the used iPhone, but that person is no longer reachable. You want to return the iPhone, but You do not have a receipt or any other proof of purchase. An unenviable situation that many have found themselves in at some point.
Hardware checks
To avoid this unpleasant situation, it would be necessary to check whether all the functions of the smartphone are in a working order before purchase.
Here is a list of the things You should check:
- Display (Touch screen, 3D touch, Pixels)
- Sound (Headphones, Microphones, Speakers)
- Motion (Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Compass)
- Connectivity (Mobile network, WiFi / WLAN, Bluetooth, GPS)
- Physical device (Buttons, Proximity sensors, Charging ports, Battery, Processor and battery stress test, Vibration, Light sensors, Touch / face ID, Wireless charging)
- Cameras (Front camera, Rear camera, Zoom, Wide angle, Flash)
If You buy an Apple phone and want the full Apple experience, You should make sure that not only does the phone work functionally, but also that its parts are original. Unfortunately, without special software or without dismantling the phone, You will not be able to find it out.
Software and remote phone lock checks
It's just as important to check for software and whether the phone is blacklisted, as Your smartphone may be marked as stolen or blocked by iCloud, or has been financed at Apple or mobile network operators and not paid off. As a result, Your new iPhone may be in good working order, but the usage might be limited or impossible.
You need to check if the iPhone:
- Is not lost or stolen (Check: https://www.imeipro.info)
- Is not blacklisted (Check: https://www.imeipro.info)
- Not blocked in European cellular network (Check: https://www.imeipro.info)
- Is not financed (Find out who the associated operator is: Settings> Mobile data> Network Provider Service and then check the status on operator's website)
- Doesn't have malware
- Has Apple Support available (Check: https://checkcoverage.apple.com/)
Before purchasing a smartphone, go through this checklist or trust companies that do it professionally, such as reDevice. We test each iPhone with a specially designed software to make sure everything works, the smartphone only has original parts, and it is not stolen or locked.
Since we test each and every phone, we without hesitation offer our reDevice 12-month warranty on every purchase.
