The budget really becomes a serious stumbling block when you want to buy a smartphone. So it isn’t necessary that one may always purchase the newest iPhone or Android device available in the market. Therefore, the option of buying a used or a refurbished smartphone proves to be a great alternative for some. But at the same time, no one wants to end up with the sub-par devices.
A friend of mine was planning to buy a used iPhone device a few days before. But she was quite skeptical about the choice. But in my opinion, though such devices are used, but if there isn’t much wear & tear plus everything is fully functional, it is still a good deal. And there a lot more things that one should look out for, apart from the scratches and dents. Let me get into the details and tell you about what mandatory checks should you make before buying a used iPhone or Android smartphone.
1. Make sure the “Hardware” is functional
Hardware of any device is most important, be it for the new ones or the used. Hence this should be the first & foremost check you should perform for any used iPhone or Android smartphone. Make sure you check the hardware quality of any used phone that you are planning to buy as you would not want to end up with a faulty camera or a broken sim/ SD card slot. Manually doing these checks is a time-consuming process and there is a probability that you would skip certain important modules. But thankfully we have mobile applications for both Android and iOS to help you with automatic checks.
Hardware Check for iPhone
Go ahead and install this free mobile application called “ReGlobe” to check the hardware quality of an old iPhone. ReGlobe is basically an online marketplace where you can easily sell your old smartphones. And it’s totally your choice to sell on this platform or not. The inbuilt tool of the ReGlobe helps you with all the required hardware checks. Install & launch the ReGlobe application on that particular iPhone device which you wish to check. It guides you step-by-step through the hardware check process.
Firstly, the app will check all the radio hardware & accordingly provide you with the complete report.
Next, the app checks for other hardware aspects like the power, home, volume rocker, and mute slider button. Along with these, it also checks for the microphone, earpiece and even the display for any dead pixels.
Checks are really comprehensive and absolutely accurate. This helps to gain a better insight about the used iPhone device. ReGlobe also gives you a “buy-back price” for that particular phone at the end of the check. But then that is also optional.
Hardware Check for Android
If you plan to buy an Android smartphone, you can install and use the the “Phone Doctor Plus” application to make the required hardware checks. This application tests for 30 major hardware items & sensors. These include Multi-touch, Display, Earphones, Mic, Gyroscope, and Proximity Sensor.
It is an easy-to-use application and helps you with the checks without any difficulty. So thoroughly test the used Android device you would want to buy before blindly investing your hard earned money.
2. Check the IMEI info to ensure the phone’s authenticity
The next important check to be performed on the iPhone device is to verify if the device isn’t stolen or blacklisted in the market. So the best way to do so is to find out the device’s IMEI number & check it on the online database.
It is a simple yet significant step. The IMEI number can be obtained by dialing *#06#. Once you possess that number, open the IMEI Checker homepage here. Simply type in the obtained IMEI number of that particular device & perform the check.
In the case, if that phone has been reported as stolen, the checker service will provide you with the Blacklist status displayed as “Blocked/ BLACKLISTED”.
Please Note: It does sometimes take up a few days till the IMEI number is added to the global blacklist. And the service does not guarantee that it is error-free. Also, it only works if a complaint has been filed for that particular IMEI number.
3. Check for the Activation Lock
Monitoring the activation lock status is really important because if a phone, either an Android device or an iPhone, is forced to a reset, you will never be able to use it on your private identity.
Activation Lock Check for iPhone
For checking the activation lock status of an iPhone device, open the “iCloud Activation Lock” webpage & provide the IMEI number for an immediate check. If “Find My iPhone” option is enabled on that IMEI number, it’ll show up and consequently you should ask the seller to turn it off before purchasing the phone.
Please Note: If you purchase any iPhone device with its activation lock enabled, you won’t be able to configure it under your personal iCloud identity.
Activation Lock Check for Android
Unfortunately for the Android users, there is no direct way of knowing if the phone’s activation lock is enabled or not. Though you can switch on the smartphone & on your own try configuring it under your Google ID.
The phone, if prompts that the reset was not performed the right way & the old ID is required before the configuration, this simply means the activation lock is still enabled.
Just ask the person selling the device to clean the smartphone properly & try to setup the Google ID once again.
4. Check the Warranty Status
Warranty Status check for iPhone
For checking the warranty status of an iPhone device, simply open the Apple Check Coverage web page. This is where you can check the service & support coverage for an iPhone. Type the serial number of the iPhone device at the Apple Check Coverage web page and easily get to know its warranty status. Click here to know how you can find the serial number.
Warranty Status check for Android
On the other hand, android users can only rely on a “valid bill” with the IMEI number and get to know the warranty status of that particular used smartphone. This is normally up to a year.
Summing-Up
The above-mentioned checks are the mandatory tests you should perform before purchasing any used iPhone or Android device. Let us know if you would want us to any other mandatory check process.
