HomeBlogBuying a Used iPhone: What to Check Before You Pay
Buying · 5 min read
Buying a Used iPhone: What to Check Before You Pay
A used iPhone checklist: IMEI and blacklist, Activation Lock, carrier lock, battery health, Face ID, cameras, screen and charging, all before you pay.
On this page
A used iPhone can be a very good buy or a locked brick, and the difference is about fifteen minutes of checks before any money changes hands. Most happen in the Settings app.
This checklist follows Apple's own guidance for buying a preowned iPhone, plus what we check on every phone we sell. Keep it open on your own phone at the meetup.
Before you meet: get the IMEI
Ask the seller for the IMEI before you travel. It is in Settings > General > About on the phone, and Apple's guide to finding it shows where else it appears. A seller who will not share it is telling you something.
Run the IMEI through a blacklist check. That tells you whether the phone has been reported lost or stolen, and a phone with that record can be blocked from carrier networks however good it looks. Our free IMEI check on the homepage shows whether the phone is carrier locked or unlocked, and asks for a phone number to verify. For what each kind of result means, see what an IMEI check tells you.
At the meetup, check that the IMEI in Settings matches. A mismatch ends the conversation.
In person: the three locks
Activation Lock: the check that matters most
Turn the phone on. Apple says you should see one of three screens: the Lock Screen, a "Hello" screen, or an "iPhone Locked to Owner" screen.
- iPhone Locked to Owner: the phone is still tied to someone's Apple Account. Ask the seller to enter their password and turn Activation Lock off. If they cannot, do not buy it. Apple's advice is blunt: do not buy an iPhone with Activation Lock on.
- Lock Screen or Home Screen: the phone has not been erased. Ask the seller to sign out and erase it in front of you.
- Hello: the phone has been erased. Set it up far enough to test it. If setup asks for the previous owner's Apple Account, Apple's Activation Lock page says it is still linked to them, and it goes back to the seller.
Signing out happens in Settings > [their name] > Sign Out. On iOS 26 and later, Apple's before you sell guide has the seller choose Erase this iPhone or Sign Out But Don't Erase. The erase itself is Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. If the phone has an eSIM, the seller can choose to erase it during the erase, which is what you want. If they had an Apple Watch paired with it, they should unpair the watch first.
Never accept "I'll remove it from my account later". A phone with Activation Lock on is only as usable as the seller's goodwill next week.
Carrier lock
Go to Settings > General > About and find Carrier Lock. "No SIM restrictions" means the phone is unlocked. If it names a carrier, Apple's unlocking page explains that the phone works only with that carrier, and only that carrier can unlock it. A locked phone can still be a fine buy on the right network, but it should be priced like one. The trade-off is covered in carrier-locked vs unlocked iPhone value.
Management profiles
Look in Settings > General > VPN & Device Management. On a personal phone this is usually empty. If it lists a management profile, ask the seller what it is before you go any further.
Battery health
On an iPhone 15 or later, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health. On an iPhone 14 or earlier it is Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. You want to see the maximum capacity, and on iPhone 15 models and later, the cycle count too.
Apple designs iPhone 14 and earlier batteries to keep 80 percent of their original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles, and iPhone 15 models and later at 1,000, under ideal conditions. If Settings shows Service or says the battery's health is significantly degraded, Apple suggests considering a replacement. If it says it cannot verify the battery is genuine, the health details may be missing or inaccurate. The full explanation is in used iPhone battery health.
Parts and service history
Still in Settings > General > About, look for a Parts and Service History section after the serial number. It appears only if the phone has been repaired. Apple's Parts and Service History page explains the labels:
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| Genuine | Repaired with genuine Apple parts and processes |
| Used | A genuine part that was already used or installed in another iPhone |
| Unknown | A nongenuine part, a part not working as expected, or one that could not be verified |
| Unverified | The logic board was replaced, and certain features such as Apple Pay may be affected |
A repair is not a reason to walk away. An Unknown screen or battery is a reason to ask, and to expect a lower price.
Test the hardware
Once the phone is on the Home Screen, take the case off and work through these.
| Check | How | What you want |
|---|---|---|
| Body | Look at the screen, sides and back in good light | No cracks, dents or a bend in the frame |
| Face ID | Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Set Up Face ID | It enrolls your face and unlocks the phone |
| Cameras | Take photos in bright and low light on every lens, then shoot a short video | Sharp, focused images from each camera |
| Screen | Drag the brightness slider in Settings > Display & Brightness, and toggle True Tone | Even brightness, no dead spots, True Tone working |
| Touch | Drag an app icon slowly across every part of the screen | It follows your finger everywhere |
| Buttons | Press volume up and down, flip the Ring/Silent switch or press the Action button, press the side button | Each one responds on screen |
| Speakers | Settings > Sounds & Haptics, move the ringtone volume slider | Clear sound |
| Microphone | Record a Voice Memo and play it back | Your voice, clearly |
| Charging | Plug it in and inspect the port | It charges, and the port is clean and undamaged |
| Network | Put your SIM in or connect to Wi-Fi | It connects, and on a SIM it gets signal |
Two screen problems deserve a closer look. On OLED models (Apple lists the iPhone X, XS, XS Max and the iPhone 11 Pro models and later, excluding the iPhone SE), Apple's display page notes that long-term use can leave "burn-in", a faint remnant of an image. Open a plain white or gray image full screen and look for a ghost of a keyboard or status bar. And True Tone that will not work can point to a nongenuine display, one of the issues on Apple's genuine iPhone displays page.
Buying from a stranger vs buying from a shop
A private sale can be the lower price, and plenty of them go fine. But you do every check yourself, in a parking lot, with a seller who wants to leave. If something turns up a week later, there is usually nobody to call.
Buying from a shop costs a little more and moves the work off you. At iPhones.LA, every device is hand-tested before it is listed, the IMEI is verified clean, and the real battery health is shown on every device. Checkout is processed securely by Stripe, and you can pick up free in Long Beach, get local delivery by zone, or have it shipped anywhere in the US. What we check and our policies are laid out at /shop#details. We are also a 5-star seller on eBay.
Selling an old phone to fund the new one? See what we pay for an iPhone 13 or an iPhone 14 Pro Max, or start at /sell.
Shop hand-tested used iPhones
Every device IMEI checked, battery health shown. Pickup in Long Beach, local delivery, or shipping anywhere in the US.
Frequently asked questions
What should I check before buying a used iPhone?
Run a blacklist check on the IMEI, confirm Activation Lock is off and the phone is erased, check Carrier Lock, read battery health, and test Face ID, cameras, screen, buttons, speakers and charging.
How can I tell if a used iPhone is iCloud locked?
Turn it on. If you see "iPhone Locked to Owner", or setup asks for the previous owner's Apple Account, it is still locked. Do not buy it until the seller signs out in front of you.
How do I know if a used iPhone is unlocked?
Go to Settings > General > About. If "No SIM restrictions" appears next to Carrier Lock, the phone is unlocked. If a carrier is named, it works only with that carrier.
What battery health is good for a used iPhone?
Apple's benchmark is 80 percent of original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles for iPhone 14 and earlier, and at 1,000 cycles for iPhone 15 and later. A reading well above 80 percent has not reached that benchmark yet, and a Service or significantly degraded message is Apple suggesting a replacement.
Is it safer to buy a used iPhone from a shop?
A shop that tests every device does the checks for you and publishes policies you can read first. A private sale can be cheaper, but the risk is yours.