What things need to check when buying a used/second hand phone from olx/quikr/ zotlay/ebay or from any other person.

I wish to thank Mr Rajeev who provided this nice article on “How to buy a used Phone”.

This checklist implies for both Android as well as iPhone devices. So follow the checklist listed below then only buy it otherwise it’s up to you-

Hardware Checklists:

• Volume buttons
• Lock buttons
• Earphone jack- By plugging in earphone and listen some music
• Vibrator (iPhone)
• Speakers (wherever speakers are placed)- play some music and make a call to check both the speakers mainly
• Microphone- Make a call to verify
• Camera (Front+Rear)- Take some photographs to check it
• Home button- if available (for iPhone users)
• LED flashlight- if available in the phone
• Sensors- like light sensor, proximity sensor etc
• Check for scratches
• Charging- make sure charging is working
• Screws- check if any screws are misplaced or not there, it denotes mobile has been opened before
• Battery backup- to check this simply take 15min atleast, it will tell you about battery life.
• Heating issues- use mobile for at least 15min to check whether mobile heats up.

Software Checklists:

• Operating System- Like if you are buying an Apple’s product then it should have iOS and if Android then it should have android version details in About section of the phone.
• Touch- Check whether touch are working good.
• WiFi- Check WiFi.
• Bluetooth- Check bluetooth.
• Check IMEI No. if apple product then there are many website which will tell you about this phone by entering the IMEI no or you can also check iPhone by it’s hardware part number so it’ll tell you about phone, similarly there are many websites and apps which will tell you whether the phone you are going to buy is genuine or fake/replica.
• Hardware serial No.- If apple product and check this hardware number online for your phone’s genuinity.
• Cellular/Network check- Check whether internet is working or not buy selecting 2G/3G/4G mode, whichever implies.
• Hotspot/Personal hotspot- check this option if you have this feature.
• Keypad check- By typing randomly.
• Make a Phone call & Receive a phone call to check everything is working fine.
• Memory check- Check the Internal/external memory of the phone. like if you are buying an iPhone 16GB but you didn’t check at the time of buying, so he might give you a lower memory card version of the phone like iPhone 8GB whose price should be less.
• Water Damage Check- Record a video of at least 10 seconds and press home screen. If, phone gets switched off or restarted then this phone may be damaged by the water but not necessary.
• If iPhone then check whether supports iTune or not.

If something is not listed then do let us know, we will add that too to our checklists.

Thanks.