Bought a 'lightly used' iPhone 12 from a random seller on Craigslist last Sunday

Turned out the screen was a cheap replacement that started flickering after 3 hours. What's your go-to method for checking if a used phone has original parts before buying?

3 comments

3 Comments

paul23318d ago

Check the serial number against Apple's coverage page before you hand over any cash.

butler.mark18d ago

That's solid advice. Even a clean looking phone could have a blacklisted IMEI or still be tied to someone's iCloud account. I always run the serial through Apple's check to see if Find My iPhone is still on it. A lot of scammers will wipe the phone but forget to sign out of iCloud first. You can also check the model number to make sure it matches the color and storage size they're claiming. It's a quick step that saves you from getting stuck with a bricked device.

nina_sullivan6118d ago

Did you get burned by a bad deal before too? I learned the hard way with a phone that was clean cosmetically but locked to some random carrier I couldn't even use. It's wild how much time these scammers put into making junk look legit.