Guide to Buying a Used iPhone

Guide To Buying A Used iPhone

So you found a phone within your budget and you are interested in buying. You have heard a lot of people buying a bad phone and you don’t want to waste your hard-earned money, so what do you do? How do you know if the phone is good? Follow this easy guide and you will have everything you need to decide. 

*Always meet in a public area for safety!

1. Check the IMEI.

Check the 15 Digit IMEI number. Type it into https://swappa.com/esn and go through the prompts and you will find out whether the device is clean or blacklisted. (Do not buy if blacklisted – it could mean that it is under Financial Responsibility or that it is Lost or Stolen.)

2. Make Sure iCloud is Turned Off

We suggest clicking on their name in settings at the top if they haven’t logged out yet then click sign out on the bottom. Go through the prompts and sign out. After that go to General > Reset > Erase All Content & Settings.

3. Make sure the phones carrier will work with your carrier.

If the phone is “Unlocked” then it should work with all carriers. Please note that whatever the original carrier was, it will use their towers, so make sure that the service is good in your area with that carrier. 

4. Make sure the phone is a fair price.

If the phone is used but in good working order, the prices should be near the following…

  • iPhone 6 $180

  • iPhone 6 Plus $200 (Do not recommend because they get a very common issue called Touch Disease)

  • iPhone 6S $225

  • iPhone 6S Plus $250

  • iPhone 7 $300

  • iPhone 7 Plus $350

  • iPhone 8 $400

  • iPhone 8 Plus $450

  • iPhone X $550

  • iPhone XS $650

  • iPhone XS Max $800

  • iPhone XR $550

*(If the phone comes with accessories, original box, or has more storage space, a fair price may be higher than the listed values)

5. Put your sim card in and make sure the carrier shows up in the left corner. 

Once you put your sim card in, it will take up to a minute for the phone to recognize it. If it doesn’t show up after a minute most likely the phone is not compatible. 

6. Make sure you look the phone over good and find out whether something is wrong with it. 

Make sure both cameras work, the Touch ID/Face ID, Siri, and the check the speakers – we recommend doing a test call.

If you follow these simple steps you can prevent going through a painful experience of buying a bad phone and losing money.