What You Need to Know When Buying a Used iPhone


If you’re in the market for a new iPhone, you may be considering purchasing a used one instead. The reasons are many and the benefits, namely savings, can be significant, but there are some things you should know before going in that direction. Otherwise you could find yourself out your money and with a paperweight rather than a working phone.

First, try to stick to reputable sellers like Gazelle or Amazon. Even better, see if your carrier offers used phones for sale, many do. Think hard before buying a used (or new for that matter) phone from Ebay or Craigslist. The risk of getting a broken or stolen phone is quite high on both sites. If you do go the Ebay route, read the seller’s feedback (both received and given) very carefully along with the listing, and buy only with a credit card, which will give you the maximum protection. Unfortunately, when buying from Ebay there is no way to be sure you’ll get a phone with “Find My iPhone” turned off. If it’s not, the phone is useless. There is no way to get around the activation lock without the previous user’s Apple ID and password. If your phone arrives with it turned on, your only hope is to pray the seller will either provide the info needed to turn FMI off or accept the phone back for a refund.


If you’re buying from Craigslist, insist on meeting the seller at your carrier’s store and testing the phone before they leave. If they refuse to do so, you can be pretty sure the phone is stolen or broken. If the phone is from a different carrier than yours, don’t worry, it’s not hard to find out how to unlock an iPhone and you’ll be able to use your carrier’s SIM with no problem

If your carrier refuses to activate your phone, it almost always means it’s been blacklisted. Carriers do this to phones that have been reported lost or stolen, or to phones linked to accounts with unpaid balances. In some cases, you can pay the balance and free the phone for activation, but there is no way to unblacklist a phone that’s been reported lost or stolen. Unfortunately, there are a lot of scammers out there so you need to be extremely cautious when buying a used iPhone. Ask lots of questions and listen to your gut!

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