Outright fake iPhones are rarer than the internet makes you think. The phones that actually ruin people’s month are the boring ones: still locked to an old owner, quietly blacklisted, or fitted with parts nobody mentioned.

All of those leave evidence on the phone itself. Here is the routine we run on our own bench before a handset gets a price, written out so you can run it yourself the day your order lands. No tools, no apps, no technical background needed.

Do them in this order. The first two catch the expensive problems.

Step 1: Switch it on. What screen do you get?

Before you look at anything else, power the phone up and read the first screen.

• A passcode Lock Screen or somebody’s Home Screen means the phone was never erased. Send it back.
• A screen reading “iPhone Locked to Owner” means it is activation locked. That is not something a seller sorts out later. Until the previous owner removes it from their Apple Account, the phone will never work for you.
• The “Hello” screen is what you want to see. But it is not proof on its own, and this is the part almost every guide gets wrong.

A phone that was wiped remotely while still tied to its old owner also starts at Hello. The lock only reveals itself once the phone talks to Apple. So actually begin setup: pick a language, connect to Wi-Fi or mobile data, and keep going. If it asks for a previous owner’s Apple Account password at any point, stop. If setup sails past that and reaches the home screen, the phone is genuinely yours.

Step 2: Does the IMEI match everywhere it should?

Open the dialer, type *#06#, and the IMEI appears instantly. No call needed.

Now match it against Settings → General → About and against the barcode on the original box. On iPhone 6s through iPhone 13 the IMEI is also engraved inside the SIM tray, which gives you a third place to compare. iPhone 14 and later carry no engraving at all, so on those it is box against phone. Dual-SIM and eSIM handsets list an IMEI and an IMEI2, which is normal, not a warning sign.

If the number on the box does not match the number in the phone, stop there. Nothing explains that away.

Step 3: Is it clean? Check Apple, then check CEIR

Two different questions, two different websites.

Apple: is it a real iPhone? Apple’s coverage page now asks for the serial number, not the IMEI. Copy the serial from Settings → General → About, go to checkcoverage.apple.com, enter it with the CAPTCHA and submit. Apple should return the device and its coverage status. If the serial draws a blank, or Apple names a model that is not the phone in your hand, walk away.

One honest warning, because we would rather you heard it from us: good fakes are flashed with a serial and IMEI copied off a genuine iPhone. A clean Apple result is a strong sign, not a guarantee. It has to agree with everything else on this list.

CEIR: is it stolen or blocked? This one is India-specific and worth the two minutes. Use the government’s Know Your Mobile (KYM) service at ceir.sancharsaathi.gov.in, or the Sanchar Saathi app, or simply SMS KYM <15-digit IMEI> to 14422. Keep your own phone handy, because the website sends an OTP to your Indian number first. If it comes back blacklisted, duplicate or already in use, that handset can go dead on Indian networks any day. Both of these checks happen on our bench before we put a price on a phone.

Step 4: What does the model number tell you? (and the India trap)

Go to Settings → General → About and find Model Number. The long code next to it, the one ending in /A, is what you want. Do not tap it: tapping swaps the display to a short hardware code like A3083, which tells you nothing about history. Tap again to bring the letter code back.

The first letter records how the unit first left Apple:

• M — sold new at retail. The most common by far.
• F — refurbished by Apple themselves.
• N — a replacement unit Apple issued, usually under warranty.
• P — personalised, an engraved unit.

None of those letters are bad news, and here is the nuance most sellers skip: this letter never changes afterwards. A phone refurbished by us, or by anyone other than Apple, still reads M. So it tells you how the phone started life, not what has been done to it since. Use it to catch a story that does not add up, not as a grade.

Now scroll a little further to Carrier Lock. It must say No SIM restrictions. This is the trap that catches Indian buyers of cheap “imported” refurbished iPhones: the handset passes every other check, looks flawless, and then refuses to accept a Jio or Airtel SIM because it is locked to a foreign network. There is no easy fix. Check this line before you pay, every single time.

Step 5: Battery health and repair history

The menu moved, so the path depends on the model. On iPhone 15 and later: Settings → Battery → Battery Health. On iPhone 14 and earlier: Settings → Battery → Battery Health & Charging.

Read the Maximum Capacity figure and compare it against the number the seller gave you. If all you were told was “battery is strong”, you were never given anything you can hold them to. On iPhone 15 and later Apple also shows the cycle count and the dates the battery was made and first used, which is much harder for a seller to talk around than a percentage.

Then open Settings → General → About → Parts and Service History. What it covers depends on the model, and this is where most guides mislead people:

• iPhone XR, XS, XS Max, SE (2nd and 3rd gen): battery only. A replaced screen will not show up here at all.
• iPhone 11 models: battery and display.
• iPhone 12 and later: battery, display, logic board, front camera and rear cameras.

The section only appears if the phone has actually been repaired, and only on iOS 15.2 or later, so no section at all is the normal, clean case. Apple labels each part with one word: Genuine, Used, Unverified or Unknown.

Unknown does not automatically mean a cheap part was fitted. Apple shows it when a part is not working as expected, and also when a perfectly genuine part was never registered to the phone after the repair, which is what happens at almost any independent shop. What it always means is that the phone has a history the seller should have mentioned. Used means a genuine Apple part taken from another iPhone. Unverified against the logic board means the board came out of a different handset, and Apple warns that can affect features like Apple Pay. That last one we would not buy at any price. If you are still weighing up which model to go for, our refurbished iPhone buying guide covers what is worth paying for at each budget.

Step 6: Does everything actually work?

The steps above prove the phone is real. This one proves it is good, and it is the step buyers skip most often.

• Screen. Open a plain white image, then a plain black one. Look for dead pixels, patches, or a faint permanent shadow. Then drag an icon into all four corners to check the touch layer everywhere.
• Face ID or Touch ID. Set it up properly, not just glance at the toggle. A broken sensor is expensive and very common on repaired units.
• Cameras. Shoot with every lens, front and back, and switch between them. Check for spots, haze, or a lens that will not focus.
• Sound and mics. Play music, make a real call, record a voice memo and play it back.
• Charging and buttons. Plug it in and confirm it charges. Press every button, including the volume rocker and the silent switch.
• Water damage. Look into the SIM slot with a torch. A red indicator inside means water has been in there.

Buying a refurbished Android? Same idea, different menus

*#06# works on Android too, and the IMEI still has to match the box and Settings → About phone. Run it through CEIR exactly the same way. Then three Android-specific ones: make sure the previous owner’s Google account has been removed (a factory-reset-protected phone will demand it during setup), check that the software is the real manufacturer build rather than a cheap skin, and confirm the phone accepts your SIM before you settle up.

Get it in writing: bill, IMEI, warranty

Ask for a proper invoice with the phone’s IMEI printed on it and the warranty period written down. Not promised on a call. Written.

Without an IMEI on the bill you cannot prove which handset you bought, which is exactly what you need the day you make a warranty claim or report a theft. Our warranty policy spells out what is covered and for how long, in plain language.

If something fails the check

Do not accept a discount to make the problem go away. A phone that fails on activation lock, IMEI or carrier lock does not become a good deal at a lower price. It becomes a cheaper loss.

Being straight about how this works in practice: with Cash on Delivery, nothing leaves your pocket in advance, and you pay the courier when the box actually reaches you. Couriers cannot stand at your gate while you run a full setup, so pay, let them go, and run this list the same day. If the device does not power on, or it is not the model you ordered, you are covered under our 7-day return and refund policy. What COD really removes is the worst version of this story, where a stranger already has your money before you have seen the phone. If you want the fuller picture of what goes wrong for people who skip these checks, we wrote about whether refurbished iPhones are safe to buy.

The whole check, in one list

1. Power it on. No passcode screen, no “iPhone Locked to Owner”, and start setup to confirm it never asks for someone else’s Apple Account.
2. Dial *#06# and match the IMEI to the box (and the SIM tray on iPhone 13 and older).
3. Check the serial on checkcoverage.apple.com, and the IMEI on ceir.sancharsaathi.gov.in.
4. Read the part-number letter, then confirm Carrier Lock says “No SIM restrictions”.
5. Read Maximum Capacity, plus Parts and Service History if it appears.
6. Test the screen, Face ID, cameras, sound, charging and the water indicator.
7. Take the bill with the IMEI and the warranty on it.

Quick questions people ask us

How can I tell if a refurbished phone is original or fake?

Match the IMEI from *#06# against the box, check the serial number on Apple’s coverage page, and confirm the software and menus behave like real iOS. Then run the IMEI through CEIR to rule out a blocked handset. A phone that clears all four is real.

Can I check if a phone is stolen in India?

Yes. Use Know Your Mobile at ceir.sancharsaathi.gov.in, or SMS KYM followed by the IMEI to 14422. It tells you whether the handset is blacklisted, duplicate or already in use.

Is a refurbished phone with replaced parts a bad buy?

Not necessarily. A genuine screen or battery fitted to a five-year-old phone is normal and fine. What matters is that you were told before you bought, and that the price reflects it. A replaced logic board is the one we would avoid.

What battery health should I accept?

85% or above is comfortable for daily use. Between 80% and 85% is workable if the price is lower. Below 80%, budget for a replacement soon.

Every iPhone we list has this whole routine done before it goes up, and the listing states that battery health is verified at 80% or above before dispatch. If you want the exact figure for the unit you are looking at, ask us before you order and we will check it. You can see what is in stock on our refurbished phones page.