It takes a second to break or water damage your phone. Yet fixing it is a whole different story. Sell broken phone to SellBroke instead and buy a new one.
Today we are going to discuss a few things that one should take into consideration when buying an Android smartphone on the secondhand market. It’s a great way to save money if you are willing to get a secondhand device. I have had second-hand refurbished iPhones since the 4S and I haven’t experienced any problems aside from having to wait on a contract to finish up one time. But that was my fault for not making sure the contract was terminated properly. Basically there are 3 considerations to keep in mind when out there buying a used phone.
Number One:
It’s in your best interest to make sure that the phone is not reported as lost or stolen, also as mentioned it’s a good idea to make sure its current contract has expired. So how do you find out if the phone has been reported as lost or stolen? Fortunately, that’s an easy one. Simply locate the IMEI number that’s usually found under the battery or can be found under Settings > About Phone > Status > IMEI Information.
Once you have the number you can check out your number’s validity on a website such as www.imei.info. Simply enter your IMEI to check its status. Keep in mind the IMEI is also sometimes called the ESN or MEID number. You need to make sure that it has not been blacklisted and that the activation status is in good standing. Don’t forget about the iCloud lock when checking an iPhone. If those things check out then you’re good to go.
Number Two:
Make sure that the phone you’re trying to buy has not had any water damage. Many times people have purchased a secondhand phone only to find out that there has been previous water damage. Luckily there is an indicator in every phone. Every brand of phone may be a bit different, however it’s generally a white dot either near the battery or sometimes even on the battery. If it’s an older generation iPhone you can find the dot in the audiojack. This little indicator turns pink when it comes in contact with water. If it’s pink, obviously you should not purchase that phone because even if it turns on and seems to work, it will fairly soon die. Many people like to get rid of their phones before it dies completely. You don’t want to be on the wrong end of that transaction because will have just wasted money.
Number Three:
Always perform a factory reset. The reason for this is to erase all of the prior owner’s information and sign in information. The phone may still be setup with their Google account and the cloud could still be associated with that particular phone. So when you go to sync your phone it could all be uploaded to their previous owner’s account. You always need to take care and make sure that you protect yourself and your personal information. Also if you’re phone is 5.1 or newer and you do a hard reset and their accounts are still connected with the phone you won’t be able to bypass it and set it back up.
These are the three main things to check out and take care of before buying any secondhand phone. If you are buying from a Craigslist seller or someone online and you can’t physically see the phone I would suggest to find a phone that you can physically see before purchasing. If you are set to buy online make sure that you have maintain good communication between you and the seller in case anything comes up and you need to contact them for resetting the phone or any issue that may arise.
Selling broken phone nowadays is easier than ever. Check how SellBroke can save you a headache by simply buying your smartphone in any condition.
