How to Check a Used iPhone Before Buying
A practical checklist for inspecting a used iPhone before you buy — IMEI, Activation Lock, battery health, and more.
Buying a used iPhone in Nigeria almost always means meeting a stranger, handing over cash or paying on the spot, and hoping the phone works as well tomorrow as it does in front of you today. A few minutes of checking before you pay can save you a lot of regret.
Check the IMEI first, before you even switch it on
Dial *#06# on the phone to bring up its IMEI number, then compare it to the IMEI printed on the box or in Settings > General > About. If the seller can't produce a box and the phone is locked before you can check Settings, that's already worth pausing over. You can also check whether the IMEI has been reported lost or stolen through Apple's own "Check Coverage" page, though this mainly confirms warranty status rather than theft history.
Check Activation Lock and iCloud status
This is the single most important check. Go to Settings > [name] at the top, or Settings > General > About, and confirm "Find My iPhone" is off, or ask the seller to sign out of their Apple ID in front of you and let you sign in with your own. A phone still locked to someone else's Apple ID can become permanently unusable the moment they decide to lock it remotely, even after you've paid.
Check battery health honestly
Go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging. Anything above 85% is generally fine for daily use. Below 80%, expect the phone to need a battery replacement sooner rather than later, and factor that cost into your offer. Some sellers reset this by swapping in a cheap non-genuine battery, which can actually make the reported percentage look better while performing worse — if the number looks suspiciously perfect on an old phone, ask when the battery was last replaced.
Test everything with your hands, not just your eyes
Make a call to confirm the earpiece and microphone both work. Take a photo with both cameras. Plug in headphones if it has a port, or test Bluetooth pairing. Charge it for a minute to confirm the charging port isn't loose. Check under bright light for screen burn-in or a slightly different tint at the edges, which can mean a replaced screen.
Face ID and Touch ID
Set up Face ID or Touch ID yourself during the inspection. If it fails repeatedly or the option is greyed out, the phone's biometric sensor may have been affected by a screen or button replacement — a real cost to fix, and a sign the phone has had more work done on it than the seller may be telling you.
Agree on the basics before money changes hands
Confirm the storage size matches what's advertised (Settings > General > About > Capacity), and take a photo of the IMEI and serial number for your own records. If you're buying on Vaza, keep the conversation and payment inside the platform's checkout — it's the only way to have real recourse if something you checked in person turns out to have been misrepresented.
Back to all guides