This is a perfectly normal request, just explain that you’d like to make sure you can activate the used iPhone with your carrier after you purchase it. If you get the IMEI number of the used iPhone you plan to buy, you can scan it to make sure the phone isn’t reported as stolen.Ĭontact the seller and ask them to privately send you the IMEI number. It’s like the serial number, except it uses only numbers instead of numbers and letters. Get the IMEI numberĮvery iPhone has a unique IMEI number that cell carriers use to identify the phone. You should do this even if the seller claims they’re the original owner. This means that even if you found a way to bypass Apple’s Activation Lock, the iPhone wouldn’t work with any SIM cards if the previous owner reported it stolen to their carrier.īefore you buy a used iPhone, follow the steps below to find out if it’s stolen or not. In fact, the previous owner might be using their Apple ID account to track the location of the stolen iPhone instead.Įqually damning is the fact that most cell carriers share a universal blacklist for stolen devices. That’s not going to happen if the iPhone is stolen. You can’t set up a device if it is activation locked by someone else.Īpple’s Activation Lock means you can’t set up an iPhone and use it as your own unless the previous owner signed out of their Apple ID account first. But security features built into the iPhone could make it completely unusable if it was stolen. Not only do you need to worry about the police eventually knocking at your door and taking the phone back-without refunding whatever you paid for it. But even if that doesn’t bother you, there are plenty of other reasons a stolen iPhone makes for a bad purchase.

Of course, most of us don’t want to buy a stolen iPhone because of the moral dilemma it creates.

What if the seller won’t share the IMEI number.

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