Is it possible to find out where the iPhone 5 was purchased from? How to check an iPhone before buying it in person: a comprehensive guide. ? What does checking the iPhone serial number give you?

To help you make a successful purchase, avoid disappointment and avoid unnecessary costs, we will provide some tips on how to properly check an iPhone before purchasing.

How to check an iPhone when buying in an online store

Online stores offer iPhones much cheaper than branded stores. However, such an acquisition is associated with certain risks.

How to properly check an iPhone and what problems can you encounter when buying a phone online?

First of all, make sure that such a check is possible. To do this, carefully read the terms of delivery and warranty. Do not hesitate to ask the manager again about important points of interest.

We’ll tell you in more detail how to check an iPhone for originality and performance, as well as what you need to pay attention to when purchasing:

1. It is necessary to carefully check iPhone externally. There should be no dents, scratches, chips, cracks or other damage on the case and screen. iPhone protective films should fit tightly to the surfaces (without “bubbles” under them). Please note that the box has not been opened before you. If you see traces of an autopsy, you should think about why it was opened before you and why you didn’t buy an iPhone.
2. You also need to check that your iPhone is complete. It is possible that the charging adapter will not fit European sockets, in which case the seller will be able to replace them for you. Or give an adapter as a gift.
3. To make sure that you are purchasing an original device, you should check your iPhone on the official Apple website ( https://checkcoverage.apple.com/ru/ru). To do this, you need to know the iPhone serial number, as well as its imei number. The required information is usually indicated on the iPhone itself and on the packaging box. Checking the iphone imei on the apple website is not difficult. You will find out whether such an iPhone is listed in the company’s database, its model, color and release date. Checking an iPhone by imei is also useful to identify a used device, or a phone taken from a showroom display.

1. Make sure that the online store is not underselling you new iPhone device category REF(iPhone that has been repaired, restored or returned to the seller for other reasons). To do this, you need to check that the serial numbers, as well as the imei numbers on iPhone case, on the SIM card tray and on the box are the same. Another sign of a refurbished iPhone is a white package without a pattern with the inscription “Apple Certified Refurbished” or “Apple Certified Pre-Owned”. You can also check it through the official website using imei. The refurbished iPhone will be activated before you and will not be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.
2. In Russia, iPhones certified according to the Rostest and Eurotest systems are most often sold. iPhones "Rostest" are officially imported into the country and adapted to its cellular networks“white” devices with a full warranty and service. “Grey” Eurotest phones are much cheaper, but may be tied to one operator, not serviced in the Russian Federation and have no warranty. The choice is yours. To distinguish one from the other, pay attention to the packaging and documentation. If the abbreviations “PCT” or “EAS” are present there, this is “Rostest”.
3. Please pay attention to the attached documents. Along with the box there must be instructions, a cash receipt, a purchase receipt (coupon) and a letter of guarantee for the right service. Documents must be certified by an official Apple dealer. They must contain a description of the phone (model, serial number), date of purchase, cost, receipt or invoice number, contacts for contacting the dealer.

How to check an iPhone before buying a used one

The situation is more complicated if you buy an iPhone secondhand. Such an acquisition requires a more careful approach and additional checks. To be confident in your purchase, completely protect yourself from possible fraud and properly check the iPhone you are purchasing, you will need the following:

• Valid SIM card.
• Charging cable and adapter.
• Connection to Wi-Fi networks.

1. Need to check appearance iPhone, presence of dents, chips, cracks and other damage. As a rule, it is better not to buy an iPhone with major mechanical damage. After the next blow, the phone will stop working. In this case, repairs can cost a hefty sum.
2. The most reliable way to check your iPhone by serial number is on the official Apple website ( https://support.apple.com/ru-ru/HT201296). Here you can check all the necessary information about the iPhone model, color and release date.
3. Having an iPhone box is always a plus for the seller. But here too you need to be careful. We need to check the iPhone again by imei and serial number. They must match those indicated on the iPhone packaging. If this is not the case and the previous owner of the iPhone kept silent about it, then perhaps he is hiding something.
4. It would be a good idea to check your iPhone on the websites www.chipmunk.nl, imei.info or iphoneimei.info. Using the IMEI number, here you can check such valuable information about your iPhone as model, color, release date, warranty expiration date, and also check whether the phone is included in the list of stolen and wanted by its former owner.
5. There are 3 categories of purchased iPhone devices: 1) compatible with SIM cards of any operators without additional settings – "unlocked" or Neverlock; 2) iPhones tied to a specific mobile operator and requiring additional settings to work with other GSM networks – "locked" or Lock; 3) iPhones reprogrammed to have no network restrictions – "unlocked" or Softunlock. We recommend buy only iPhones from the Neverlock category. The rest usually cause problems. You can check if your iPhone is locked by the presence of a backing circuit in the SIM card tray, as well as by how easily the iPhone will connect to the network with your SIM card and whether it will require additional settings.

The battery must withstand test operation in conversation mode, watching videos over the Internet using Wi-Fi for several minutes with a maximum decrease in charge level of no more than 1-3%.

We wish you a successful purchase and only positive emotions from using Apple equipment!

Buy a used device - this is good way save money, since many people sell their phones and tablets almost immediately after purchase, but you still have to reduce the price, and at current prices for equipment from Apple, this will be a decent discount. But when buying a used device, there is one big risk - paying for a broken or non-original iPhone or tablet. To avoid falling for scammers, you need to check the device before purchasing and follow several rules, which will be discussed in the next part of the article.

How to check an iPhone when buying second-hand

If you decide to purchase an iPhone, iPad or iPad touch from hand, and not in an official store, then the first thing you should pay attention to is the seller himself. This is a weak indicator, but before you buy something from a person, see if he inspires trust. If this is a supplier that is engaged in mass resale of used devices, then read reviews about it, contact its former clients: ask them if they were satisfied with their purchase, if the device broke some time after activation. But remember that many scammers fake reviews, which means not everything said about a seller on the Internet may be true.

If the issue is resolved with the seller, then the next thing worth checking is the device itself.

Appearance

Before buying, go to the official store and hold the desired device in your hands, study the tactile sensations of the material from which it is made. Find out the approximate prices at which you can buy an original device; if its used version differs in price too much, then it’s worth considering.

Items required to test the device

So, if you are making a deal, then in order to be completely confident in the functionality of the device, you need to have the following things with you:

Having the above things, you can easily check the operation of all functions and applications of the purchased device. What parameters you will need to pay closer attention to will be described further.

How to distinguish the device model

If this is not your first time encountering Apple devices, you can skip this point. But if this is your first time buying equipment from Apple, then this information will be very useful for you. It's easy to distinguish an iPhone 5 from an iPhone 6, but it's a little more difficult to distinguish an iPhone 4 from an iPhone 4S.

iPhone 5 and 5S

The two models are distinguished by the model number, which can be found on back cover by turning the device screen side down.

Also distinctive feature One model differs from another in the appearance of the rear camera and home button. The iPhone 5 has a narrower camera, while the iPhone 5S has a square on the Home button, which indicates the presence of the Touch ID function.

iPhone 6 and 6S

It is easier to distinguish these two models - just wrap the front side of the device with the screen down, and on the back check for a diamond-shaped icon with the English letter S.

iPhone 4 and 4S

Here the situation is similar to the iPhone 5, since you can check the device model using the code on back side housings:

The device model can also be determined by the location of the antennas.

You can read more about all device models on the official Apple website by clicking on the following link - https://support.apple.com/ru-ru/HT201296.

Checking the water sensor

Before purchasing a device, you need to make sure that it has not been recessed. Water penetration into iPhone, iPad or iPod touch can lead to both instant failure and corrosion of the metal, which will lead to failure after a few weeks or months. Another important factor is the fact that a device exposed to water will automatically void the warranty.

Apple devices have a special external sensor - Liquid Contact Indicators, a humidity indicator. If water has ever gotten inside the device, this sensor changes color from gray or white to bright red. Read more about where this indicator is located at different models phone, is outlined in the table:

Equipment

Now let's look at what should be in the box, besides the phone itself:

All other accessories must be purchased separately. If one of the components of the package is not in the box upon sale, then this must be separately agreed with the seller and will affect the price of the product.

Authentication

The next step is to verify the authenticity of the device using the serial number and unique code IMEI. This data can be found on the back of the box, on a special sticker. But this data should not be trusted, since the box may be from another device or the sticker may be fake.

There is a more reliable way to find out this information - through the settings of your phone or tablet, where no one can falsify them.

Another way to find out the codes we need is to pull out the tray where the SIM card is located and read the serial number and IMEI indicated on it. You can remove the tray using paper clip. This method has one drawback - not all device models have codes indicated on the tray.

The last way to find out the IMEI is to turn the back of the device and look at the small letters and numbers at the bottom of the cover, among which our treasured number is located.

As soon as you are done finding out the numbers and codes, you should go to one of the sites suggested below and enter the necessary data there. The site will show you detailed information about the device: color, release date, contents and filling, model number. Compare all the data with what you see on the device itself and with what the seller himself told you. If everything matches, then you can understand further. List of sites that provide similar services for providing information about Apple devices:

Of course, Lock devices are a little cheaper than Neverlock, but this saving will not lead to anything good, and there will be quite a lot of problems with a predefined operator, without the right to change it.

How to identify an unlocked device?

There are several characteristic signs that help to identify a device that was unlocked software:

Functional and physical testing

Now the last one remains, but at the same time almost the most important stage- checking the standard capabilities of the device and its appearance.

Frame

Check if there are any noticeable dents, cracks, or broken pieces on the case. All of these parameters can tell you how often the device has been dropped and subjected to other physical impacts. Particularly dangerous are damage to the antenna area, which can lead to communication interference.

Screws

There should be two unscrewed screws near the USB cable input. If they are missing, then we can safely say that the device was disassembled manually and, accordingly, the warranty does not apply to it.

Buttons

Check how well all the buttons perform their functions, since replacing buttons in the service can require a lot of money.

Camera

Check if there is external damage on the front and back camera. Try to photograph something with both cameras. If you notice inaccurate colors, the camera sensor may be damaged.

Screen

Open various applications, restart your device, check for dead pixels (black dots). If when you press the screen there is a crunch, or you feel unevenness or emptiness, then the screen is not original, it has been replaced. Pay attention to the uniformity of brightness and color reproduction.

Screen sensor

Move icons around your device menu, making sure they move smoothly. Try using the device in horizontal and vertical positions. If possible, quickly type the message on the keyboard, and all the letters you press should appear on the screen. If this does not happen, then the device has obvious problems with the sensor.

Battery

Start shooting a video and check how much the device shrinks in 2-3 minutes. A range of 1–5% is acceptable, all other parameters mean there is a problem, and no one wants to change the battery immediately after purchase.

cellular

Speaker

Everything is simple here - turn on any melody and check how well the device reproduces it. There should be no interference, no jumping, no rustling. You can also check the speaker during a telephone conversation.

Wi-Fi, Bluetooth

Check if these two functions work. Remember that Bluetooth only works with other Apple devices; it will not transfer files with Android. To the network Wi-Fi device should connect quickly and be able to download files through it.

Charger

For this item, you took a third-party battery with you. Connect it to your device and check if it charges.

Connecting to iTunes

If you happen to take your laptop with you, try syncing your device with iTunes. This will confirm its authenticity. You should not buy a phone or tablet that is not recognized in iTunes.

Sign out of your Apple ID account

The last thing you should do before paying money for a device is to completely sign out of the old Apple ID account that belongs to the previous owner. Otherwise, he can declare the device missing at any time and block it remotely, without asking your consent at all.

The main types of fraudulent schemes for the sale of Apple devices

There are several very plausible schemes that are most often used by attackers to sell a broken or unlicensed device by inflating its prices:

So, before you give money, thoroughly check the device using the instructions described above. Be very careful, give money only for what you personally held in your hands and tested. Demand a complete set or an explanation of why this or that item is missing. The main thing is to remember to log out of the previous owner’s account, since most scammers make money from this oversight of buyers.

To help you make a successful purchase, avoid disappointment and avoid unnecessary costs, we will provide some tips on how to properly check an iPhone before purchasing.

How to check an iPhone when buying in an online store

Online stores offer iPhones much cheaper than branded stores. However, such an acquisition is associated with certain risks.

How to properly check an iPhone and what problems can you encounter when buying a phone online?

First of all, make sure that such a check is possible. To do this, carefully read the terms of delivery and warranty. Do not hesitate to ask the manager again about important points of interest.

We’ll tell you in more detail how to check an iPhone for originality and performance, as well as what you need to pay attention to when purchasing:

1. It is necessary to carefully check iPhone externally. There should be no dents, scratches, chips, cracks or other damage on the case and screen. iPhone protective films should fit tightly to the surfaces (without “bubbles” under them). Please note that the box has not been opened before you. If you see traces of an autopsy, you should think about why it was opened before you and why you didn’t buy an iPhone.
2. You also need to check that your iPhone is complete. It is possible that the charging adapter will not fit European sockets, in which case the seller will be able to replace them for you. Or give an adapter as a gift.
3. To make sure that you are purchasing an original device, you should check your iPhone on the official Apple website ( https://checkcoverage.apple.com/ru/ru). To do this, you need to know the iPhone serial number, as well as its imei number. The required information is usually indicated on the iPhone itself and on the packaging box. Checking the iphone imei on the apple website is not difficult. You will find out whether such an iPhone is listed in the company’s database, its model, color and release date. Checking an iPhone by imei is also useful to identify a used device, or a phone taken from a showroom display.

1. Make sure that the online store is not selling you a REF device at the price of a new iPhone(iPhone that has been repaired, restored or returned to the seller for other reasons). To do this, you need to check that the serial numbers, as well as imei numbers on the iPhone case, on the SIM card tray and on the box match. Another sign of a refurbished iPhone is a white package without a pattern with the inscription “Apple Certified Refurbished” or “Apple Certified Pre-Owned”. You can also check it through the official website using imei. The refurbished iPhone will be activated before you and will not be covered by the manufacturer's warranty.
2. In Russia, iPhones certified according to the Rostest and Eurotest systems are most often sold. Rostest iPhones are “white” devices officially imported into the country and adapted for its cellular networks with a full warranty and service. “Grey” Eurotest phones are much cheaper, but may be tied to one operator, not serviced in the Russian Federation and have no warranty. The choice is yours. To distinguish one from the other, pay attention to the packaging and documentation. If the abbreviations “PCT” or “EAS” are present there, this is “Rostest”.
3. Please pay attention to the attached documents. Along with the box there must be instructions, a cash receipt, a purchase receipt (coupon) and a letter of guarantee for the right to service. Documents must be certified by an official Apple dealer. They must contain a description of the phone (model, serial number), date of purchase, cost, receipt or invoice number, contacts for contacting the dealer.

How to check an iPhone before buying a used one

The situation is more complicated if you buy an iPhone secondhand. Such an acquisition requires a more careful approach and additional checks. To be confident in your purchase, completely protect yourself from possible fraud and properly check the iPhone you are purchasing, you will need the following:

• Valid SIM card.
• Charging cable and adapter.
• Connect to a Wi-Fi network.

1. It is necessary to check the appearance of the iPhone for dents, chips, cracks and other damage. As a rule, it is better not to buy an iPhone with major mechanical damage. After the next blow, the phone will stop working. In this case, repairs can cost a hefty sum.
2. The most reliable way to check your iPhone by serial number is on the official Apple website ( https://support.apple.com/ru-ru/HT201296). Here you can check all the necessary information about the iPhone model, color and release date.
3. Having an iPhone box is always a plus for the seller. But here too you need to be careful. We need to check the iPhone again by imei and serial number. They must match those indicated on the iPhone packaging. If this is not the case and the previous owner of the iPhone kept silent about it, then perhaps he is hiding something.
4. It would be a good idea to check your iPhone on the websites www.chipmunk.nl, imei.info or iphoneimei.info. Using the IMEI number, here you can check such valuable information about your iPhone as model, color, release date, warranty expiration date, and also check whether the phone is included in the list of stolen and wanted by its former owner.
5. There are 3 categories of purchased iPhone devices: 1) compatible with SIM cards of any operators without additional settings - "unlocked" or Neverlock; 2) iPhones that are tied to a specific cellular operator and require additional settings to work with other GSM networks – "locked" or Lock; 3) iPhones reprogrammed to have no network restrictions – "unlocked" or Softunlock. We recommend buy only iPhones from the Neverlock category. The rest usually cause problems. You can check if your iPhone is locked by the presence of a backing circuit in the SIM card tray, as well as by how easily the iPhone will connect to the network with your SIM card and whether it will require additional settings.

The battery must withstand test operation in conversation mode, watching videos over the Internet using Wi-Fi for several minutes with a maximum decrease in charge level of no more than 1-3%.

We wish you a successful purchase and only positive emotions from using Apple equipment!

06.07.16 289 909 0

And don't fall for scammers

Let's face it: buy an official iPhone from your own hands - The best way buy an iPhone. At least if value for money is important to you.

Ilya Anonymous

Tinkoff Bank employee

You can buy an iPhone one and a half to two times cheaper than in a store. At the same time, you can maintain the warranty and receive the device in excellent condition for many years. Those who know how to buy second-hand delight me.

However, when purchasing, there is a high risk of running into scammers. Here are some ways to protect yourself.

In short: how to check an iPhone when buying it in person

1. Turn on. Do not buy if the phone does not turn on or shows a low battery.
2. Make sure your iPhone isn't slowing down.
3. Make sure that individual pixels are indistinguishable on the screen and that colors are not distorted at an angle.
4. Determine which country the phone is made for by the last letters of the model.
5. Check whether the warranty is valid by the serial number.
6. Check if the phone is listed in the stolen database - by IMEI.
7. Unlink the Apple ID record.
8. When buying, do not rush and take precautions: come with friends, choose a crowded place, do not buy if you are in a hurry.

What kind of phone do you need ideally?

Fraudsters are cunning, but you can avoid falling for their tricks if you know the subtleties. In an ideal situation, a used iPhone should be sold like this:

Check pedigree

In an ideal situation, the iPhone should be officially purchased, created for Russia and brought to Russia legally. To check this, go to “Settings” - “General” - “About this device”.

Here we are interested in the model and serial number of the device. You will also need IMEI for the future. Write them down in a notepad:

Using the last letters of the model, we will determine for which country the phone is made

By serial number - is it covered by warranty?

By IMEI - is the phone listed in the stolen database?

There will be two letters at the end of the model number. They show which country your iPhone was made for. Our iPhone has the letters LL - which means the phone is made for the USA. A Russian iPhone will have the letters RS or RU here. Here's what the other letters mean:

America

Brazil

Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Peru

Argentina

Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay

Europe, Scandinavia

UK, Ireland

Germany, Austria, Netherlands

Finland, Sweden

Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland

Norway

Portugal

Asia, Africa, Oceania

Philippines

Australia

Singapore

Using the serial number, you can check whether this iPhone is covered by Apple's warranty.

Go to checkcoverage.apple.com and enter the serial number of the device:

The serial number you are checking

If the phone was originally purchased in another country, then it may not be repaired in Russia

If you are offered an iPhone not for Russia, this does not mean that the iPhone is bad. Here are your risks:

1. You will not be able to repair this iPhone in the official service center"Epla." But you can repair it in any other workshop if their craftsmen have direct hands.
2. If you buy some exotic version of the fifth iPhone, it may not work high speed internet according to the LTE standard. There will be no problems with the sixth and further. The fourth iPhone does not have LTE at all.
3. You will overpay. Foreign iPhones, as a rule, will cost less than Russian ones. And a used one from abroad is even cheaper. If you are offered an American iPhone at a price 20% lower than in the store, you can bargain for at least another 20%.

Check background

Everyone has it mobile phone There is a special serial number - IMEI. Using this number you can check whether the phone is on the list of stolen ones. You wrote down the IMEI along with the serial number.

1. Go to any IMEI checking site. For example sndeep.info/ru. You can open several sites at once and check them in parallel.
2. Enter the IMEI and see what is written about it in the database.
3. If a phone with this IMEI was reported as stolen, you will see it.

Unfortunately, a phone with a good IMEI reputation may turn out to be stolen, just as the “Stolen” status may turn out to be false. But if they offer you an iPhone without a box, a receipt, charger and wires, and from checking the IMEI you found out that it was stolen - most likely, the device was indeed stolen. I don’t recommend buying one - they might come for it.

Unbind

Fraudsters have a trick: they quickly sell you an iPhone for a symbolic 7-10 thousand rubles. At the same time, you don’t notice that the iPhone is not disconnected from their Apple ID record. When the scammers have the money and you have the phone, the scammers remotely turn on “Lost Mode”, as if you bought a stolen phone. After this, the supposed owners of the phone start calling you and demanding that you return it.

Pressure and threats begin, and some buyers return the phone, because they bought it very cheap. You may even be offered a conditional “ransom” - from your own money. This is how the phone is returned to the scammers. And again: the phone is sold again, blocked and taken away. One such phone can be sold several times.

To avoid this fate, make the seller take the following steps in front of you. They are described on the Apple website, here is a verbatim quote:

1. Go to Settings > iCloud. Scroll down and click Sign Out. iOS 7 or later early version Click the "Delete Account" button.
2. Click Sign Out again, select Remove from iPhone, and enter your passcode.
3. Return to the Settings screen and tap General > Reset > Erase Content and Settings. If Find My iPhone is turned on, you may need to enter your Apple ID and password.
4. If you are prompted to enter a device password or restriction password, enter it. Then click Erase iPhone.

When the iPhone is erased, when loading you see White screen with greeting words in different languages. If you see something different when loading, the iPhone has not been erased and it is still tied to someone else’s Apple ID. An erased iPhone should look like this:

Personal safety

If you come across an ordinary honest person who really wants to sell you a normal iPhone, there is nothing to worry about. But this is difficult to understand if you met via the Internet. Therefore, always assume that you are going to meet a scammer.

Go with friends. Ask a friend or two to go with you to meet the seller. Even the mere presence of other people can deter a scammer. If you agree to pay in cash, give the money to your friends in installments in case the seller decides to hit one of you in the head with a hard, blunt object.

Choose a crowded place. It’s quite strange to buy an iPhone in a dark alley or in a half-flooded basement in an abandoned industrial area. Choose a place for the transaction where you can sit at a table, connect to the Internet, calmly examine the device and check its serial number and IMEI.

If in doubt, refuse. If you are invited to pick up an iPhone to a strange place, you don’t like the salesman’s voice or he pushes you too persistently - just refuse. Every day someone decides to sell their normal iPhone, and it’s better to wait a couple of days than to get involved in a dubious deal.

Signs that someone is trying to deceive you

Rush. The scammer will prevent you from checking serial numbers and IMEI, ask you to make up your mind quickly, push you and put pressure on you. Don't give in. If you find yourself in such a situation, turn around and leave.

The phone is slow. Chinese iPhone clones are sometimes indistinguishable from the original in appearance, but inside they are quite noticeably slow. If the iPhone scrolls through apps slowly, slows down when scrolling, and generally gives the impression of being slow, it’s probably a fake.

Strange screen. Another property of Chinese iPhone clones is a cheap screen. You've probably seen that iPhone screens are always bright, clear, with good viewing angles and expressive colors. Pixels are not visible on real iPhones. Cheap clones have cheap screens, pixels are visible on them, and colors are distorted at angles.

Isn't it easier to buy an iPhone in a store?

After all this, it may seem easier to go to the official Apple store and buy an iPhone there. And this is fair if you don’t want to go into details and waste time.

But on the other hand, at any moment on Avito hundreds and thousands of people sell their iPhones for 10, 20 and even 30 thousand cheaper than in the store. Sometimes guys buy iPhones for girls, and the next day they decide to part with them; sometimes people urgently need money; Sometimes an iPhone is simply not needed on the farm, so they sell it. These are normal working iPhones that will serve you for many years.

If you spend three hours selecting and checking such an iPhone and save 30 thousand, then your hour will cost 10 thousand rubles. Few people know how to sell their time so dearly.

conclusions

1. The official Russian iPhone will have the letters RS or RU in its model.
2. Check the serial number to see if your iPhone is covered by warranty.
3. There is a rush - there is no deal.
4. Battery dead - no deal.
5. It’s better to wait a couple of days than to get involved in a dubious deal.

Buying a used iPhone is always a risk, since in addition to honest sellers, scammers often operate on the Internet, offering non-original Apple devices. That is why we will try to figure out how to correctly distinguish original iPhone from fake.

Below we will look at several ways to make sure that what you are looking at is not a cheap fake, but an original. To be sure, when studying a gadget, try to use not just one method described below, but all at once.

Method 1: IMEI comparison

Even at the production stage, each iPhone is assigned a unique identifier - IMEI, which is entered into the phone programmatically, printed on its case, and also written on the box.

When checking your iPhone for authenticity, make sure that the IMEI matches both in the menu and on the case. A discrepancy in the identifier should tell you that either manipulations were performed with the device that the seller kept silent about, for example, the case was replaced, or this is not an iPhone at all.

Method 2: Apple website

In addition to IMEI, each Apple gadget has its own unique serial number, which can be used to verify its authenticity on the official Apple website.

Method 3: IMEI.info

Knowing the IMEI of your device, when checking your phone for originality, you should definitely use the IMEI.info online service, which can provide a lot of interesting information about your gadget.

Method 4: Appearance

Be sure to check the appearance of the device and its box - no Chinese characters (unless the iPhone was purchased in China), and there should be no mistakes in the spelling of words.

On the back of the box, look at the device specifications - they should completely match those that your iPhone has (you can compare the characteristics of the phone itself via “Settings” - “General” - “About this device”).

Naturally, there should be no antennas for the TV or other inappropriate parts. If you have never seen what a real iPhone looks like before, it’s better to spend time going to any store that distributes Apple equipment and carefully study the display sample.

Method 5: Software

As software used on Apple smartphones operating system iOS, while the vast majority of counterfeits run Android with an installed shell that is extremely similar to the Apple system.

In this case, it is quite easy to identify a fake: applications are downloaded on the original iPhone from the store App Store, but on fakes from the Google Play Store (or an alternative application store). The App Store for iOS 11 should look like this:

These are the main ways to determine whether the iPhone in front of you is real or not. But perhaps the most important factor is the price: an original working device without significant damage cannot cost significantly less than the market price, even if the seller justifies this by saying that he urgently needed money.