How to Check if your iPhone or Android is Refurbished or Brand New

Find something off about your new phone? Check if it is a refurbished unit.

Feb 22, 2023

At a time when smartphone prices keep soaring to new heights every year, many users prefer buying a refurbished phone over a new one. If bought from a reputable seller, refurbished phones can be just as good as new ones. Some even come with a warranty period. A lot of users may even find it hard to differentiate between a new phone and a refurbished unit. While this may be good news if you purchased the latter, it can be slightly disconcerting for new phone buyers. After all, there are a lot of shady sellers out there. Luckily, there are several ways you can check if your iPhone or Android smartphone is refurbished or brand new. Here are some of them.

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How to check if your iPhone is refurbished

Refurbished iPhones are far too common these days. Apple retails refurbished iPhones in its own online store. If you find the regular iPhone to be too pricey, you can get a pretty good deal on a refurbished one. Apple even changes the battery and the outer shell and makes sure all broken parts are either fixed or replaced before retailing a refurbished iPhone. On top of that, you even get a warranty of 1 year. Other sellers may not offer a warranty on the iPhone but usually ask for a lesser price than the official Apple Store. Here is our list of the best places to buy a refurbished iPhone.

Wondering whether your iPhone is refurbished or not? It is actually quite easy to find that out. All you need to do is look at the model number of your iPhone. Here’s how you can do that.

Step 1: Go to Settings.

Step 2: Select ‘General’.

Step 3: Select ‘About’. Your iPhone’s model name, model number, and serial number will be displayed.

Check the first letter of the Model Number.

If it starts with M, your iPhone is brand new.

If it starts with F, your iPhone is a refurbished unit provided by Apple or a third-party seller.

If it starts with P, your iPhone is a personalised unit with an engraving.

If it starts with N, your iPhone was issued as a replacement unit by Apple for a faulty iPhone.

How to check if your Android phone is refurbished

There are a couple of ways to find out if your Android smartphone is refurbished or brand new. Older smartphones display their RTN information upon dialling a code. Newer smartphones typically do not have this feature. Here are some methods that will cover every Android phone.

Use a dial code

Step 1: Open the dialer app on your phone.

Step 2: Dial ##786# (##RTN#) on the keypad. If this code doesn’t work, dial ##786#*#.

Step 3: Scroll down and check the Reconditioned Status. If it says Yes, your phone is a refurbished unit. If it says no, your phone is brand new.

Use a third-party app

Newer Android phones make it a bit harder to check if they are refurbished or not. However, there are certain third-party apps that will do it for you. Samsung users can download the Phone INFO+ app to check the refurbishment status of their device. This is a paid app, which isn’t ideal, but it gets the job done. Launch the app and tap the hamburger menu on the left. Select ‘Refurbishment Check’ and the app will let you know if your device is refurbished or brand new.

Check the IMEI number

If you purchased your phone from a shady seller and are now afraid they may have slipped you a stolen phone under the guise of a new one, you can easily find out its status by checking the IMEI number. Go to the About Phone section in the Settings app to find the IMEI number of your phone. Here are some easy ways to find the IMEI number of your smartphone. Now, go to imei.info and check if your device has any history of being stolen. If nothing shows up, your phone is likely brand new.

Conclusion

This is how you can check if your iPhone or Android smartphone is refurbished or brand new. While buying a smartphone, make sure you check the date of manufacturing of the device. If a long time has elapsed since the date of manufacture, it is possible that the phone may be refurbished. To avoid this, always buy electronic goods from reputable sellers only.

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