Things to Check Before Buying a Used Mobile Phone
A used phone can be a bargain or an expensive mistake. Check PTA approval, the IMEI, battery health and account locks before you hand over any money.
Wajahat Rasool4 August 2026Updated 3 August 20267 min readTable of contents
A used phone can be excellent value — often half the price of new for something only a year old. It can also be a locked, blocked or quietly broken handset that you cannot return. The difference comes down to twenty minutes of checking before any money changes hands.
Work through this list in front of the seller, before you pay. A genuine seller will not mind. Anyone who rushes you is telling you something.
1. Check PTA approval before anything else
This is the single most important check in Pakistan, and the one buyers skip most often. An unapproved phone will work on a local SIM for a short grace period and then stop connecting to the network entirely. It becomes a Wi-Fi-only device.
Dial *#06# on the phone to display its IMEI numbers.
Send the IMEI in an SMS to 8484, or check it on the PTA DIRBS website.
Confirm the reply says the device is approved / compliant — not blocked, and not merely 'valid'.
Do this yourself on the actual handset. Do not accept a screenshot of an approval message — a screenshot proves nothing about the phone in your hand. A dual-SIM phone has two IMEIs; check both.
If the phone is not approved, the cost of registering it is yours to carry, and on a recent flagship that duty can run into tens of thousands of rupees. Price that in, or walk away.
2. Make sure the IMEI matches everywhere
The IMEI shown by *#06# should match the IMEI printed on the box, on the SIM tray or back of the phone, and in the settings menu under About Phone.
A mismatch means the motherboard has been replaced or the IMEI has been tampered with. Either way the phone is not what it is being sold as. This is the check that catches repaired and rebuilt handsets sold as originals.
3. Inspect the body, then the screen
Take the phone outside or under a bright light. Cosmetic wear is fine and negotiable; damage is not.
Frame and corners — dents mean it has been dropped hard. Look for a bent frame by laying it flat on a table.
Screen — check for cracks, and for a green or pink tint that indicates a failing or replaced panel.
Gaps — a lifting screen edge or a rattling back panel means it has been opened before.
Water indicator — on most phones a small sticker inside the SIM tray turns red after water damage.
A screen replaced with a cheap third-party panel looks fine indoors and washes out badly in sunlight. Always check the display outside.
4. Test the display properly
Open a plain white image full-screen, then a plain black one. White reveals dead pixels, discolouration and burn-in; black reveals backlight bleed and uneven patches.
Then drag an icon slowly into every corner of the screen and across the middle. If it sticks or jumps anywhere, the digitiser has dead zones — common on repaired screens and almost never mentioned by the seller.
5. Check the real battery health
On an iPhone, open Settings → Battery → Battery Health. Below 85% capacity you should expect to replace it soon, so negotiate accordingly.
Android rarely shows this directly. Note the battery percentage when you start the inspection and check it again twenty minutes later, with the screen on the whole time. A phone that drops 15–20% in that window has a tired battery.
Also feel the back while it charges. Unusual heat during normal charging points at a degraded battery or a poor-quality replacement.
6. Test every camera, port and button
Go through these one at a time. It takes three minutes and catches most expensive surprises.
Cameras — front, rear, ultra-wide and telephoto. Check each lens for internal dust, haze or scratches.
Charging port — plug in a cable and wiggle it gently. It should stay connected without being held.
Speakers and mic — play music, then record a voice note and play it back.
Buttons — power, both volume directions, and the fingerprint sensor or Face ID.
Connectivity — put your own SIM in and make a real call. Test Wi-Fi and Bluetooth too.
7. Confirm it is not locked to someone's account
This is the trap that leaves buyers with an unusable phone and no recourse. A phone still signed in to the seller's iCloud or Google account will lock itself the moment it is factory reset.
Ask the seller to do this in front of you, before you pay:
Sign out of iCloud (iPhone) or remove the Google account (Android).
Perform a full factory reset.
Set the phone up as new and confirm it reaches the home screen without asking for anyone's password.
If the seller refuses to reset the phone in front of you, end the deal. There is no legitimate reason to refuse, and once you have paid there is nothing you can do about an activation-locked handset.
8. Ask for the box, charger and receipt
The original box matters mainly because it carries the IMEI you can cross-check. A purchase receipt is better still — it proves the phone was bought legitimately and tells you exactly how old it is.
Missing accessories are a fair reason to negotiate. Missing proof of purchase on a very cheap flagship is a reason to be careful: stolen phones are usually priced to move quickly.
9. Settle the price after testing, not before
Look up what the same model, storage size and condition is actually selling for right now — not its launch price. Then let the inspection inform the number.
A battery at 80%, a replaced screen or a missing charger are all legitimate grounds to pay less. You are in a much stronger position quoting a specific finding than asking for a discount in general terms.
If a price is far below every comparable listing, that is not luck. Ask why, and be ready to walk away from the answer.
10. Meet and pay safely
Meet somewhere public and busy, in daylight, and bring someone with you.
Never send money in advance — not for a deposit, not for 'delivery charges', not for anything.
Pay only after you have finished testing, in person, once the phone is in your hand.
Keep the conversation in ListQuikk chat so there is a record if something goes wrong.
Our Safety Tips and Scam Prevention guides cover meeting and payment safety in more detail.
The short version
If you only have five minutes, do these four:
Check PTA approval by dialling *#06# and verifying the IMEI yourself.
Factory reset the phone in front of the seller and confirm it sets up clean.
Check battery health and the screen under bright light.
Pay in person, in a public place, after testing.
Everything checks out? Then you have found a genuinely good deal — and you know exactly what you are buying.
Frequently asked questions
Dial *#06# on the phone to see its IMEI, then send that IMEI by SMS to 8484 or check it on the PTA DIRBS website. Do it on the handset itself rather than trusting a screenshot.
It will work on a local SIM for a short grace period and then stop connecting to the network. To use it afterwards you must register it and pay the duty yourself, which on a recent flagship can be substantial.
Check that the IMEI is not blocked, ask for the original purchase receipt, and be sceptical of any price far below every comparable listing. A seller who will not meet in public or show proof of purchase is a serious warning sign.
Above 85% is healthy. Between 80% and 85% is usable but you should factor in a replacement. Below 80% the battery needs changing, and the price should reflect that.
No. Advance payments are the most common scam on any marketplace. Pay in full, in person, only after you have inspected the phone.
Ready to start looking?
Browse verified mobile phone listings from sellers across Pakistan, and take this checklist with you to the meeting.
Written by
Wajahat Rasool