Perhaps no smartphone is featured in fraudulent schemes as often as the iPhone. Actually, this is not surprising – the device is very expensive and if you sell a cheap fake or a refurbished original instead, you can make good money on the difference in price. This is done not only by private individuals offering used goods, but also by some stores. In order not to become a victim of deception, we propose to figure out how to establish the ownership of the iPhone by Apple, and not by an unknown Chinese company.
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Check iPhone by model
iPhones are manufactured for different countries with different sales and service conditions. In some regions, the phone is focused on a specific cellular operator, and you will not be able to use another SIM card. For example, this will happen if you get your hands on an iPhone from Egypt, the UK or Canada.
How to check the iPhone for belonging to a specific country (especially if the seller emphasizes the originality and official status of the device in your state):
- Open it yourself or ask to show the section: Settings – General – About.
- Find the line Model and look at the code: the last two letters indicate which territory the iPhone was intended for. The legitimate Russian versions have the letters RS.
Thus, it is easy to know if there will be problems using the iPhone after purchase. You should also not be too happy if the model arrived (or will be delivered) directly from the USA – the homeland of this device – and is marked with the letters LL. This is just the case when you cannot change your SIM card.
Check iPhone by Serial Number
For its own convenience and consumer assistance, Apple assigns a specific code to each of its phones. This makes it possible to instantly distinguish the original from the Chinese counterfeit. Proceed as follows:
- Open the same settings section as mentioned above, but this time look at the line marked “Serial number”. It should be composed of numbers and letters.
- Go to the official Apple website and run a serial number check.
If everything is in order, then first of all you will see a description of the model, and below information about the current warranty and activation of the iPhone. Compare the result with what the potential salesperson told you. Any discrepancy, of course, should entail an explanation and a price reduction.
If the search by number did not give any result, then you have in front of you an absolute fake, which has nothing to do with a well-known brand.
Check iPhone by IMEI
Several years ago, a number of states signed agreements on the export / import of mobile devices only with the presence of the IMEI code. It stores all the information about your phone or tablet and allows you to locate it. Naturally, any iPhone is also provided with similar markings, and by the IMEI you can find out if it is real.
When buying, do not be lazy to look at the IMEI on the box, go to the site imei.info or similar and drive the numbers into the search. Here you will see the most important thing: whether the iPhone is stolen and whether it is listed as missing. Such an acquisition can lead to a lot of trouble.
Functionality check by IMEI
IMEI is also used as an assistant in checking the iPhone not only for authenticity, but also for functionality. If the phone was created exclusively for one mobile operator, then it will not work with another, and you will lose the opportunity to call, and also remain without the Internet.
It is said above that you can go to the imei.info site (or a similar one, for example, iunlocker.com ) and drive in a value there. When you have verified the authenticity of the iPhone, made sure that it has not been stolen from the previous owner and has not been lost to them who knows where, pay attention to the line with the status: Locked or Unlock. In the second case, everything is in order: any SIM card will be perceived favorably by the device. In the first, the case is bad: below is the provider to which the model is attached, and you cannot change it (or you can, but under certain conditions, you need to contact the support service).
Checking Activation Lock status
The Activation Lock feature was designed to protect your iPhone from thieves. In case of loss, the phone is locked, and only the owner’s ID and password can restore it to life. Because of this, it became unprofitable to steal iPhones, and the level of hunting for them has significantly decreased.
But again, there were those who were able to benefit from a difficult situation: the iPhone can be sold, and then activated protection and demand your thing back. If the transaction was carried out without witnesses and by cash, then the injured party will hardly be able to prove that it paid honestly. In order not to fall into such a fraudulent scheme, you need to check the IMEI to see if the Find My Phone option is active. Let the previous owner of the device log out of his account and turn off the search, and then give you the goods.
Previously, data on Activation Lock could be found on the official Apple website: each original model was assigned a place in the database. But a few years ago the page was deleted, so now the status of the phone can only be determined by the IMEI.
How else to recognize a fake
You already know several surefire ways to distinguish an original iPhone, but if one of them is impossible to use or you still have doubts, pay attention to the following:
- The body should be metal, not plastic.
- The charger connector is not the same as in other smartphones.
- The operating system is iOS without any signs of Android and typical applications like the Play Market.
- On the back of the lid it is written that the design was developed in California by Apple, and assembled in China. If there is something else, then it is a fake. The cover itself cannot be removed.
Of course, all of the above does not mean that you cannot buy a used iPhone or a Chinese replica for it. Very often people even take locked phones – as “donors” for their own. But for such a product, you should be offered a completely different price, several thousand (or even tens of thousands) cheaper than a completely new original costs. Be attentive and careful.