What things to look out for when buying used phones?

Im looking to buy a GS5 soon off craigslist. Ive had good experiences with buying from people on CL and I'm not really worried about being scammed or anything, but I just want to make sure what to look for, research, or ask about when buying the phone. Its easy to see whats wrong or damaged exterior-wise, and if you use the phone for a few minutes, you can see if its running too slow or has anything immediately wrong with it, but what about the smaller things in the software?

Since they are carrier unlocked, I can get a GSM carrier GS5, and I will get it activated with either Metro PCS or Virgin Mobile, but most likely Metro PCS.

I know the phones need to have a clean ESN / IMEI / MEID, but how can I check before buying the phone or right when I'm about to? Can I see on the phone by looking in the phone info or dialing some number? How do i check at all?

Im pretty sure there can also be malicious intents in selling the phone used. Like can someone install some hidden software or packages on the phone that lets them remotely see whats being done on the phone or have data sent to them or they can track it, or anything else like that? Ive heard that this is possible on iOS as long as the iDevice is jailbroken and the right packages are installed. Would a factory reset take care of any threats like that on Android?

What else should I know or consider when buying a used phone? What should I be wary about? I just want to buy a used GS5 on CL and I dont want to run into problems trying to get it signed up with a GSM carrier or later on when using it. My mom bought an unlocked (I believe they are all unlocked) GS5 online, new, and got it activated with Metro PCS with no problems, so there should be no problems getting it activated there as long as the phone is fine.

Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

If you're buying on craigslist just bring a SIM card with you and refuse to purchase the phone unless they let you stick your SIM in and confirm the IMEI hasn't been blocked by the carrier.

Mchart said:

If you're buying on craigslist just bring a SIM card with you and refuse to purchase the phone unless they let you stick your SIM in and confirm the IMEI hasn't been blocked by the carrier.

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How would I know if the imei has been blocked with a SIM card? Would it say on screen or would calls not work, or...? I was thinking of just asking for the number, like maybe a pic for proof, and I can use the swappa.com imei checker to see if its clean or not.

DarkDubzs said:

How would I know if the imei has been blocked with a SIM card? Would it say on screen or would calls not work, or...? I was thinking of just asking for the number, like maybe a pic for proof, and I can use the swappa.com imei checker to see if its clean or not.

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The phone won't register on the network. No service.

DarkDubzs said:

Since they are carrier unlocked, I can get a GSM carrier GS5, and I will get it activated with either Metro PCS or Virgin Mobile, but most likely Metro PCS.

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pretty sure Virgin Mobile is CDMA-only (on Sprint's network)

As to phone blacklisting: A phone might not be blacklisted now, but it could be in the future (if it's under some sort of contract/Equipment plan, and the original owner stops paying in the future). There is no way to avoid this, and is an inherent risk in used phones now. The major carriers are starting to share blacklists and you can't avoid it

https://www.google.com/search?q=used+phone+blacklist+sharing

paperwastage said:

pretty sure Virgin Mobile is CDMA-only (on Sprint's network)

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Yes.

That's why I really don't recommend buying from craigslist. You've got zero protection doing so.

As much as I hate eBay and their 10% commission as a buyer eBay/paypal will protect you. Further, if paid with your credit card you can chargeback.

So buy your used phone on eBay. Craigslist is filled with stolen phones.

Make sure you make a call and test the face detection sensors. You want to be verify that the screen turns off when you place the phone near your face.

Go with the seller to the retail store and have the store note in the accounts that the phone was sold to you so the seller can't claim theft down the road and have your phone blacklisted.

Thanks for all the help and replies guys. Thanks to some help from TomsHardware too, I guess I'm not going with Virgin Mobile... I'd much rather go with GSM. I think ill be buying off Swappa.com instead, prices are good, organized, people have to register and there are trusted sellers, seller reviews, etc., so that seems way more secure and trustable. Like Mchart said, eBay would be an option too above CL. I also found out about the GS5's service codes, so ill use those to test the screen, sensors, all that stuff. Mi7chy, that's a good idea, if I buy off CL or something else in person, ill try to do that... also, would we go to the store that I would activate it with (Metro PCS) or the store of the carrier the phone was listed with the past owner or the carrier that the phone was originally listed with (carrier on back/front of phone)?

Since I'm on Verizon so I've only had to deal with one carrier. If you're dealing with multiple carriers it's good to play it safe and note on both plus it gives you a level of confidence that the seller is willing to go through the hassle.

I would go to the carrier that the phone came from for the transaction first. Not sure if going to the carrier you'replanning to use will do any good.

All the carriers are moving towards a universal blacklist for stolen devices so're screwed even on a different carrier.

Virgin Mobile has the GS5 on sale for $480 (brand new obv) so I was thinking of buying that instead of getting used or anything. Now, Virgin Mobile is CDMA, but I am going to go with a GSM carrier, Metro PCS, but the Galaxy S5 has a SIM card port... so I was wondering if that GS5 would work with Metro PCS? I imagine it would work out since GS5's are already factory carrier unlocked (right?) and it has a SIM card port, so I could stick in a Metro PCS SIM card, but would Virgin Mobile have it locked up to only work with them, or would there be any conflicts? So can I buy a GS5 from Virgin Mobile and use the GS5 with Metro PCS?



Also, what about Virgin Mobile pre installed apps and bloatware? Would that already be on or does it only get put on if the phone is activated with Virgin Mobile? If its already pre installed, can I delete that stuff? I believe I would have to root the GS5 to do that, right?

DarkDubzs said:

Now, Virgin Mobile is CDMA, but I am going to go with a GSM carrier, Metro PCS, but the Galaxy S5 has a SIM card port... so I was wondering if that GS5 would work with Metro PCS?

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no, won't work

Virgin Mobile's GS5 is the same hardware model (SM-G900P) as the Sprint model (aka you can flash the Virgin Mobile ROM on a Sprint/Boost/VM phone/vice versa)

however, as with all Sprint phones with the exception of the Nexus 5, Sprint locks down the SIM card on their phones. They allow unlocks for international SIMs, but still block domestic (USA) sim cards

here is a thread on Sprint GS5 unlocking... bounty still outstanding

I wouldn't touch CDMA phones with a ten foot pole. Your options are so limited for carriers, and if you ever travel to Europe you're fucked.

So I had been unleashing my google-fu trying to put all this together. I just feel it should be said that I have never used or owned an Android device (other than a Nexus 7 i use a bit), Ive never even really had a smartphone now that I think of it, an iPod Touch 4g is the best I have right now, and my cell phone is some cheap basic cell phone from QVC that runs on Tracfone... so its a tiny jump to a GS5 for me.

Anyways, I went to XDA-developers, thought I had it figured out, then found out everything I thought turned out to be false... But I guess you learn as you go, we all start at 0.
Im going to keep searching the forum and googling, but now that I'm in college, professors dont seem to mind dumping homework, quizzes and reading on you the second week youre in school, so i dont have much time or clarity to be searching and piecing this all together every day.

For now, my plan is to just get a T-Mobile GS5 from swappa.com (there is a "factory unlocked" one from T-Mobile being sold for $480, hopefully I can get that one in a couple weeks!). If its not unlocked yet, Ill buy an unlock code from TheUnlockingCompany for $40 (seems pretty expensive) and unlock it myself. Then I would take it to be activated by MetroPCS. I might root it before I use it at all, or maybe not, idk.
I wish I could get that Virgin Mobile GS5, brand new for $480 from them online, and could be unlocked. Im looking into it is possible to unlock a Sprint/VM phone as well.

DarkDubzs said:

For now, my plan is to just get a T-Mobile GS5 from swappa.com (there is a "factory unlocked" one from T-Mobile being sold for $480, hopefully I can get that one in a couple weeks!). If its not unlocked yet, Ill buy an unlock code from TheUnlockingCompany for $40 (seems pretty expensive) and unlock it myself. Then I would take it to be activated by MetroPCS. I might root it before I use it at all, or maybe not, idk.

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before you pay for an unlock code, try putting the MetroPCS sim inside the T-mobile locked phone

depending on the metropcs sim card and how the metropcs network is set up, you might not need an unlock (T-mobile and MetroPCS are the same network/ownership now)


http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1816418-T-Mobile-locked-device-on-MetroPCS
http://androidforums.com/metro-pcs/789094-t-mobile-lte-phones-do-get-lte-metro-pcs.html

Mchart said:

I wouldn't touch CDMA phones with a ten foot pole. Your options are so limited for carriers, and if you ever travel to Europe you're fucked.

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Verizon CDMA LTE phones are actually pretty good (most of them are SIM unlocked, works on GSM/LTE networks, depending on band compatibility/APN setup)

Yeah, before I unlock it and while I have the phone in my possession, ill pop in one of my parents MetroPCS SIM's and see if the phone works with it. Just to clear this up for me, if i put in a SIM card into the phone, will it install any info or data on the phone or present any problems when I activate it for myself with a new SIM card?

take it to whatever store - and have them test/activate on the spot. That's the only way I would ever buy a used phone.

Any person selling will be more than happy to meet there (safe place) and wait the 10 minutes to do the deal. anyone who refuses to meet and do business under those conditions is selling a stolen or less than legit phone.