A used phone is the best value in consumer electronics right now. A two-year-old flagship costs a fraction of the new price and does virtually everything the current model does.

It is also one of the easiest things to get badly wrong. We buy and sell a lot of pre-owned devices here in Des Moines, and we regularly see people bring in a phone they bought from a stranger online that cannot be activated, cannot be unlocked, or has a battery on its last legs.

Here is what actually matters when you buy used, in the order you should check it.

1. Check the IMEI before anything else

This is the single most important step, and it takes two minutes.

Every phone has a unique IMEI number. Dial *#06# on the device and it will display. That number tells you whether the phone has been reported lost or stolen, and whether it is blacklisted by carriers.

A blacklisted phone will not activate on any US network. It does not matter how good the deal was or how honest the seller seemed — the device is a paperweight for calls and data. Free IMEI checkers exist online, and any legitimate seller will give you the IMEI before you hand over money. If someone will not, walk away. That refusal is the whole answer.

It also tells you whether the phone still has a balance owed on a carrier payment plan, which can get it blacklisted later, after you have bought it.

2. Make sure activation lock is off

This is the one that catches the most people.

On an iPhone, Find My iPhone must be turned off and the previous owner must be signed out of their Apple account. On Android, the Google account must be removed. If the phone still has the previous owner’s account attached, you cannot set it up. There is no workaround, no unlock service, and no repair shop that can bypass it — including us.

Test this properly before you pay: the phone should boot to the initial setup screen with no account attached. If it boots to someone else’s home screen, or asks for a password you do not have, it is not ready to sell.

3. Battery health is where the real value sits

A used phone with a worn battery is not a bargain. It is a phone plus a repair bill.

On iPhone, check Settings › Battery › Battery Health. Below 85% and you should factor a battery replacement into the price. Below 80% and the phone will already be throttling under load. Android reporting is less consistent, but a phone that drops percentage in sudden jumps or shuts down above 20% is telling you the same thing.

This is also a genuine negotiating point. A worn battery is a fixable problem with a known cost, so it should come off the price.

Iowa winters make this worse

Cold weather temporarily reduces the capacity a lithium battery can deliver. A marginal battery that just about copes in September will hand you a phone that dies at 40% in a February parking lot. If you are buying used in Iowa, treat battery health as more important than people in milder climates would.

4. Check carrier compatibility

Not every phone works properly on every network. Some models are sold in carrier-specific variants with different band support, and a phone that technically activates may get poor coverage on your network.

Check the model number against your carrier before you buy, and confirm the phone is carrier-unlocked if you plan to switch. "Unlocked" from a private seller is worth verifying rather than trusting.

5. Inspect it properly, in good light

Ten minutes of checking saves a lot of regret.

• Screen: display a plain white and then a plain black image full screen. Dead pixels, discoloured patches and burn-in only show up this way.
• Touch: drag a finger slowly across the entire screen, edge to edge. Dead zones cluster near the edges and around old repairs.
• Frame: set it on a flat table. A phone that rocks has a bent frame, which usually means a hard impact and often a compromised water seal.
• Cameras: open every lens including front, ultra-wide and telephoto. Check for haze or dust behind the glass.
• Charging: plug it in and make sure it charges without wiggling the cable.
• Face ID or fingerprint: enrol a new one there and then. If the screen has been replaced badly, biometrics often stop working.
• Speakers and mics: play something, then record a voice memo and play it back.

6. Understand what a previous repair means in 2026

Repairs are not a dealbreaker, but they matter more than they used to. Modern phones pair certain components to the logic board at the factory, so a replaced screen or battery can trigger warning messages, disable Face ID, or hide battery health readings — even when the part is genuine.

That is not necessarily a badly repaired phone. But you should know before you buy, because it affects both function and resale value. Ask directly whether anything has been replaced.

Why buying from a shop beats a marketplace

We are obviously not neutral here, so judge the reasoning rather than the source.

When you buy from a private seller, you are buying an unverified device with no recourse. Every check above is on you, and if the phone is blacklisted next week you have no one to call.

A shop has already run the IMEI, confirmed activation lock is clear, tested the hardware and knows the battery condition. There is a warranty, and there is somewhere to go when something is wrong. We carry one of the largest selections of pre-owned devices in Iowa precisely because that verification work is the product.

If you are selling rather than buying, the same logic applies in reverse — we buy devices outright, working or not.

Already bought something that has a problem?

If you have ended up with a used phone that has a worn battery, a bad screen or a port that will not hold a cable, most of that is fixable and usually far cheaper than replacing the device.

We handle iPhone repair, Android and other phone repair, iPads and tablets, computers, game consoles and smartwatches. Most repairs are finished in under an hour, and we back parts with a 1-year manufacturer warranty — exclusions apply, and the full terms are on our site.

Get a price first with our instant repair quote, check our location, or contact us on 515-223-7719. We are open 10am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday, and we also offer curbside service and nationwide mail-in repair.

Frequently asked questions

How do I check if a used phone is stolen?
Dial *#06# to get the IMEI and run it through a free IMEI checker before you pay. A seller who will not share the IMEI is telling you something.

Can you remove activation lock from a phone I bought?
No. Nobody legitimately can. Activation lock can only be cleared by the original owner signing out of their account. This is why you must verify it before money changes hands.

What battery health is acceptable in a used phone?
Above 85% is healthy. Between 80 and 85%, budget for a replacement soon. Below 80%, treat the cost of a new battery as part of the purchase price.

Is a refurbished phone the same as used?
Not quite. Refurbished means it has been tested, and faulty parts replaced, before resale. Used from a private seller means only that someone owned it before you.

Do you buy phones that are broken?
Yes. A device that is not worth repairing to you may still have value. Bring it in and we will tell you what it is worth.