iPhone 13 mini Way to determine if phone is new (never activated) from serial no.?

[theorist9]

I'm planning to buy a new iPhone 13 Mini on eBay. I've read there are groups in China that purchase used iPhones, refurbish them and reseal them in counterfeit Apple boxes, and sell them as new. I figure the only way to protect against that is if you can use the serial no. to confirm the phone has never been activated.

I understand you can check that (along with whether any repairs have been done to the phone) from within the phone itself. But I'm not sure if it's possible to do that check pre-sale from the serial no. and/or IMEI no. I've read that, if you take the serial no. into an Apple Store, they can determine if it's been activated by checking their service system, but I don't know if that's true.

According to this video...

https://www.tiktok.com/video/7184725094361533701

....if you enter the serial no. into iunlocker.com, and you see a YES for "Past First Activation", that means the iPhone has been activated and is thus not new. Is this correct? Or might someone buy an iPhone and have it activated at the same time, but never use it (by which I mean never remove the white paper covering the screen)?

Also, how do you determine if a new phone is not a knockoff? If the phone isn't new, you can check the serial no. on apple.com ( https://checkcoverage.apple.com ) to verify it's an Apple device. But that doesn't work for new phones, since they've not yet been registered.

 

[Bigwaff]

I'm planning to buy a new iPhone 13 Mini on eBay.

I would be very suspicious of any seller who claims to have a brand new, unopened iPhone several generations old, unless the seller was a reputable large retailer. I’ve purchased many used or refurb unlocked iPhones on eBay over the years. I only purchase devices with 85% better battery health and from sellers who respond to questions about battery health. I prefer to buy from individual sellers rather than store fronts. It’s pretty easy to determine which sellers know what they are doing and which sellers are lame opportunists from feedback. If you are patient, you can get good deal.

 

[Casper461]

The one positive thing about buying on Ebay is if is not as described Ebay always finds in favour of the buyer so in that respect the risk is very small .

 

[JPack]

1. Many people can reseal and repackage a phone. It involves printing a label and pasting it on a counterfeit box.

2. If https://checkcoverage.apple.com/ says a phone is unactivated, then that means it's new. If it's been activated, the warranty will have a date.

Your biggest problem is knowing whether the phone inside the box matches the box serial number.

 

[theorist9]

1. Many people can reseal and repackage a phone. It involves printing a label and pasting it on a counterfeit box.

2. If https://checkcoverage.apple.com/ says a phone is unactivated, then that means it's new. If it's been activated, the warranty will have a date.

Thanks, that's consistent with what I found elsewhere. I found a phone on eBay whose serial no. gave me this on https://checkcoverage.apple.com, indicating it hasn't been activated.

But does this additionally tell me the phone isn't a counterfeit? I.e., would an unactivated counterfeit also give me this message, or would Apple instead say that the serial no. isn't recognized?

And what if the person buys the phone but doesn't activate it? Shouldn't checkcoverage show a purchase date?

Your biggest problem is knowing whether the phone inside the box matches the box serial number.

That's less of an issue, since prior to purchasing the phone I'll message the seller to say if the serial number doesn't match what they supplied I'll be returning it. I understand eBay has good buyer protections, and by also having that message as part of my purchase record I think I'll be good

 

[JPack]

Thanks, that's consistent with what I found elsewhere. I found a phone on eBay whose serial no. gave me this on https://checkcoverage.apple.com, indicating it hasn't been activated.

But does this additionally tell me the phone isn't a counterfeit? I.e., would an unactivated counterfeit also give me this message, or would Apple instead say that the serial no. isn't recognized?

And what if the person buys the phone but doesn't activate it? Shouldn't checkcoverage show a purchase date?
View attachment 2463192

This message suggest it's simply an unactivated device. An counterfeit device typically gets a cloned serial number from some other activated device, which will show a warranty.

If someone buys a phone but doesn't activate it, a date will not be shown.

The above screenshot suggests it was bought from a third party reseller and the reseller hasn't reported a date to Apple either.

 

[theorist9]

An counterfeit device typically gets a cloned serial number from some other activated device, which will show a warranty.

Suppose a phone with a legit serial number is no longer working, and Apple has no record of it being trashed. Can they create a conterfeit phone that shows that serial no. in its settings and sell it as a used original phone? If so, how can you tell if it's counterfeit? Will counterfeit phones be able to connect to the app store?

 

[FreakinEurekan]

I'm planning to buy a new iPhone 13 Mini on eBay. I've read there are groups in China that purchase used iPhones, refurbish them and reseal them in counterfeit Apple boxes, and sell them as new. I figure the only way to protect against that...

The BEST way to protect against that, is don't buy iPhones on eBay.

But does this additionally tell me the phone isn't a counterfeit?

Absolutely not. Counterfeit stuff is RAMPANT on eBay, and anything counterfeit will have a "Legit" serial attached to it.

 

[JPack]

Suppose a phone with a legit serial number is no longer working, and Apple has no record of it being trashed. Can they create a conterfeit phone that shows that serial no. in its settings and sell it as a used original phone? If so, how can you tell if it's counterfeit? Will counterfeit phones be able to connect to the app store?

If it's no longer working, then it would have been activated at some point, which means it will show a warranty end date on the Apple warranty check site.

Yes, a counterfeit phone can display a serial # in Settings. But those are running Android and will not connect to the App Store.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Buying Apple products on eBay is too risky. Ebay is filled with counterfeits.

 

[theorist9]

If it's no longer working, then it would have been activated at some point, which means it will show a warranty end date on the Apple warranty check site.

Yes, a counterfeit phone can display a serial # in Settings. But those are running Android and will not connect to the App Store.

So to summarize:

If the coverage check returns "device not activated", that means it's an unused phone. It probably also means it's not counterfeit, since they'd have to clone a serial number from a phone that's never been activated, and for an iPhone 13 Mini those are now fairly rare. But you can confirm it's original by connecting to the App Store

If the coverage check returns an activation date, that means the phone is used. In addition, it means there's also a reasonable chance the serial number is cloned, since it's easy to find used iPhone 13 Minis. But you can confirm it's original by connecting to the App Store

 

[klasma]

A “counterfeit” iPhone (i.e. running Android) will be fairly obvious in all manners of ways, in particular if you already owned an iPhone. Only the most clueless buyers will fall for it. I wouldn’t worry about that possibility, you’ll be able to get your money back via buyer protection.

 

[theorist9]

A “counterfeit” iPhone (i.e. running Android) will be fairly obvious in all manners of ways, in particular if you already owned an iPhone. Only the most clueless buyers will fall for it. I wouldn’t worry about that possibility, you’ll be able to get your money back via buyer protection.

That makes me wonder why even Apple service centers were scammed by fake iPhones. You'd think their diagnostic equipment would detect this.....

Counterfeit iPhone scam lands pair in prison for ripping off $2.5 million from Apple

Hoatian Sun and Pengfei Xue are on their way to prison after the Justice Department said their iPhone repair scheme cost the tech giant millions in losses.

www.usatoday.com

The article says "an Apple Brand Integrity Investigator caught on to the scheme after finding the fake devices' unique numbers belonged to real customers." Shouldn't an "Apple Brand Integrity Investigator" be able to directly determine they're fakes b/c they're running Android, rendering a serial number comparison unnecessary?

 

[JPack]

So to summarize:

If the coverage check returns "device not activated", that means it's an unused phone. It probably also means it's not counterfeit, since they'd have to clone a serial number from a phone that's never been activated, and for an iPhone 13 Mini those are now fairly rare. But you can confirm it's original by connecting to the App Store

If the coverage check returns an activation date, that means the phone is used. In addition, it means there's also a reasonable chance the serial number is cloned, since it's easy to find used iPhone 13 Minis. But you can confirm it's original by connecting to the App Store

Yes, correct.

 

[JPack]

That makes me wonder why even Apple service centers were scammed by fake iPhones. You'd think their diagnostic equipment would detect this.....

Counterfeit iPhone scam lands pair in prison for ripping off $2.5 million from Apple

Hoatian Sun and Pengfei Xue are on their way to prison after the Justice Department said their iPhone repair scheme cost the tech giant millions in losses.

www.usatoday.com

The article says "an Apple Brand Integrity Investigator caught on to the scheme after finding the fake devices' unique numbers belonged to real customers." Shouldn't an "Apple Brand Integrity Investigator" be able to directly determine they're fakes b/c they're running Android, rendering a serial number comparison unnecessary?

Those phones submitted to Apple weren't working and couldn't power on. Back then, the IMEI was engraved on the SIM tray. Presented with a fake device and a SIM tray containing a cloned IMEI, Apple replaced those devices. It wasn't until later Apple tore down those devices they discovered the fraud.