{"id":12,"date":"2026-09-12T19:11:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-12T16:11:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/checking-a-refurbished-phone-before-buying\/"},"modified":"2026-09-12T19:11:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-12T16:11:20","slug":"checking-a-refurbished-phone-before-buying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/checking-a-refurbished-phone-before-buying\/","title":{"rendered":"What to check before buying a refurbished phone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Check the actual phone you intend to buy, including its storage capacity and condition. A tidy exterior does not tell you whether the cameras, battery, network connection and charging port work as expected.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_87_1 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/checking-a-refurbished-phone-before-buying\/#Confirm_that_you_can_set_it_up\" >Confirm that you can set it up<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/checking-a-refurbished-phone-before-buying\/#Try_the_everyday_functions\" >Try the everyday functions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/checking-a-refurbished-phone-before-buying\/#Ask_what_is_known_about_the_battery\" >Ask what is known about the battery<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/checking-a-refurbished-phone-before-buying\/#Keep_a_record_of_the_agreement\" >Keep a record of the agreement<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Confirm_that_you_can_set_it_up\"><\/span>Confirm that you can set it up<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Ask the seller to demonstrate that the device can be reset and activated without a previous owner&#8217;s account. Do not accept an account lock on the promise that it will be removed later. For an iPhone, Apple specifically advises against buying a device with Activation Lock enabled. Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/support.apple.com\/en-us\/104999\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple&#8217;s preowned iPhone checklist<\/a> for model-specific checks, including carrier restrictions and available parts history.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Try_the_everyday_functions\"><\/span>Try the everyday functions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Use your SIM, where supported, to test a call and mobile data.<\/li>\n<li>Connect to Wi-Fi and try the Bluetooth accessory you expect to use.<\/li>\n<li>Record and play back a short video to check picture and sound.<\/li>\n<li>Try the front and rear cameras, buttons, touch screen and supported biometric unlock.<\/li>\n<li>Connect a suitable charger and check that charging is stable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Ask_what_is_known_about_the_battery\"><\/span>Ask what is known about the battery<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Ask for the battery-health information available on that model and any replacement history. Not every phone exposes the same measurements, and a percentage does not promise a particular day&#8217;s usage. Ask what battery faults the written warranty covers rather than assuming battery wear is included.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Keep_a_record_of_the_agreement\"><\/span>Keep a record of the agreement<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Confirm the model, storage, condition, accessories, total price and after-sales terms on your receipt or order record. Keep device identifiers private and compare them with the unit you receive. Read our <a href=\"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/buying-support\">support information<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/products\">compare available phones<\/a>. Ask for any missing details before payment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Inspect account locks, calls, charging, cameras, battery information and written condition details before buying a refurbished phone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buying-guides"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14,"href":"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12\/revisions\/14"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refurbishedphonesinkenya.co.ke\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}