How to check if a phone is stolen before you buy it (free IMEI check)

Buying a used phone can save you hundreds of dollars. It can also cost you the whole price if the phone turns out to be stolen, still financed, or locked to someone else's account. None of these problems are visible from the outside, and a seller in a parking lot has every reason to say it is fine.

The good news: the checks take about 10 minutes, cost nothing, and can all be done before money changes hands. They work for iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel and any other phone with an IMEI, which is every phone that connects to a cellular network. Do them even when you trust the seller, because a friend of a friend can unknowingly be reselling a phone that was financed or stolen further back.

Three things that can make a used phone worthless

“Stolen” is only one of the risks. A proper check covers all three of these, because any one of them can leave you with a phone that will not work:

• Blocklisted (blacklisted) IMEI. The phone was reported lost or stolen, or it is tied to an unpaid carrier bill. US carriers refuse to connect it, so it cannot make calls or use cellular data.
• Activation Lock (iPhone) or Factory Reset Protection (Android). The phone is still tied to the previous owner's Apple Account or Google account. After a reset, it asks for their password and you cannot get past that screen.
• Carrier lock. The phone only works with the carrier that sold it. This is not a sign of theft, but it matters if you use a different carrier. See how to tell if a phone is unlocked.

How to check if a phone is stolen: step by step

Why a clean IMEI is not a guarantee

A clean result only tells you about today. There are two ways a phone can go bad after you buy it:

• It was just stolen. Reports can take days to reach shared databases, especially if the owner has not filed a police report yet. A phone that was stolen yesterday can still look clean.
• It is still being paid off. If the seller stops paying their carrier installment plan, the carrier can block the phone later, even though it was never stolen.

That is why the other checks matter. A seller who can show a receipt, the original box with a matching IMEI, and a phone that is fully signed out is much lower risk. For a phone that is only a few months old, ask directly whether it is paid off.

Red flags when buying a used phone

• The price is far below what similar phones sell for on Swappa or eBay.
• The seller will not share the IMEI, or the number on the phone does not match.
• The phone is locked with a passcode, or it is signed in to an account the seller “will remove later”.
• There is no box, receipt or proof of purchase, and the story keeps changing.
• They only want to meet somewhere dark or rushed, or only accept cash, gift cards or payment apps with no buyer protection.
• It is a brand new model being sold by someone who cannot unlock it or explain where it came from.

Safer ways to buy and pay

Where and how you buy matters as much as the IMEI check. A few habits cut the risk a lot:

• Meet at a safe exchange spot. Many police stations in the US have a marked area for online sale meetups. A phone store is also a good choice, since staff can check it works on their network.
• Use a marketplace with buyer protection. Swappa, eBay and certified refurbished sellers check phones or guarantee them. That protection is worth paying a little more for.
• Pay with protection. A credit card or a payment method with purchase protection gives you a way to dispute a sale. Cash, Zelle and gift cards do not.
• Get something in writing. A short message from the seller with the IMEI, price and date, saying the phone is theirs and paid off, helps if you ever need to report the sale.

If you are buying an iPhone, also check whether it was refurbished or had parts replaced. Our guide on how to tell if an iPhone is refurbished covers the model number and parts history checks.

Already bought a phone that turned out to be stolen?

Selling your own phone? Make it easy to trust

The same checks work in reverse. Buyers pay more for phones they can verify, so share the IMEI up front, keep the box, pay off any financing, and remove your accounts before the sale. Start with turning off Find My iPhone, then erase the phone. A phone that is unlocked, paid off and signed out is also the easiest to sell for a good price.