You’re standing on a street corner or sitting in a coffee shop, and someone is offering you a "mint condition" iPhone 15 Pro for $400. It looks real. It feels heavy. The screen is bright. But your gut is screaming that something is off. This is usually the moment people realize they need to check iPhone by IMEI Apple records to see if they're about to buy a paperweight.
Honestly, the second-hand market is a minefield. Scammers have gotten incredibly good at "ghosting" devices—making a stolen or blacklisted phone look perfectly functional until the moment you try to activate it with your own SIM card.
Finding the Magic Number
Before you can check anything, you need that 15-digit string. Most people know the *#06# trick. You open the dialer, punch it in, and the screen flashes your IMEI. Simple.
But what if the phone is stuck on the "Hello" screen? You can't get to the dialer. On newer models like the iPhone 14 or 16, Apple stopped printing the IMEI on the back casing. Now, you have to squint at the SIM tray. It’s engraved there in tiny, microscopic text. If you're looking at an older beast like an iPhone 6s, it’s actually on the back of the phone itself.
- Settings > General > About: This is the gold standard.
- The SIM Tray: Use a paperclip, pop it out, and look closely.
- The Box: If the seller has the original packaging, the IMEI is on the white barcode sticker.
Pro tip: If the IMEI in the Settings doesn't match the one on the SIM tray, run away. That phone has been tampered with or "remanufactured" in a basement somewhere.
How to Check iPhone by IMEI Apple Official Tools
Apple used to have a dedicated "iCloud Lock" checker that was incredibly blunt. It told you "Yes" or "No." They took it down years ago, likely to prevent hackers from brute-forcing serial numbers. Now, we have to be a bit more creative.
🔗 Read more: Samsung Galaxy Fit 3 Watch: Why Most People Are Still Sleeping On This Tracker
The best official starting point is the Apple Check Coverage page (checkcoverage.apple.com). While it's primarily designed to show warranty status, it serves a dual purpose. If you put in a serial number or IMEI and the system says "We're sorry, but this serial number is not valid," you are holding a fake. A genuine Apple device will always show up in their database, even if the warranty expired during the Obama administration.
The "Find My" Trap
This is where people get burned. A phone can be "Clean" but still have Activation Lock enabled. If the previous owner didn't sign out of their Apple ID, that phone is effectively a brick.
You can check this by trying to set up the device. If it asks for an email and password you don't have, it's locked. Don't trust a seller who says, "I'll send you the password later." They won't.
💡 You might also like: apt vs apt-get: Why You Should Probably Stop Using the Dash
Carrier Locks and the Blacklist
There is a massive difference between a phone that is "Apple Locked" and one that is "Carrier Locked."
An IMEI check can tell you if the phone is still under contract with AT&T or Verizon. If the original owner stopped paying their bill, the carrier will blacklist the IMEI. This means the phone will never get a signal again on any major US network.
I’ve seen people use third-party sites like Swappa’s free IMEI checker or IMEI.info. These are decent, but they aren't 100% real-time. The most accurate way? Call the carrier directly. If you have the IMEI, most support reps will tell you if the device is "Financed" or "Blacklisted."
📖 Related: Why AI Porn Taylor Swift Attacks Changed the Internet Forever
"An IMEI is like a fingerprint for a phone. It doesn't tell you who owns it, but it tells you everywhere that phone has been and if it's allowed to be on the grid." - Cybersecurity insight from GSMA standards.
Why Third-Party Checkers are a Mixed Bag
You'll find dozens of websites promising "Full GSX Reports" for $5. These sites pull data from Apple’s internal Global Service Exchange. While they provide a lot of detail—like the exact date the phone was sold and which store it came from—they are technically unauthorized.
Sometimes they are accurate. Sometimes they take your $5 and disappear. Honestly, for most people, the official Apple coverage check and a quick test with a live SIM card are all you really need.
The Physical Red Flags
An IMEI check is powerful, but it won't tell you if the screen was replaced with a cheap $20 knockoff.
When you check iPhone by IMEI Apple info, also check the "Parts and Service History" in the Settings. If you see "Unknown Part" next to the Display or Battery, the IMEI might be clean, but the hardware is compromised.
- Check the screws: Are the two pentalobe screws at the bottom scratched? That means someone opened it.
- Water damage: Pop the SIM tray and look inside with a flashlight. See a red dot? That’s the liquid contact indicator.
- FaceID: If the IMEI check says everything is fine but FaceID won't set up, the internal sensors are likely broken from a drop.
Actionable Next Steps
If you are about to buy a used iPhone, do this exact sequence:
- Request the IMEI before meeting. Run it through Swappa or a similar blacklist aggregator.
- Verify on Apple's site: Ensure the model name matches what the seller is claiming.
- Check Activation Lock: Physically hold the phone and ensure you can get to the "Choose a Wi-Fi Network" screen without a "Locked to Owner" message appearing.
- Insert your SIM: Don't just look at the bars. Make a phone call. Check if data works.
- Compare the numbers: Ensure the IMEI in
Settings > General > Aboutmatches the one on the physical SIM tray.
Don't rush it. A legitimate seller will wait three minutes while you verify the details. If they're hovering over you or acting impatient, that's usually the biggest red flag of all.