How to check a phone is not blocked or stolen before you buy it
Last updated: 30 September 2026
Check the IMEI against a blacklist service to see whether the handset has been reported lost or stolen or blocked by a network, and confirm any activation lock — iCloud on an iPhone, Google FRP on Android — has been removed. A blocked or locked handset cannot be resold, so both checks happen before money changes hands, not after.
- Dial *#06# to display the IMEI, and check it matches the device settings.
- Run the IMEI through a blacklist checking service.
- Confirm activation lock is off before you pay.
- Record the IMEI you checked, so you can show what you did.
What a blacklist check tells you
Networks and industry databases hold IMEIs reported as lost, stolen or blocked. A check tells you whether the handset appears on one at that moment — which is genuinely useful, but is a snapshot rather than a guarantee.
A phone can be reported after you have bought it, and a handset stolen minutes earlier may not be listed yet. The check reduces your exposure; it does not eliminate it.
Activation locks
An iPhone with iCloud Activation Lock still on, or an Android with Factory Reset Protection, cannot be set up by a new owner. The seller must remove it with their own account credentials before you buy — and it has to be them doing it, not you.
Do this while they are still in the shop. A seller who cannot remove the lock has either forgotten the account or does not own the device, and both end the transaction.
Match the IMEI to the handset in front of you
Dial *#06# on the handset and compare it with the IMEI in the device settings and, where visible, on the SIM tray or the back of the case. A mismatch is a reason to stop.
Record the IMEI you actually checked rather than one copied from a box. If a question comes up later, the useful thing is a record tied to the device you took in.