Buying a used phone: a 10-minute check at the meeting

Before you go

• Ask the seller for the IMEI in advance, so you can check it isn’t reported lost or stolen.
• Take your SIM card, your charging cable and, if you can, headphones.
• Charge your own phone: you’ll compare the Wi-Fi on it and send yourself the report.
• Remember the address fof.lol/smart. It’s shorter than the seller’s excuses. If typing on someone else’s phone feels awkward, make a QR code of it in QRBench on your phone and let their camera scan it.

Nothing needs to be installed on the seller’s phone: everything runs in its browser and nothing stays behind afterwards.

0Minute 0–1: the body and the IMEI

Before any test, just look. Turn the phone in the light: dents, a bent frame, a screen that has lifted at the edge (often a swollen battery), scratched screws or a gap in the glue that says it has been opened. Dial *#06#: the IMEI on the screen must match the box and the SIM tray.

1Minutes 1–6: SmartBench, the core tests

Open SmartBench and press Start full checkup. It leads you through the tests one by one; after each you mark Works or Problem. The core set takes about five minutes:

• Display: full-screen colours and gradients. A dot that stays the same colour on every fill is a dead or stuck pixel; light at the edges and blotches are bad signs too.
• Touchscreen: swipe over every cell of the grid. A cell that stays dark is a dead zone, exactly where you’ll want to type.
• Processor: run it twice. A big drop on the second run means overheating.
• Speakers: left and right channels and low tones at medium volume. Listen for rattling.
• Sensors: tilt the phone; the level bubble should settle in the middle on a flat table.
• Battery: is charging detected with your cable, and how fast does the charge drop under load?

Then the camera: switch between all the lenses, check focus and flash, and look for spots or stripes. The SmartBench guide has the full table of what a fault looks like.

2Minute 6–7: calls and microphone

Insert your SIM and make a real call: you’ll hear the earpiece and the other side will hear the microphone. If the phone will be used for video calls, MeetBench checks the camera, the microphone level and noise, headphones and the network in one pass. A microphone that only whispers or a camera that drops frames will show up right away.

3Minute 7–8: Wi-Fi

A weak Wi-Fi module is a classic hidden fault, and the trick is to compare. Join the same network as your own phone, stand in the same spot and run SpeedBench on both. Similar numbers: fine. Your phone shows 90 and theirs 10: the antenna or the module is in trouble, whatever the seller says about “the router”.

4Minute 8–9: locks and battery health

Two things no web page can check, and both matter more than any pixel:

• The account lock. The phone must be signed out of the seller’s Apple ID or Google account and reset, ideally in front of you. Otherwise it may stay locked to them after you’ve paid, and a locked phone is a very expensive paperweight.
• Battery health. On iPhone: Settings → Battery → Battery Health. On many Android phones: Settings → Battery or the manufacturer’s care app. Under 80% means a replacement soon; put that into the price.

While you’re there, press every button, try Face ID or the fingerprint sensor, and plug your cable into the port.

5Minute 9–10: the report as proof

Open the Report in SmartBench: every test on one screen. Press Share and send the link to yourself, in Telegram or by email. The whole result is packed into the link itself, about 100–130 characters, and nothing is stored on any server. Now you have a dated record of the phone’s condition at the moment you bought it, which is handy if something “suddenly” breaks a week later.

It works the other way round too: a seller who sends a SmartBench report link in the listing has nothing to hide, and the buyer can open it before even agreeing to meet.

Red flags: when to walk away

• The seller won’t let you test, or “the battery is new” but its health says 71%.
• The phone isn’t reset, or the seller “can’t remember” the account password.
• The IMEI on the screen doesn’t match the box or the tray.
• The screen has lifted at the edge, or the phone is noticeably warm doing nothing.
• Every problem has an explanation, and every explanation starts with “it’s normal for this model”.

Small faults aren’t always a reason to leave: a scratch or a tired battery is a reason to talk about the price. Just let the facts do the talking, not the seller.