Despite what many may believe, buying refurbished devices is not necessarily bad. However, when you pay for brand new equipment, it is more than a little frustrating to find out you received a refurbished, repaired, or swapped out device instead.
Whether a device is refurbished or not, you should know, before receiving it, Nothing short of what I mentioned should be an indication your seller is using shady tactics to get one over on you. It has happened before, and it will likely happen again. Companies and businesses lie and deceive customers of their hard-earned money.
So, how do you go about checking whether or not your phone is truly brand new? Is there a way to tell if you have received a refurbished Android device?
What to Look for on Your Phone?
At a glance, it may be possible to see whether or not you’ve been given a used or refurbished phone. Look for the following:
Was everything in the box? Are there any accessories or manuals missing?
Was it in its original retail box, or was it packaged in another way?
Look for scuffs, scratches, dents, and other physical marks that didn’t come from you, obviously
Use the serial number to check condition status on the manufacturer’s site (this works for Apple devices especially)
Look for a cheap or loose casing around the back or edges of the device
Outside of the more obvious physical signs, there is a way to use your phone’s software to find out the condition status of the device.
How to Check the Condition Status of Phone (4.0 and below)
Open the phone or dialer. You’re going to enter a hidden menu.
Use the keypad to dial ##786# (##RTN#). As soon as you complete the last entry, the RTN menu should open up. If that does not work enter ##786##. You’ll see two options if it works, one labeled View and the other Reset. Tap on View.
Scroll down until you see Reconditioned Status.
If you see a NO, then your phone is brand new. If you see a YES then you have a refurbished device.
How to Check the Condition Status for Newer Phone (4.0 and above)
- Open the phone or dialer. You’re going to enter a hidden menu.
- Use the keypad to dial ##786# (##RTN#). As soon as you complete the last entry the RTN menu should open up. If that doesn’t work enter ##786##. You’ll see two options if it works, one labeled View and the other Reset. Tap on View.
- Scroll down until you see Reconditioned Status.
- If you see NO, then your phone is brand new. If you see a YES then you have a refurbished device.
How to Check the Condition Status for Newer Phone (4.0 and above)
On most newer Android devices — and many Samsung models — the hidden RTN menu has either been disabled or is not available at all.
If that’s the case, you must download an app from the Google Play store that will provide the necessary information.
The app shown here is “Phone INFO ★SAM★” by vndnguyen. You can download any comparable app or tool if you prefer to use something else.
Phone Information
Open the Phone INFO app. If this is your first time it will ask for a variety of permissions including access to phone calls and the device camera. These permissions are necessary to gather information about your phone.
Keep in mind that some of the tools within the app require root access, which you may or may not have.
Tap the sidebar button and click Refurbishment Check. Not to be confused with the settings button in the top right (three dots). Give the app a minute to gather the necessary information.your phone is original
You will receive a message telling you whether your phone is new (original) or refurbished.
Bottom Line
Checking the refurbishment status on your actual device is quite simple. You can either do it from a hidden menu on older Android devices or use a detailed hardware information app on newer devices like the Galaxy Note 9.
If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to respond in a timely manner.