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When your refurbished phone arrives, spend the first hour checking three things. That the device is the one you bought, that nobody else has it tied to their account, and that everything works. On a distance purchase, if no legal exception applies, the law gives you five business days from delivery to withdraw, so do the check at once and keep the box, the packaging and photos of everything. If something fails, look at the withdrawal right, the shop warranty and the legal rights that apply.

The first-hour list

  1. Photograph the sealed package, the shipping label and the inside as you open it.
  2. Dial *#06#. Compare the IMEIs on the screen with the one in Settings > General > About (or Settings > About phone on Android) and with any on the box or invoice. If it has two SIMs, check both. If they do not match, ask for a written explanation. Check whether it is reported on imeicolombia.com.co, as explained in how to check an IMEI.
  3. If the device comes from abroad, ask whether its IMEI is already registered. An unregistered IMEI gets an SMS and 20 calendar days to register before it is blocked.
  4. Confirm there is no account lock (Activation Lock on iPhone, factory-reset protection on Android). See the next section.
  5. On iPhone, open Parts and Service History.
  6. Check the battery health.
  7. Screen. Put up a white and a black background, look for dead pixels, stains and yellow areas, and test touch across the whole surface.
  8. Cameras. Take photo and video with the rear and front cameras, and focus near and far.
  9. Charging. Connect it with your own cable, not only the included one, and confirm the percentage rises. That tells a bad port from a bad cable.
  10. Sound. Call someone and use the speaker, the earpiece and the microphone. Play music.
  11. Face ID, Touch ID or fingerprint. Enrol your own face or finger from scratch, do not use what the seller left.
  12. Your SIM or eSIM. Insert your active SIM, or ask your carrier for the eSIM, and confirm it registers on the network, calls and sends messages.
  13. Keep the box, packaging, invoice and photos until the withdrawal period closes.

Account locks: Activation Lock and FRP

On iPhone, third-party pages that claim to check Activation Lock by IMEI have no confirmed accuracy. Apple says not to accept a used iPhone or iPad protected by that lock. The reliable test is done with the device in your hands. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. When it starts up again, the device must not ask for another person's Apple ID or password. If it does, it is still tied to another account and only that person can release it.

On Android, Google describes a device protection that, if the device is wiped, lets only someone who knows the Google account or the screen lock use it. It is switched off by removing the Google account from the device. If the previous owner did not remove their account before resetting, the screen asks for their credentials and you are locked out. To test it, factory reset and confirm that on startup no screen asks for someone else's Google account.

Parts and Service History on iPhone

Since iOS 15.2, Settings > General > About shows a Parts and Service History section if the iPhone was repaired. For each part it shows a message. "Original" means the repair used genuine Apple parts and processes. "Desconocida" (Unknown) appears, for example, if the part is not genuine or does not work as expected. "Sin verificar" (Unverified) means the logic board was replaced earlier in a repair. "Usada" (Used) means the part was already used or installed in another iPhone. For a refurbished phone it is the most useful check, because it shows whether the battery, screen or camera were replaced and with which parts.

The battery

On iPhone, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and read the maximum capacity. Apple designs the batteries of iPhone 14 and earlier to keep 80% of their original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles, and those of iPhone 15 models at 1000 cycles, under ideal conditions. Mercado Libre requires more than 80% capacity for all three grades of its refurbished listings, and Clevercel states 80% or more in its Como Nuevo, Seminuevo and Outlet categories when it classifies the device. If what the screen shows is less than what you were promised, you have a claim against the seller.

On Android there is no equivalent universal menu. Samsung, Xiaomi and Motorola show it in different places, so look up the steps for your brand and model. We could not confirm a path that works for all of them.

Liquid indicators

iPhones carry liquid contact indicators. According to Apple, their colour is usually white or silver and turns red when they touch water or a liquid containing water. Humidity or temperature changes within the permitted range do not trigger them. Apple recommends an illuminated magnifier and angled light to see them, and the location varies by model. On Android the location varies by brand and we did not confirm it.

Your SIM or eSIM and the network

Test the device with your Colombian SIM, not only on WiFi. A device that accepts the SIM of only one carrier is locked, and must be unlocked before it will work for you with another. Test with a SIM from another carrier too. Confirm with your carrier that your plan and your area cover the device's bands.

A device that comes from abroad can register on the network at first and be blocked later if its IMEI is not registered, so a successful test on day one is not enough if it was never registered.

If something fails, the deadlines

You have several windows, and it helps to use first the one that favours you most.

  • The shop's warranty, which varies by shop and by offer and must be in writing. Confirm the specific term on your offer.
  • The five business days of article 47 of Ley 1480 de 2011 to withdraw from a distance purchase, counted from delivery. You send the product back in the same condition you received it and pay the return transport. The law leaves out, among others, goods for personal use and goods that by their nature cannot be returned, and it does not say whether a refurbished phone falls there. Ask the shop before paying.
  • Payment reversal under article 51, if you paid by card or another electronic payment and the product arrived defective or is not what you ordered. You must complain to the seller within five business days of the date you received it, and notify the payment issuer.
  • The legal warranty, whose term is set by article 8. If the device was sold as used, the law allows selling it without warranty only with your written acceptance, and otherwise it is understood to carry three months. Whether that reaches a refurbished device depends on how it was sold, and the explanation is in your rights when buying refurbished.

Submit a direct written claim to the shop first. If it is not resolved, go to the Superintendencia de Industria y Comercio (SIC), which has an online form and the free line 01 8000 910165.

Sources

The hands-on tests are our recommendations, and the Apple and Google pages were read on 1 October 2026. None of this replaces advice from a lawyer.