1. Trusting "100% Battery Health" blindly
It is very common for sketchy sellers to use specialized hardware tools to reset the battery health controller chip on an old, degraded battery, making it show 100% in the settings. This is called a 'boosted' battery. Always look at the overall age of the phone. A 3-year-old iPhone 13 will almost never have 100% original battery health.
2. Skipping the IMEI Check
Matching the IMEI in the phone's settings (dial *#06#) to the box and the bill is essential. If they don't match, the phone may have a replaced motherboard, or the box might belong to a different device entirely. Always verify the IMEI on the CEIR portal.
3. Ignoring the True Tone Feature
On iPhones, if the True Tone option is missing from the Display settings, the screen has been replaced by a third party. Non-genuine screens often have poor color accuracy, lower brightness, and weak glass that breaks easily.
4. Meeting Without a SIM Card
Never buy a phone without inserting your own active SIM card and making a test call. This checks the cellular antenna, the earpiece speaker, and the proximity sensor (which should turn the screen off when the phone is held to your ear) all at once.
5. Paying Before Verification
The cardinal rule of the second-hand market: Never send a UPI advance before holding and testing the device. If the seller demands an advance to "hold" the device for you, it is likely a scam.
The Fix: Use Handovr. We handle the 16-point verification, hold the payment in secure escrow, and deliver the verified phone directly to your door.