Buying a used phone for eSIM: the checks to do before you pay

The order that saves you time

• Turn it on and see which screen appears.
• Look for an EID in the settings.
• Check the carrier lock.
• Look at the mobile settings for lines that are not yours.
• Note the IMEI and compare it with the box or the listing.

Start with the screen, because it can end the visit. If the phone is still tied to someone else's account, nothing else matters. The EID tells you whether there is an eSIM chip at all, since the same model can be sold with and without one depending on the country; the steps are in checking eSIM support, and phones from China or Hong Kong have their own guide.

iPhone: the screen that tells you if it is free

Apple's advice for buying from anyone other than Apple or an authorised reseller is to make sure the device is erased and no longer linked to the previous owner's account. Its article on Activation Lock describes what you will see.

If the screen says iPhone Locked to Owner, do not take it. If a passcode screen or the Home Screen appears, the phone has not been erased; ask the seller to erase it in front of you. A phone ready for a new owner shows the Hello screen.

Then start the setup. If it asks for the previous owner's Apple Account, the iPhone is still linked to them. Apple says to hand it back so they can enter their password, or, if they are not there, to have them remove the device from their account in a browser. Apple is explicit: do not take ownership of a used iPhone until that is done.

Android: Factory Reset Protection

Android has its own version of the same lock. Google explains that after a factory reset, the phone asks for a Google Account that was previously on it, and that if you cannot give it, you will not be able to use the device at all. The way to switch the protection off is to remove the Google Account from the phone before the reset.

Samsung adds a detail that matters when buying: the protection is triggered when the phone is reset by any method other than Factory data reset in Settings. A phone reset with buttons in recovery mode will ask for the old account.

So the clean handover is simple. The seller removes their Google and Samsung accounts, resets from Settings, and you check that the phone reaches the welcome screen and lets you set it up without asking for anyone else's account.

Locked to an operator?

A phone can be free of accounts and still locked to the network it was first sold on. On an iPhone, the Carrier Lock row under Settings, General, About should say No SIM restrictions. On Android there is often no such line, and the seller's word is not proof.

This lock is the one that hurts most with eSIM, because the travel eSIM installs and then refuses to work. Apple says only the carrier can unlock an iPhone, and that carrier is the one the phone was originally sold through, not the person selling it to you. Our guides on checking if a phone is unlocked and on the SIM not supported message cover both systems.

The seller's eSIM and the IMEI

Open the mobile settings and look at the list of lines. Apple tells sellers to erase both the device and the eSIM profile, but not everyone does. A line that is not yours is the seller's plan: tell them, because Apple notes that a carrier may keep charging until the service is turned off. Removing it from the phone does not affect you.

Then the IMEI, which is in the About section of Settings. The GSMA runs a Device Check service in which operators flag devices reported lost or stolen, and flagged devices can be restricted from use on mobile networks. Compare the number on screen with the box or the listing; a mismatch is reason enough to walk away.

Only once all of this is done should a travel eSIM go on. A Snoozim eSIM stays on the phone where it is installed, so install it on the phone you are keeping.