A refurbished phone can look just as shiny as a new one. This ten-minute box-pack phone check, built on the checks we run before dispatch, tells you which one you are holding.
A box-pack phone should reach you exactly as it left the factory: sealed, never activated, with the same IMEI on the box, in the phone and in PTA’s records. Refurbished and “kit” phones can look just as shiny on day one. This box-pack phone check starts with what we verify on every sealed box before dispatch and adds the steps only you can do once it is open. It takes about ten minutes. Pehle check, phir setup.
These words get used loosely in Pakistan’s phone market, so pin the seller down before you pay:
A refurbished phone can be a fair deal when it is sold as refurbished, at a refurbished price. The problem is a refurbished phone sold as box-pack. We only sell new, factory-sealed phones, and we don’t sell refurbished, copy or kit phones.
Start a video before you cut the parcel tape, and keep the phone’s box label in frame at some point. If anything is wrong, that video settles it quickly with any honest seller, including us: our returns policy asks you to report a damaged, faulty or wrong item within 48 hours, with photos or your unboxing video.
Then look at the seal. Depending on the brand, it is a clear shrink-wrap, tamper-evident stickers or pull-tab seals; Apple, for example, dropped the outer plastic wrap from iPhone boxes with the iPhone 13 and uses a seal instead. Whatever the type, it should be unbroken, with no glue marks, re-stuck edges or a wrap that looks looser or shinier than the box. Dented corners, faded print or a box that smells of someone else’s pocket are worth a question too.
*#06#The label on the side or back of the box lists the model, colour, storage, every IMEI and usually the serial number. Dial *#06# on the phone: the IMEIs on screen must match the label digit for digit. Dual-SIM and eSIM phones show two.
A label stuck over another label, or one IMEI that matches and one that doesn’t, means the phone and the box didn’t start life together. That is the most common sign of a re-boxed phone.
Send each IMEI to 8484 by SMS, or enter it on PTA’s DVS site. The reply should say Compliant and name the same brand and model you are holding. Our PTA status guide explains each reply, and PTA approved vs non-PTA vs patched explains why a mismatched model is a red flag.
Most brands let you check a phone by IMEI or serial number on their official site. A genuine new phone should come back as the right model, and the warranty or activation date should not be weeks before you bought it.
| Brand | Where to check | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | Settings > General > AppleCare & Warranty, or Check Coverage | Warranty coverage and its end date |
| Samsung | Warranty runs from your proof of purchase (Samsung Pakistan warranty) | Keep the invoice with date, model and serial |
| OPPO | Authenticity and activation date inquiry | Genuine unit, activation date |
| realme | Authenticity and warranty date inquiry | Genuine unit, warranty date |
| vivo | IMEI authentication | Whether the IMEI is genuine |
| Infinix, TECNO, itel | Carlcare warranty check | Warranty status by IMEI |
Some phones show how much their battery has been used. A new phone should look new here:
Other brands vary, so if your phone doesn’t show this, skip the step. The first four checks matter more.
One check catches a lot: a new phone always starts at the welcome screen. If it asks for someone else’s Apple Account or Google account, it has been used and not properly reset, and you shouldn’t accept it as new.
No. Some shops open a box to show the phone before sale. That is why the IMEI, PTA, brand checker and battery checks matter more than the wrap alone. If those all look new, the phone very likely is.
In the market, “kit” usually means the handset without its original box or accessories. It is normally used, often non-PTA, and rarely has a local official warranty. Price it as a used phone.
Labels can be reprinted, which is why you match three things, not one: the box label, *#06# on the phone, and the PTA or brand checker. A fake has trouble getting all three to agree.
Stop, don’t set the phone up, and contact us within 48 hours of delivery with your order number and photos or your unboxing video. Our warranty page covers faults that appear later.
A shop’s stamp and a brand’s warranty are different promises. Here is what each covers, where to check a phone’s warranty on the brand’s own site, and how to claim.
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