Activation Lock is the one that makes a phone worthless
If the seller has not signed out of iCloud and turned off Find My, the phone stays tied to their Apple ID forever. Nobody can clear it: not us, not Apple without proof of purchase in the original owner's name.
Do the check in front of them. Settings, tap the name at the top, and confirm it is signed out. Or reset the phone and get to the home screen without being asked for an Apple ID. A seller who will not let you is telling you something.
Network lock is a different thing
An Irish handset sold on contract may still be locked to the network it came from. Put your own SIM in and make a call before money changes hands. Locked is often fixable through the original network, but that is a conversation you want to have before buying, not after.
The IMEID check takes thirty seconds
Dial star hash zero six hash to bring up the IMEI, and check it matches the one in Settings and on the SIM tray. A mismatch means parts from more than one phone.
A phone reported lost or stolen can be blocked on Irish networks, and a blocked handset is a paperweight regardless of its condition.
Battery Health, and what a missing number means
Settings, Battery, Battery Health. Below 85 percent, factor a battery replacement into what you are paying.
If it shows a service notice instead of a percentage, the battery has been replaced with a cell Apple did not fit. That is not automatically bad, but it tells you the phone has been opened, which is worth knowing before you pay a price that assumes it has not.
Look at the screen edges
A replaced screen is not a problem in itself. A badly fitted one is. Run a fingernail around the edge: a lip you can catch means the adhesive has not seated, and that gap lets dust and water in.
Check the display at full brightness on a white background for uneven patches, and at minimum brightness in a dark room for backlight bleed.
- Is the glass sitting flush all the way round?
- Does the touch respond at the very edges and corners?
- Any discolouration at low brightness?
- Does the front camera image look soft or off-centre?
Buy from somebody who has to stand over it
A private sale carries no warranty and no comeback. Every device we sell has been through the bench, is graded honestly, and carries the same 360-day warranty as our repairs. If it fails through a fault rather than damage, you bring it back.
That is the actual difference between buying from a shop and buying in a car park.