What to check when buying a used Samsung Galaxy, Pixel or other Android phone

Google account lock (FRP)

Every Android phone since Android 5.1 has Factory Reset Protection. If a phone is reset while a Google account is still on it, setup asks for that account’s email and password before it lets anyone in. The point is that a thief can’t just wipe a stolen phone and sell it. The catch for a buyer: a seller who resets the phone from the settings menu without removing their account first can hand you a phone that works on the table and locks itself the next time it is reset.

Google’s own reset instructions assume the person resetting knows the account and password on the phone (Google), and they add a detail worth knowing: after a Google password change, wait 24 hours before a reset. A seller who just changed their password may hit the lock themselves.

How to do it at the meetup:

1. The seller removes their Google account. Settings > Passwords and accounts, or Accounts and backup > Manage accounts on Samsung, then the Google account > Remove account.
2. On a Samsung, they sign out of the Samsung account too. Settings > their name at the top > Sign out. Samsung’s Find My Mobile has its own reactivation lock tied to that account.
3. They reset it. Settings > General management > Reset > Factory data reset on Samsung; Settings > System > Reset options on most others.
4. You start setup. Join Wi-Fi and go past the account step. If it asks to verify the Google account that was previously synced, the lock is on: the seller has to sign in and remove it before any money changes hands.

Listings that say “FRP locked”, “Google locked” or “bypassed” are parts phones. “Bypassed” means someone has used a workaround, which tends to break with the next update or reset.

Samsung-specific checks

• Read the model number. Settings > About phone shows it (for example SM-S921W). Canadian Galaxy models end in W; U and U1 are US versions, B and other letters are international. A non-Canadian model may be fine, but it may lack some Canadian network bands and Samsung Canada warranty service. Compare the model number with the box label.
• Run diagnostics. The Samsung Members app has a phone diagnostics tool that tests the touch screen, buttons, sensors, cameras, speaker, microphone, charging and fingerprint reader, and a battery status test that reads Normal, Weak or Bad (Samsung). On many Galaxy phones, dialling #0# also opens a hardware test menu.
• Look for burn-in. Galaxy phones use OLED screens, which can keep a faint ghost of the keyboard, the navigation bar or the status icons. Open a plain mid-grey image at full brightness and look closely.
• Test the S Pen on Note and Ultra models: write along every edge of the screen.
• Check for company enrolment. A work phone may show that it is managed by an organization, or show a company enrolment screen during setup after a reset. Like Apple’s Remote Management, only the company can release it.
• Foldables: open and close the hinge slowly, look along the crease for bubbles or lifting in the factory screen protector (it isn’t meant to be peeled off), and check the cover screen too.

Pixel and other brands

Pixel. The same Google account rule applies. Pixel 6 and later have battery diagnostics under Settings > Battery > Battery diagnostics, and Pixel 8a and later show a battery health estimate as Normal or Reduced (Google). Type “diagnostics” in the Settings search bar for the tests available on that model. Pixels have region-specific versions, so check the model in Settings > About phone against the box.

OnePlus, Motorola and others. Check that the model sold in Canada is the one in your hand: grey-market imports are common, cost less, and can miss network bands or warranty support. Search the model number in Settings > About phone and compare it with the manufacturer’s Canadian specs.

IMEI and financing

Dial *#06#, or look in Settings > About phone. Dual-SIM phones list two IMEIs. Check the first at devicecheck.ca in Canada or the CTIA Stolen Phone Checker in the US, and compare the number with the box label. Then ask whether the phone is paid off: a financed phone can be blocked after the sale if the original owner stops paying. The full method, including what a clean result does and doesn’t prove, is in how to check if a phone is stolen.

Carrier lock in Canada

Phones sold in Canada since December 1, 2017 must be sold unlocked, and a carrier must remove the lock from an older phone for free when its customer asks (CRTC). That makes locked phones rarer, not extinct: older phones, US imports and some prepaid phones can still be locked. Test it: put your SIM in and make a call. If it says the SIM isn’t supported, ask the seller to get it unlocked by their carrier before the sale.

Fake and clone Android phones

A clone usually copies the name, not the guts. Watch for:

• A model number in Settings that doesn’t match the box, or a Settings > About phone page with odd or missing details.
• Specs that don’t add up. A free hardware info app such as CPU-Z shows the real chip, memory and storage. A “Galaxy S24 Ultra” with a budget chip and 4 GB of memory is not one.
• Huge storage at a tiny price. “1 TB” phones that report fake capacity fail when you fill them.
• Build quality: loose buttons, a camera layout that’s slightly off, a missing S Pen silo on an Ultra.

Phones sold as “refurbished” by unknown shops may have aftermarket screens. They often look duller, may cut out the in-screen fingerprint reader, and sometimes show a warning about a non-genuine display. Ask what was replaced, and run diagnostics.

What a used Android phone should cost

Android flagships tend to lose value faster than iPhones, and new ones go on sale often, so the gap between a used phone and a discounted new one is the number to watch.

• Search the exact model and storage on both Marketplace and Kijiji and look at ten or more listings.
• Check eBay sold prices for completed sales of the same model.
• Look up the current sale price of the same phone new, and of its successor: a used phone priced close to either is not a deal.
• Get a trade-in quote; that is roughly the floor a seller will accept.

Adjust down for burn-in, a Weak battery, an aftermarket screen or a non-Canadian model. See how to judge a fair price.

Searches, block words and alerts

Search the model the way sellers write it: “galaxy s23”, “s23 ultra”, “pixel 8 pro”, “z flip 5”. Add storage when it matters. In Quebec, add “cellulaire débloqué”. Keep out case, “screen protector”, charger, “for parts”, “frp”, “google locked”, “we buy” and “cash for”. Facebook can’t exclude words in its own search (see exclude words), and Kijiji’s saved-search emails come once a day (Kijiji alerts), so one tight search per model works best.

With Sift

On a computer, Sift recognizes Galaxy S, Note, Z Flip, Z Fold and A-series listings, Pixel, OnePlus and Moto listings, and plain “unlocked phone” listings, and switches on its phones and devices kit. It reads the seller’s wording, in English and French:

• Activation locked covers Android wording too: “FRP locked” and “Google lock” are flagged just like “iCloud locked”.
• Blacklisted or bad IMEI and Still financed (“on a payment plan”, “balance owing”, “financé”, “solde restant”), with negations understood, so “paid it off” isn’t flagged.
• Unlocked and Clean IMEI as green good signs, which tell you what the seller claims and what to verify.
• Check the IMEI (Canada) first in Check elsewhere on Kijiji or for a Canadian home, otherwise the US checker, then eBay sold prices and Google Lens on the photo.

Start a hunt > Phone in Options > Presets sets up a preset with the parts block words (broken, for parts, as-is, not working, needs repair) on, and Watch this search sends a notification for new listings that pass it. Sift reads listings; it doesn’t run the IMEI or see a phone’s lock. It runs in Chrome, Edge and Brave on a computer and isn’t affiliated with Samsung, Google, Meta or Kijiji.