FAQ

1. How to determine if a phone is factory unlocked?

If a phone has been factory unlocked, it can be reset or updated without any problem. Also if you put in a new sim card it will have no problems accepting that card.

2. How to check color options, display functionality, touch screen sensitivity and other functions on Apple, Samsung and other android phones?

For Samsung, simply open your Samsung’s phone app. Enter *#0*# using the dial pad, and the phone will immediately go into its secret diagnostic mode. Note that the process is automatic, so there’s no need to tap on the green call button to enter the command. So if you enter the code and nothing happens, the feature is disabled on your device.

For Iphones, the process can be conducted simply via installing free apps on Apple Appstore. To name some apps, they are Sensor Kinetics, Test and Check for Iphone. Also if a person checking these functions is a professional technician or a regular Apple product user, he or she won’t find it difficult to detect if the screen is an original one or a duplicate one. There are other small observations that can be made to check if the display is original or not by looking at the fonts and icons and color sharpness.

3. Does the phone have original battery?

The batteries can be checked if its original or fake by looking for signs of poor quality on battery placement such as: inaccurate printing, misspelled wording, crooked label placement and signs of defective workmanship. Some mobile phone manufacturers also place hologram stickers on their batteries, which are difficult to replicate by counterfeiters – although they do try.

Also other points to be noted are the battery life or power of the phone, how fast the phone charge is draining and check if the phone has been repaired or not previously.

4. Does the phone have original charger?

For Apple products, we can take following points in consideration to detect if the charger is original or not.

An Apple Lightning to USB cable has “Designed by Apple in California” and either “Assembled in China,” “Assembled in Vietnam,” or “Indústria Brasileira” on the cable about seven inches from the USB connector. You’ll see a 12-digit serial number at the end of this text.
The cable has single piece, smooth rounded, smooth, gold- or silver-colored contacts
The charger’s end that fits inside the phone’s charging hole has gray/metallic faceplate insert.
The charger fits perfectly inside the phone.
The charger cable when connected to a computer, the device should be recognized without any glitch.
The charger cable is stronger and will work even if it is bent many times.
The charger is strong and thus has more life expectancy.

For Samsung and other android phones, following points can be considered:

The first thing you will look for is the Samsung logo printed on your phone charger .It should be printed in raised ink, straight across, with no printing mistakes or ink runs. It will also not be a sticker.
Look at the information printed on the back of the actual phone charger. Once again, it should be clearly printed in raised ink, and not crooked or runny. It should not be a sticker.
Your charger should have no visible seams or material defects. This means it should not look easy to open, and you should not see bits of plastic sticking out on corners or edges.
The charging dock is a single piece without separate parts joined together. The dock is a smooth single material piece.
When properly connected, the large USB end will smoothly slide into the charger. It should be easy to push in, and fit snugly, without wobbling or being loose. In the event it is loose, either the cable or the charging port has been damaged, or it is fake.

Finally, plug your Samsung phone into your computer. If the phone is recognized, then you have an original cable. However, if it is not recognized, you may have a fake cable or phone.

5. How do we determine a phone is a second hand or not?

To determine a phone if it’s a second hand or not can be a tough job.

For Android phones, dial ##786# or *#*#786#*#* and scroll down the RTN screen to Reconditioned status. Here are only two possible status entries:

Yes – Your phone is a refurbished model (this will only appear if it is has been refurbished by the manufacturer).

No – Congratulations, your phone is not a refurbished model. Instead, it is factory new.

For Iphone, you can decipher the device model prefix to determine the original status of an iPhone (and probably an iPad too) device. The process would be this:

Open the “Settings” app on the iPhone
Go to “General” and then go to “About”
Look for “Model” and then read the model identifier next to that text, it will look something like “MN572LL/A”, the first character will let you know if the device is new, refurbished, replacement, or personalized:

M – Brand new device, meaning the device was purchased new

F – Refurbished device, meaning the device has been through refurbishing process

N – Replacement device, meaning the original device was replaced by this model likely due to a service request

P – Personalized device with engraving, meaning the device was customized with an engraving on purchase

6. How to determine if a phone has liquid damage or not?

With phones with batteries that can be replaced and removed from the battery panel. There will be a white dot on the phone itself, behind the battery. In some instances, the water damage indicator will be on the battery itself, or even on both the phone. If the water damage indicator is WHITE, this means the phone is not water damaged. If the water damage indicator is PINK or RED, this means the water damage indicator has been tripped.

For most Apple phones, the indicator can be found inside the SIM tray slot. Shine a light into the SIM tray after you take out the sim tray by inserting a pin into its pinhole. You can use a flashlight or just hold the phone up to a desk lamp. Look for a red water contact indicator. If the iPhone has contacted a liquid near your SIM tray, you’ll see a red indicator in the center of the tray opening.

On iPhone 7 models, the indicator is a strip that takes about half the slot.
On iPhone 6 models, the indicator is near the center, offset just a little.
On iPhone 5 models, the indicator is round and in the center of the slot.

7. Requirement to sell your used phone:

Please read this carefully and be prepared before coming to sell your phone at Sabko Phone.

MDMS registration is mandatory for sellers who want to sell their used phone to Sabko Phone.
The seller must provide an original ID card as proof of identity.
If the phone is in a reset/erased condition, the seller must provide the original purchase bill matching the IMEI number against the bill or warranty card.
The phone must be unlocked and carrier-free to be eligible for sale to Sabko Phone.
Bank transfer is the only accepted mode of payment.

Useful Codes

For Iphone

*#06#
It will display your iPhone IMEI. It is an identifier for your mobile phone hardware.

*3001#12345#*
This code opens your field mode which contains all of iPhone’s personal settings, cell information, and newest network.

Codes	Description
##4636##	Displays information about Phone, Battery and Usage statistics
##7780##	Resetting your phone to factory state-Only deletes application data and applications
27673855#	It’s a complete wiping of your mobile also it reinstalls the phones firmware
##34971539##	Displays complete information about the camera
##7594##	Changing the power button behavior-Enables direct power off
##273283255663282##*	For a quick backup to all your media files
##197328640##	Enabling test mode for service activity
##232339## OR ##526##	Wireless Lan Tests
##232338##	Displays Wi-Fi Mac-address
##1472365##	For a quick GPS test
##1575##	A Different type GPS test
##0283##	Packet Loopback test
##0##*	LCD display test
##0673## OR ##0289##	Audio test
##0842##	Vibration and Backlight test
##2663##	Displays touch-screen version
##2664##	Touch-Screen test
##0588##	Proximity sensor test
##3264##	Ram version
##232331##	Bluetooth test

FAQ