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When your refurbished phone arrives, spend the first hour checking three things. That the device is the one you bought, that nobody else has it tied to their account, and that everything works. On an online purchase you have 10 days from receipt to withdraw without giving a reason, so do the check right away and keep the box, the packaging and photos of everything. If something fails, check the withdrawal right, the shop warranty and the legal rights that apply.

The first-hour checklist

  1. Photograph the sealed package, the shipping label and the inside as you open it.
  2. Dial *#06#. Compare the IMEIs on screen with the one in Settings > General > About (or Settings > About phone on Android) and with any on the box or receipt. If it has two SIMs, check both. Ask for a written explanation of any mismatch. Check it on a carrier's site, as explained in how to check an IMEI.
  3. If the device comes from abroad, ask whether it is already registered. Without registration it is blocked 30 days after first use with a Chilean SIM.
  4. Confirm there is no account lock (Activation Lock on iPhone, FRP on Android). See the next section.
  5. On iPhone, open Parts and Service History.
  6. Check battery health.
  7. Screen. Put up a white background and a black one, look for dead pixels, stains and yellow areas, and test touch across the whole surface.
  8. Cameras. Take a photo and a video with the rear and front cameras, and focus near and far.
  9. Charging. Plug it in with your own cable, not only the one included, and confirm the percentage rises. That tells a bad port from a bad cable.
  10. Sound. Call someone and use the speaker, the earpiece and the microphone. Play music.
  11. Face ID, Touch ID or fingerprint. Enrol your own face or finger from scratch, and do not use what the seller left.
  12. Your SIM or eSIM. Insert your active SIM, or ask your carrier for the eSIM, and confirm it registers on the network, makes calls and sends messages.
  13. Keep the box, packaging, receipt and photos until the withdrawal window closes.

Account locks, Activation Lock and FRP

On iPhone, third-party pages that claim to check Activation Lock by IMEI have no confirmed accuracy. The reliable test is with the device in your hand. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. When it restarts, it must not ask for someone else's Apple ID or password. If it does, it is still tied to another account and only that person can release it.

On Android, Factory Reset Protection (FRP) ties the device to the previous owner's Google account. If that person did not remove their account before resetting, the screen asks for their credentials and you are locked out. To test it, factory reset and confirm that on startup no screen asks for someone else's Google account.

Parts and Service History on iPhone

Since iOS 15.2, Settings > General > About shows a Parts and Service History section if the iPhone has been repaired. For each part it shows a message. "Genuine" means the repair was done with genuine Apple parts and processes. "Unknown" appears, for example, if the part is not genuine or is not working as expected. "Unverified" means the logic board was replaced in an earlier repair. For a refurbished phone it is the most useful check, because it shows whether the battery, screen or camera were replaced and with what parts.

The battery

On iPhone, go to Settings > Battery > Battery Health and read the maximum capacity. Apple designs the batteries of iPhone 14 and earlier to retain 80 percent of their original capacity at 500 complete charge cycles, and those of iPhone 15 at 1,000 cycles, under ideal conditions. Mercado Libre Chile requires more than 80% capacity for all three grades of its refurbished listings. If the screen shows less than you were promised, or less than 80% on a device sold on Mercado Libre as refurbished, you have a claim against the seller.

On Android there is no universal equivalent menu. Samsung, Xiaomi and Motorola show it in different places, so look up the steps for your brand and model. We could not confirm one path that works for all of them.

Liquid indicators

iPhones carry liquid contact indicators that are normally white or silver and turn red if the device touched water or a water-based liquid. Ambient humidity within specification does not trigger them. Look at them with a strong light at an angle, inside the SIM tray. On Android the location changes by brand and we did not confirm it.

Your SIM or eSIM and the network

Test the device with your Chilean SIM, not only on WiFi. A device that accepts the SIM of only one carrier is locked, and must be unlocked before it will work for you with another. If it is a 5G phone, the homologation seal carries the line "INFÓRMESE SOBRE COMPATIBILIDAD CON CADA COMPAÑÍA" (find out about compatibility with each company). Confirm with your carrier that your plan and your area cover the device's bands.

A device that comes from abroad can register on the network during the first 30 days and be blocked afterwards, so a successful test on day one is not enough if it was never registered.

If something fails, the three windows

You have three windows, and it helps to use the one that favours you most first.

  • The shop's voluntary warranty, which varies by shop and category and must be written on its site. Confirm the term for your listing; MSF Sale has conflicting published terms for seminuevo iPhones.
  • The 10 days in article 3 bis b) of Ley 19.496 to withdraw from an online purchase "sin expresión de causa" (without giving a reason), which rise to 90 if the shop did not send you the written confirmation of the contract. You must return the original packaging in good condition, and a computer "utilizado más allá de su inspección" (used beyond inspection) falls outside the withdrawal. If you bought a notebook, test it without setting it up as your own machine.
  • The six-month legal warranty in article 21, which the law provides for products that are not fit for their use. Whether it reaches a refurbished device depends on how it was sold, and the explanation is in your rights when buying refurbished.

If the shop does not answer, SERNAC takes your complaint online, at an office or by phone, and reports the outcome within a maximum of 18 business days.

Sources

The part on Activation Lock and FRP is carried over from Reacondi's equivalent guide and was not re-verified against a Chilean source.