Purchasing old iPhone

[adam9c1]

Looking to purchase older iPhone to use as a MP3 player, web browser and other apps.

No SMS or voice functionality needed.

Will a phone with bad IEMI but not iCloud locked work? Or will it lock up due to unable to activate?

This would be connected to WiFi.

 

[deany]

I highly recommend not buying a blacklisted IMEI iPhone that has been reported stolen or lost.
Unless of course you want a criminal record for handling stolen / lost property.

 

[fefe ahmed]

really it could be stolen i get a shocked

 

[adam9c1]

it's a old iphone 4 on ebay.
beat up back.

 

[keysofanxiety]

it's a old iphone 4 on ebay.
beat up back.

The iPhone 4 on the latest OS is far too slow and frustrating, even for simple internet browsing or playing music. Honestly you'll just be wasting your money.

As you don't need SMS, I think the latest gen iPod touch would be a reasonable choice. Otherwise, get an iPhone 5/5C at the absolute minimum, though I'd recommend a 5S or above, as they're much more powerful for not much extra on the used market.

Don't ever, ever buy an iCloud locked device. It won't work, you can't unlock them, and they're likely stolen.

 

[Spink10]

I highly recommend not buying a blacklisted IMEI iPhone that has been reported stolen or lost.
Unless of course you want a criminal record for handling stolen / lost property.

OR they didn't pay their monthly bill...

 

[deany]

OR they didn't pay their monthly bill...

Mobile phone contracts can be varied, but I expect if is its a pay monthly the iPhone was subsidised by the network, even with an upfront fee.
This may be like a car on 'Hire purchase' where ownership of the car is transferred to the buyer on final payment.
If this is the case where the iPhone's monthly payments were missed then the network is within rights to ask for their property back.
If the iPhone is not handed back to the network then it could be considered stolen until which time it is handed back.
Therefore OP would be handling stolen goods in your scenario.