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flopticalcube

macrumors G4
Original poster
So my son's 4s is finally getting ratty and its time to upgrade him. He is a rather clumsy young man so he doesn't feel comfortable with the 6 (even with a case) and feels the 5s fits him better. I'll be buying it second hand so what should I look for? I can do any repairs that are needed.
 

Unami

macrumors 65816
Jul 27, 2010
1,430
1,687
Austria
look if touch-id works - if the home button has been replaced as part of a screen repair, it won't. (that doesn't mean, that the screen hasn't been replaced with the old home button intact, though). and check the functionality of all physical features, if possible: led-flash, vibration, buttons, headphone jack, lighting connector, speaker, microphone, cameras. the 5s' aluminium is much softer than the 4/4s steel bands, so it's easy to get scratches and dents - so that might give you an indication of how much the previous user cared for it. on the other hand - if it works, it works & a soft frame might even be a better protection from some drops.

you might have to put in a new battery, as a used 5s might be already 2 years old. i'd consider sending it to apple for that - it's not that much more expensive than doing it on your own (especially if you factor in the time it takes you), and those phones are pretty easy to destroy, when opened if you're not careful. take extra caution when opening it, that you don't seperate the two halves too far (no more than about 0,5-1cm) before unplugging the home button - or you'll rip the cord and have to send it in to apple anyway for a new button with working touch-id.
 
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jermy4

macrumors 6502a
Jun 27, 2010
564
406
Not sure what carrier you use but it might not be a bad idea to meet at one of your carrier stores to validate that the device is free and clear and isn't blacklisted.
 
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rigormortis

macrumors 68000
Jun 11, 2009
1,813
229
I've bought a blacklisted fire phone once ! it passed the imei check, but AT&T said it was blacklisted, it was a demo unit, it was a prototype and implied it was not designed to be used on our network and flat out refused to activate it. they never told me what the exact reason was


i learned to check with the actual carriers and not rely on free imei checkers
 
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canuckRus

macrumors 6502a
May 18, 2014
965
358
So my son's 4s is finally getting ratty and its time to upgrade him. He is a rather clumsy young man so he doesn't feel comfortable with the 6 (even with a case) and feels the 5s fits him better. I'll be buying it second hand so what should I look for? I can do any repairs that are needed.


There exists a free replacement battery program for certain iPhone5 models dated 2012-2013. Check out using its IMEI number at this site. Relative solved her battery problem four days ago using this site.

< https://www.apple.com/support/iphone5-battery/ >
 
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