Refurbished or grey-market phones passed off as new are a real risk in India, especially with steep, too-good-to-be-true discounts. The reassuring part: checking whether a phone is genuine is free and takes under two minutes.
Step 1 — Dial *#06# for the IMEI
Every phone has a unique 15-digit IMEI. Dialling *#06# on the handset displays it instantly. Do this before you leave the shop or before you accept delivery — not after.
Step 2 — Match it in three places
- Printed on the phone's box
- Under Settings → About phone → IMEI
- On the bill / invoice
All three must be identical. Even one mismatched digit is a serious red flag — don't accept an explanation for it.
Step 3 — Verify through the government's own tools
India's Department of Telecommunications runs the Sanchar Saathi portal and the CEIR (Central Equipment Identity Register), both of which let you check an IMEI's status for free. If a number doesn't resolve, is already blacklisted, or shows as reported lost or stolen, don't buy the phone.
Red flags to walk away from
- No IMEI printed anywhere on the box
- The IMEI on the box doesn't match the one on the phone
- No GST bill offered, or one offered only "if you ask"
- The seal looks tampered with or resealed
- The price is dramatically below every other listing you've seen
- The seller won't let you check the IMEI before paying
One more tip for online or WhatsApp orders
If you're ordering for delivery rather than walking into a store, ask the seller for a short video of the sealed box before it's dispatched. It's a small ask that any genuine seller will do without hesitation — it's standard practice for every Mobsmart online order.
Every phone we sell is IMEI-verified before it goes on the shelf, sealed direct from the brand, and billed with a proper GST invoice — so the checklist above is something you can run through with us in the store, not something you have to hope works out after the fact.