Warranty Check by IMEI: Is the Phone Still Covered?
Coverage status, purchase date and origin market — all from the IMEI.
A used phone's warranty is quiet money. A handset still inside its manufacturer coverage window is worth more and carries less risk, yet buyers rarely check because the seller has no incentive to mention it. The IMEI (and serial) can settle the question in seconds.
Origin also affects usability. Some region-specific models have band or feature differences, and warranty service can be limited to the country of sale. Knowing where a phone came from before you buy helps you avoid a device that technically works but cannot be serviced where you live.
A warranty lookup typically returns whether coverage is active or expired, an estimated purchase or activation date, and — importantly — the market where the device was originally sold. That last detail is a quiet fraud check: a phone advertised as a local model that reports an origin half a world away deserves harder questions.
Warranty sits alongside lock and blacklist as part of a phone's IMEI history, so together they paint the whole picture: is it covered, is it locked, is it flagged, and where did it really come from. For an imported or higher-value phone, that context is worth the few seconds it takes to check.
Check any IMEI free
See device, blacklist and lock status in seconds — no signup. Dial *#06# on the phone to display its IMEI — or scan a photo or screenshot of that screen, or of the barcode on the phone's box or SIM tray.
100% free · no signup · no card needed
Common questions
Can I check a phone's warranty from the IMEI?
Yes. The report returns coverage status, an estimated purchase date and the origin market, drawn from manufacturer records.
Why does the origin market matter?
It affects warranty service eligibility and can expose a mis-described import. A mismatch between claimed and reported origin is a warning sign.
Does an active warranty transfer to me as the buyer?
Manufacturer warranties generally follow the device, not the owner, though service terms vary by region. Confirm with the maker for your country.
What does the free check show?
The free check focuses on the core verdicts that decide a deal — device identity, worldwide blacklist and carrier lock — returned on-screen in seconds, with no signup or card.
How do I check an iPhone or Samsung warranty by IMEI or serial number?
For an iPhone, the authoritative source is Apple's own tool at checkcoverage.apple.com — enter the serial number (Settings > General > About, or dial *#06# for the IMEI and match it to the serial on the box) and it shows whether the limited warranty or AppleCare is still active plus the estimated expiry. Samsung and most Android makers run a similar lookup on their regional support sites, where you type the IMEI or serial to see the coverage window. Two things are worth knowing before you trust a date. First, the standard manufacturer warranty is usually 12 months from first sale, but in the EU and UK a separate statutory right gives at least two years of protection against defects regardless of the maker's warranty. Second, coverage is generally tied to the country where the phone was first sold, so an imported handset can be in-warranty on paper yet awkward to service where you live — which is exactly why the origin market matters. An IMEI report is useful when you don't yet have the phone in hand, because it bundles the coverage status, estimated purchase date and origin market into one reading you can check before you buy.
How accurate is an IMEI warranty check, and does it show AppleCare+?
The coverage verdict — active or expired — is drawn from the manufacturer's own records and is usually reliable, but treat the purchase or activation date as an estimate: it reflects when the device was first registered or activated, which can differ from your receipt by a few days, and a minority of units (grey-market or refurbished stock) carry incomplete records. For the definitive, plan-level detail — including whether AppleCare or AppleCare+ is attached and its exact expiry date — use the maker's own tool, which shows the full breakdown: Apple's checkcoverage.apple.com for iPhones, or Samsung's regional support lookup. Where an IMEI report earns its place is the origin market: the maker's tool confirms the phone is covered, but it will not flag that a handset sold to you as local stock actually reports a first sale in another region — the mismatch that exposes a mis-described import before you pay.