How to Check if Your Android Phone is Refurbished or Factory-New

Whether you are buying a new phone or getting an existing one swapped out/repaired, you might want to keep an eye out for casually slipped-in refurbished models.

There are two methods for checking whether your Android smartphone is new or refurbished!

Method 1

Step 1

Tap your phone app and open up the dialer.

Step 2

Using the touchscreen keypad, dial ##786# (aka ##RTN#).

There is no need to press dial; the phone should automatically open up to the RTN screen. From here, Tap View

Note: If this code does not work, try *#*#786#*#* instead. Stars and numbers must be entered in the correct order.

Step 3

Scroll down the RTN screen to Refurbished Status. Here there are only two possible status entries:

Yes. Your phone is a refurbished model.
No, congratulations! Your phone is not a refurbished model. Instead, it is factory new.

CHECK SHORTCODES FOR ANDROID DEVICES

Method 2:

Before we get started, you’ll need to make sure you have an app installed that will add the “activities” option to your shortcut creator.

Requirements:

phone running And(this was only tested with versions 2.1 and up.)higher.)
A custom home screen launcheContinue reading: How can I modify my Android phone’s screen lock? also work, but the steps below are shown using Launcher Pro.

All set? Let’s get started.

Step 1

Go to your home screen (using a custom launcher) and long-press on an empty spot.
The “Add to Home Screen” menu should appear. Tap Shortcuts.

This also works with ADW launcher, but the process is changed to Custom Shortcut > Pick your activity > Activities

Step 2

From the next menu, Select Activities. Now you should be on a black screen with a list of phone activities. Slide down to whatever activity you can find with “hidden menu” in the name.

Tap the hidden menu entry, and then below you’ll see a list of all hidden menus on your phone. From here, you can access any one of them.

*Note: This may be called something else if you are using a launcher other than Launcher Pro.

Done!

Read More: Buying Smartphone New, Used or Refurbished? Must Read
Now you have a shortcut to one of your hidden menus on your home screen, and you can keep adding them to your heart’s content. I first chose the RTN hidden menu because several people were wondering how to access it on phones that don’t support the # codes after reading our previous article. I hope this helps you with your Android phone, and feel free to post a comment below with your results!

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