A
Android Question
Guest
How can I tell on EBay if the phone is fake before I purchase?
-
After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.
It's very hard to be absolutely sure. Some fakes are easy to spot, but some look very similar to the real thing. Look at the photos in detail and compare with shots from official sites.
If you can get the seller to post a photo of the screen showing the software information, particularly the baseband version, that would help. Some things like software version are also often faked, but the baseband is usually the give-away. If you know that, you can google to find out whether it's a genuine Samsung baseband or one for the chipsets normally used by the fake manufacturers.
If you are unsure, if you register here and post links to the photos there are people here who'll be happy to advise.
If you can get the seller to post a photo of the screen showing the software information, particularly the baseband version, that would help. Some things like software version are also often faked, but the baseband is usually the give-away. If you know that, you can google to find out whether it's a genuine Samsung baseband or one for the chipsets normally used by the fake manufacturers.
If you are unsure, if you register here and post links to the photos there are people here who'll be happy to advise.
Scootmien
Android Enthusiast
Welcome to Android Forums
A difficult one to answer. There are no hard and fast rules that are infallible but I would do the following:
A difficult one to answer. There are no hard and fast rules that are infallible but I would do the following:
- Make sure you read every sentence in the description to make sure nothing is hidden.
- See if the photo is of the actual device or if it is just a 'stock' photo.
- Look at the feedback score of the seller.
- See if the price looks reasonable (if it is being sold for 'Buy It Now' at way less than market value then you have every right to be suspicious. If a price is too good to be true, it usually is.)
There's a couple of ways to tell for sure, real from fake. Just looking at it won't always tell you, some of these KIRFs are quite convincing now.
Look at the kernel version, if you see "KST" (Korea Standard Time) in the string, that's legit. On the other hand if it's "CST" (China Standard Time) or nothing at all, that's a KIRF. Another way is Antutu, that will definitely tell you what you've got.
If it's coming from Ebay, counterfeits are not the only risks. There's blacklisted IMEIs as well, when phones are reported stolen or missing.
Look at the kernel version, if you see "KST" (Korea Standard Time) in the string, that's legit. On the other hand if it's "CST" (China Standard Time) or nothing at all, that's a KIRF. Another way is Antutu, that will definitely tell you what you've got.
If it's coming from Ebay, counterfeits are not the only risks. There's blacklisted IMEIs as well, when phones are reported stolen or missing.