Handset identityShop handbook
IMEI checks: catch typos and repeat handsets
Recashy checks every IMEI as you type, scans it from the box barcode on supported phones and warns you when a handset was recorded before at a Recashy shop.
In short
- The IMEI is checked as you type, so a wrong digit is caught at the counter.
- On supported phones you can scan it straight off the box label.
- If the handset was recorded before, you see a warning before you pay.
01Why the IMEI matters most
The IMEI is the 15-digit number that identifies one handset. It is the only field on a record that ties it to a physical phone. Lost and stolen phones are reported, traced and blocked by IMEI, and it is the number police search on when they ask a shop about a handset.
One wrong digit and the record points to a different phone, or to none at all. That is why Recashy will not file a record until the IMEI passes its check.
02Checked as you type
The last digit of every IMEI is a check digit, worked out from the other fourteen. Recashy does the same sum as soon as you have typed 15 digits. If it does not add up, one number is wrong, and you find out before you pay.
| If you see | Do this |
|---|---|
An IMEI is exactly 15 digits. | Count again. Spaces and dashes are ignored, so type it however it is grouped. |
An IMEI is digits only. | Remove any letters. You may be reading the serial number by mistake. |
That IMEI fails its check digit | One digit is wrong. Re-read it from *#06# on the handset. |
03Scan it from the box
If your phone's browser can read barcodes, a scan button appears beside the IMEI field. Point the camera at the IMEI barcode on the box label and the number fills itself in, with no chance of a typing slip. Chrome on Android phones generally supports this. If you do not see the button, type the number instead.
04Dual SIM phones have two IMEIs
A dual SIM phone has a separate IMEI for each SIM, and *#06# shows both. Enter the first under IMEI. For the second, open Second IMEI, battery, accessories, notes and fill in Second IMEI (dual SIM). It is optional, but it is checked the same way and cannot repeat the first.
Record both when you can. Register search looks at both, and the seen-before check matches the first IMEI against both numbers on earlier records.
05Seen-before warnings
When you enter an IMEI, Recashy looks for it in your own register and in the records of other Recashy shops.
| Where it was seen | What you are shown |
|---|---|
| At your shop | The earlier records for that handset, with RC numbers and seller names |
| At other Recashy shops | Only how many other dealers recorded it. Which shops, their prices and their sellers are never shown, and the same protection covers you. |
A warning is not a block. Phones are resold, traded in and bought back, so a repeat is often innocent. Treat it as a prompt to ask a few questions before you pay.
Questions worth asking
- When and where did you buy it?
- Do you have the bill or the box?
- Have you signed out of your Google account or Apple Account on it?
- Why are you selling it?