36 terms

The words on the counter.

What IMEI, FRP, Activation Lock, grades and the rest actually mean, in a sentence each.

Aadhaar masking: Hiding the first 8 digits of an Aadhaar number so only the last 4 can be seen.
UIDAI, which issues Aadhaar, offers a masked Aadhaar that shows only the last 4 digits, and you can also cover the first 8 on a photocopy or photo. A shop recording your ID rarely needs the full number. On Recashy, only the last 4 digits and a one-way fingerprint are stored, never the full number.
What to bring when you sell a used phone see Purchase register see Declaration
Activation Lock: Apple's anti-theft lock that ties an iPhone to its owner's Apple Account, earlier called Apple ID.
Activation Lock comes on with Find My. Even after the iPhone is erased, it asks for the owner's Apple Account and password before anyone can set it up again. Before selling, sign out of your Apple Account or turn off Find My, which removes the lock. An iPhone that still has it on cannot be used by the next owner.
How to reset an iPhone before you sell it see Find My Device see FRP (Factory Reset Protection)see Factory reset
Battery health: How much charge a battery can hold now compared with when it was new, shown as a percentage.
Every battery wears with use, so an older phone runs out sooner. On an iPhone, it is shown as Maximum Capacity under Settings > Battery. Many Android phones do not show it in settings, though some brands show it in a diagnostics or support app. Below about 80 percent, most people notice the shorter battery life, and buyers price that in.
How to check your phone's battery health see Cycle count see Condition grade
Box contents: Everything that came in the phone's original box, from the charger and cable to the SIM tool and the box itself.
A complete box makes a used phone easier to sell and can lift its price. The box label usually carries the IMEI, so a box whose number matches the phone backs up the seller's story. A box with a different IMEI is a reason to ask questions.
What decides your phone's resale price see Invoice (bill)see IMEI see Depreciation
Burn-in: A faint, permanent shadow of something that stayed on the screen for a long time.
Burn-in affects OLED and AMOLED screens, which many phones now use. Look for the outlines of the navigation bar, the keyboard or status icons on a plain grey or white screen. It cannot be fixed without replacing the display, so it lowers the condition grade.
Phone condition grades A to D explained see Dead pixel see Condition grade
CEIR: The Central Equipment Identity Register, the Department of Telecommunications system that blocks lost and stolen phones by IMEI.
If your phone is lost or stolen, you can ask for it to be blocked through the Sanchar Saathi portal, usually with a police complaint number, an ID and your number active on a new SIM. A blocked phone stops working on Indian mobile networks, and attempts to use it can be traced. When the phone is found, it can be unblocked.
What to do if your phone is lost or stolen see Sanchar Saathi see KYM (Know Your Mobile)see IMEI
Check digit (Luhn): The last digit of an IMEI, calculated from the other 14 to catch typing mistakes.
The calculation is called the Luhn algorithm, and bank card numbers use the same method. If any single digit is typed wrong, the check fails, and most swaps of two neighbouring digits fail too. A number that passes is well formed, but that alone does not prove a handset is genuine or clean.
How to find your phone's IMEI number see IMEI see TAC
Condition grade: A letter that sums up a used phone's physical condition.
Recashy uses four grades: A for like new, B for light marks, C for visible wear and D for damaged. Battery health and specific faults are recorded separately. Grading in front of the seller means both sides agree on what they are pricing.
Phone condition grades A to D explained see Battery health see Burn-in see Depreciation
Cycle count: The number of full charge cycles a battery has been through.
One cycle is 100 percent of the battery's capacity used, whether in one go or spread over several partial charges. Apple rates iPhone 15 and later models to keep about 80 percent of their capacity after 1,000 cycles, and earlier models after 500. A high count together with low battery health means a replacement is near.
How to check your phone's battery health see Battery health
Dead pixel: A point on the screen that stays black, or stuck on one colour, whatever is displayed.
Open a full-screen image of a single colour, such as white, then red, green and blue, and look closely for dots that do not change. One dead pixel near the edge may be easy to live with, but a cluster or a line in the middle is not. Either way it is a screen fault and lowers the price.
Phone condition grades A to D explained see Burn-in see Condition grade
Dealer market: The part of Recashy where partner shops sell stock to each other in lots.
A shop bundles phones from its stock into a lot, sets one price and lists it. Other dealers send a request, and the selling shop accepts or declines. Accepting moves the phones into the buyer's stock, and a lot can be pulled back any time before it sells.
see Lot see Purchase register
Declaration: A statement the seller confirms at the counter that the phone is theirs to sell.
On Recashy, the shop reads it out before filing the record: the handset is the seller's lawful property, it is not stolen or subject to any lien or hire-purchase agreement, and the ID shown is genuine and their own. The words are stored with the record exactly as confirmed. A seller should only confirm it if every part is true.
What to bring when you sell a used phone see Purchase register see Record number see OTP
Depreciation: The fall in a phone's resale value over time.
Phones lose value fastest in their first year, and each new model launch tends to push older ones down. Condition, battery health, storage and brand all change how quickly a particular phone loses value. Selling sooner, and keeping the box and bill, usually gets you more back.
What decides your phone's resale price see Condition grade see Storage variant see Exchange offer
Dual SIM: A phone that can use two mobile numbers at once.
The two SIMs can be physical cards, eSIMs, or one of each. A dual SIM phone has two IMEIs, one for each SIM it can use at once, and *#06# shows both. Record both when buying or selling, because a phone can be traced by either number.
How to find your phone's IMEI number see IMEI 2 see eSIM see IMEI
eSIM: A SIM built into the phone and set up digitally by your operator, instead of a plastic card.
Your number lives on the phone itself, so there is no card to take out before you sell. Instead, move the eSIM to your new phone or delete it from the old one before the reset. Your number stays yours either way, and your operator can issue a new eSIM if you need one.
How to sell your phone safely see Dual SIM see Factory reset
Exchange offer: Trading in your old phone as part payment for a new one from the same seller.
The value of the old phone is taken off the new phone's price, so you pay the difference. It saves a second trip, but the exchange value may be lower than a cash offer for the same phone. On Recashy, a shop records both phones in one visit and marks the payment as adjusted against the new phone.
Sell your old phone or exchange it?see Depreciation see UPI
Factory reset: Erasing a phone back to the state it left the factory in, with all your data and settings removed.
Do it last, after backing up and signing out of your accounts, because a reset cannot be undone. On many Android phones it is under Settings > System > Reset options, though the menu names differ between brands. On an iPhone it is under Settings > General, then Transfer or Reset iPhone. Signing out first stops the phone's anti-theft lock from getting in the next owner's way.
How to factory reset an Android phone before selling see FRP (Factory Reset Protection)see Activation Lock see eSIM
Find My Device: Google's service for finding, locking or erasing a lost Android phone, now called Find Hub; on an iPhone, Find My does the same job.
Google renamed Find My Device to Find Hub in 2025. Both services can show a lost phone on a map, ring it, lock it or erase it from another device or the web. On an iPhone, Find My also switches on Activation Lock, which is why it must be turned off before you sell.
What to do if your phone is lost or stolen see Activation Lock see FRP (Factory Reset Protection)see CEIR
FRP (Factory Reset Protection): Android's anti-theft lock, which can ask for the last Google account used on a phone after it has been reset.
FRP stops a thief from simply wiping a stolen phone and using it. It also stops an honest buyer if the seller forgot to sign out. Remove your Google account from the phone before you reset and sell it, and the lock is not applied.
Remove your Google account and avoid FRP lock see Factory reset see Activation Lock see Find My Device
IMEI: International Mobile Equipment Identity, the 15-digit number that identifies one handset.
Dial *#06# to see it; it is also printed on the box label and shown in the phone's settings. Networks use it to recognise a handset, the government uses it to block lost and stolen phones, and police use it to trace them. That is why a used-phone record is only as good as the IMEI written on it.
How to find your phone's IMEI number see IMEI 2 see TAC see Check digit (Luhn)see KYM (Know Your Mobile)
IMEI 2: The second IMEI on a dual SIM phone, which has one for each SIM it can use at once.
Phones with two SIM slots, or a SIM and an eSIM, have two IMEIs, and *#06# lists both. Each is a full 15-digit number with its own check digit. Record both when buying or selling, because a phone can be blocked or traced by either.
How to find your phone's IMEI number see IMEI see Dual SIM see eSIM
Invoice (bill): The original receipt from when the phone was first bought.
A bill shows where and when the phone was bought, and many bills list the IMEI too. It helps show that a phone is genuinely the seller's, supports any remaining warranty claim and can help the price. It is not required to sell a phone, but it is worth keeping.
What to bring when you sell a used phone see Box contents see Declaration
KYM (Know Your Mobile): A Department of Telecommunications service that checks a handset's IMEI status before you buy it.
Send KYM <15-digit IMEI> by SMS to 14422, or use the Sanchar Saathi portal or app, where it is listed as a check of a handset's genuineness. If the result says the phone is blacklisted, duplicate or already in use, do not buy it. A clean result is a good sign but not a guarantee, so still check the box, the bill and the accounts.
Check if a used phone is stolen before you buy see IMEI see CEIR see Sanchar Saathi
Lot: A bundle of phones a shop sells to another dealer for one price.
On Recashy's dealer market, a shop picks handsets from its stock, groups them into a lot and sets an asking price for the whole bundle. Buyers see the models, storage and condition grades, but never what the seller paid. A lot can hold up to 200 phones.
see Dealer market see Condition grade
MEID and serial number: Two other identity numbers a phone may show alongside its IMEI.
The MEID is a 14-character identifier from older CDMA networks, and on many phones it matches the first 14 digits of the IMEI. The serial number is the maker's own code for the handset, used for warranty and repairs. Neither replaces the IMEI on a used-phone record.
How to find your phone's IMEI number see IMEI see TAC
Original parts: Parts made or supplied by the phone's own brand, as opposed to cheaper compatible copies.
A screen or battery swapped for a non-original part can look fine but behave differently, with duller colours, weaker touch or shorter battery life. Recent iPhones list their parts and service history under Settings > General > About. Ask the seller whether the phone has been repaired and where, and expect a lower price for a non-original screen or battery.
Checklist for buying a used phone see Refurbished see Condition grade
OTP: A one-time password: a short code sent by text message that works once and expires quickly.
On Recashy, a shop sends a code to the seller's mobile number and the seller reads it back, which proves the number on the record is really theirs. Read a code only to the person you are dealing with, face to face. Never share an OTP with someone who calls or messages you asking for it.
How to sell your phone safely see Declaration see Purchase register see UPI collect request
Purchase register: A shop's record of every used phone it buys, with the seller's details.
Many police departments ask second-hand phone dealers to keep one, so a phone with a history can be traced to the person who sold it. On Recashy, each purchase becomes a numbered record that is locked once filed and can be searched, printed or downloaded. Rules differ from place to place, so shops should check what their local police require.
see Record number see Declaration see OTP
Record number: The number a purchase record gets when a Recashy shop files it, such as RC-000001.
Each shop's numbers run in order from RC-000001 and are never reused. Once a record has its number, it is locked, and corrections are filed as linked records rather than edits. Quote the record number when you ask a shop or Recashy support about a sale.
see Purchase register see Declaration
Refurbished: A used phone that has been checked, repaired where needed, cleaned and resold.
Quality depends on who did the work, because the word can mean anything from a careful repair by the brand to a quick clean. A refurbished phone may have non-original parts, so ask what was replaced, test it before paying and get any warranty in writing.
Checklist for buying a used phone see Original parts see Condition grade
Sanchar Saathi: The Department of Telecommunications' portal and app for mobile safety, at sancharsaathi.gov.in.
It brings together several services: blocking and tracing lost or stolen phones through CEIR, checking a handset's IMEI with KYM, seeing which mobile connections are registered in your name, and reporting suspected fraud calls and messages through Chakshu. The portal opened in May 2023 and the app followed in January 2025, for Android and iPhone. Use it before buying a used phone, and straight after losing one.
Check if a used phone is stolen before you buy see CEIR see KYM (Know Your Mobile)see IMEI
Storage variant: The version of a model sold with a particular amount of storage, such as 128 GB or 256 GB.
The same model is often sold in several variants, sometimes paired with different amounts of RAM, and the bigger ones cost more new and fetch more used. Check the storage in the phone's settings rather than trusting the box, which may belong to another phone. Recording the right variant matters, because it changes the price.
What decides your phone's resale price see Depreciation see Box contents
TAC: Type Allocation Code, the first 8 digits of an IMEI, which identify the make and model.
TACs are allocated to specific models, so the first 8 digits tell you what the phone should be. The next 6 digits identify the individual handset, and the last one is the check digit. If a KYM check shows a different make or model from the phone in your hand, the number may have been tampered with or may belong to another phone.
How to find your phone's IMEI number see IMEI see Check digit (Luhn)see KYM (Know Your Mobile)
UPI: Unified Payments Interface, India's system for instant bank-to-bank payments from a phone.
UPI is run by the National Payments Corporation of India and works through apps linked to your bank account. Money is sent to a UPI ID, a phone number or a QR code and usually arrives in seconds. When you are being paid, you never need to enter your UPI PIN, and you should check that the money has arrived before handing anything over.
How to sell your phone safely see UPI collect request see OTP
UPI collect request: A request for money through UPI, which moves money only when the payer approves it with their PIN.
Fraudsters used collect requests to trick people into paying when they thought they were being paid. NPCI announced an end to person-to-person collect requests from 1 October 2025, though businesses can still send them. The rule has not changed: entering your UPI PIN always sends money out of your account, never in.
How to sell your phone safely see UPI see OTP
Water damage indicator: A small sticker inside a phone that changes colour after contact with liquid.
It is normally white or silver and turns red or pink once wet, and on many phones you can see it inside the SIM tray slot with a torch. A triggered indicator is not proof of a fault, but it is a reason to test the phone carefully and expect a lower price. Water resistance also weakens with age and repairs, so treat it as a bonus rather than a promise.
Phone condition grades A to D explained see Condition grade see Refurbished