Buying a smartphone on a marketplace is always a bit of a gamble. It’s especially true when it comes to expensive devices like the iPhone. It’s not uncommon to find yourself picking up an order at a pickup point, coming home, opening the box, and finding either nothing inside or some ballast to add weight. To avoid falling into such a trap, it’s best to check right there, without leaving the checkout area. Blogger Sergey Romanets explained how to do it correctly, writes sb.by.

Two inexpensive tools are enough for an express check:

Magnetic film. It visualizes the magnetic field — and it can easily “see” MagSafe magnets even through thick cardboard.

An infrared flashlight. With it you can spot hidden marks and inscriptions on factory stickers — scammers usually don’t reproduce them.

How to check if an iPhone is inside

— The most reliable indicator is the MagSafe system. On the back of modern iPhones (starting with the iPhone 12 line) there is a ring of magnets powerful enough to be detected through the packaging, — Sergey Romanets explained.

So, attach the magnetic film to the side of the box where the phone’s back panel should be. If there really is an iPhone with MagSafe inside, the film will show a clear circular pattern — that’s the arrangement of the magnets. If there’s no circle, the phone is probably not in the box: thick packaging doesn’t shield such a strong magnetic field. This method works even with reinforced boxes: the manufacturer adds extra stiffness around the glass insert, but that doesn’t affect magnetic permeability.

Sergey Romanets explained how to confirm that the iPhone is genuine:

— The presence of a phone doesn’t guarantee it’s authentic. Here an infrared flashlight comes in handy: Apple’s factory stickers often have hidden protective elements — microtext, patterns, or codes visible only in the IR spectrum. Scammers might carefully re‑stick a sticker from another device or print a similar one, but reproducing hidden marks is usually not worth the effort: it’s expensive and difficult. If, when shining the flashlight through, there are no hidden elements, it’s a cause for concern.

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