Honest Phones
The grading scale
A grade is not something a seller writes. It is the worst of seven disclosed factors, computed the same way for every listing. Screen, housing, power, activation lock, water damage, battery health and any selected known fault each cap the grade on their own; one bad factor caps the whole listing even if everything else is pristine. A seller can never list a grade higher than these factors support, and every criterion below is written to remove judgment calls: the same device should get the same answer from any two sellers.
- Mint
Indistinguishable from new. No marks under any light. Fully functional.
- Good
Light cosmetic wear visible on close inspection. Fully functional.
- Fair
Obvious wear. Works as intended.
- Damaged
Broken or impaired, but repairable. Disclose the faults below.
- Parts only
Sold for harvesting. Do not expect the buyer to use it as a phone.
What determines the ceiling
Every listing discloses these factors from a fixed set of values, never freeform text. Each row shows the best grade that value allows; the listing’s actual grade is the lowest across all of them.
Screen
The single most-inspected field: buyers zoom in on this first. Exact test for each tier below.
- Flawlesscaps atMint
No marks visible under any light, including raking light held at an angle across the glass. Full touch response everywhere.
- Light scratchescaps atGood
Hairline scratches only visible under direct light at an angle, not felt by dragging a fingernail across them. Glass is flat, no chips, full touch response.
- Heavy scratchescaps atFair
Scratches visible under normal indoor light, or felt with a fingernail, but the glass has no crack and no chip. Full touch response.
- Crackedcaps atDamaged
Any crack in the glass, however small: a single hairline crack in one corner that has not spread still counts. A chip that reaches the display layer counts here even without a visible crack line.
- Non-functionalcaps atDamaged
Touch does not respond correctly across part or all of the screen, or the display itself shows a defect (lines, dead zones, discoloration). Use this whenever the display is malfunctioning, whether or not the glass is also cracked.
Housing
One field covers frame, back glass and case. Rate each part independently against the criteria, then report the worse of the two.
- Flawlesscaps atMint
No marks on the frame or back glass under normal light. No dents, no chips, no cracks on either part.
- Light wearcaps atGood
Frame: faint hairline scuffs or a light scratch that does not chip the finish. Back glass: a light surface scratch that does not go through the coating. Neither part has a dent, chip, or crack.
- Heavy wearcaps atFair
Frame: multiple visible scratches, small dings, or a paint/anodizing chip that does NOT expose bare metal at a structural edge (corner or button rail). Back glass: a hairline crack with no missing glass and no spreading fracture. Report heavy wear if either part meets its own bar, even if the other is only light wear.
- Damagedcaps atDamaged
Frame: a bent or dented edge, or a chip that exposes bare metal at a structural (load-bearing) edge. Buttons or SIM tray visibly misaligned counts here. Back glass: any crack with missing material, a spiderweb fracture, or a crack that reaches the camera lens or charging port seal. Report damaged if either part meets its own bar, even if the other is flawless.
Powers on
A device that will not boot is damaged stock regardless of how clean it looks.
- Yescaps atMint
- Nocaps atDamaged
Activation lock
iCloud or Google lock. A locked device cannot be used as a phone at all.
- Nocaps atMint
- Yescaps atParts only
Water indicator
The manufacturer-installed indicator inside the SIM tray or housing.
- Cleancaps atMint
- Triggeredcaps atDamaged
- Not checkedcaps atGood
Battery health
Read from the device’s own battery-health screen (Settings → Battery → Battery Health on iOS; Settings → Battery on most Android builds). Apple documents 80% max capacity as the threshold for its own “Service” message, used here uniformly across makes because it is the one number a buyer can verify for themselves.
- 80% and aboveMint
- Below 80%Fair
- Device does not power onDamaged
Health cannot be read: the "powers on" factor above already caps this at damaged on its own.
Known faults
A 34-item checklist covering everything from “does not power on” to individual sensor faults. Checking a box is not just disclosure. Each one caps the grade on its own, so a listing with a checked fault can never be sold as Mint or Good.
Caps at Damaged
- Does not power on
- Boot loop
- Boots to recovery only
- Swollen battery
- Charging port faulty
- Rear camera faulty
- Front camera faulty
- Face ID faulty
- Touch ID faulty
- Touchscreen faulty
- Display burn-in
- Display lines
- Backlight faulty
- Back glass cracked
- Frame bent
- Known water damage history
- Aftermarket screen fitted
- Parts missing
- Cellular / no service
Caps at Fair
- Bad ESN / carrier blacklist record
- Battery service message
- Aftermarket battery fitted
- Dead pixels
- Loudspeaker faulty
- Earpiece faulty
- Microphone faulty
- Wi-Fi faulty
- Bluetooth faulty
- GPS faulty
- NFC faulty
- Vibration motor faulty
- Proximity sensor faulty
- Button faulty (power or volume)
- SIM reader faulty
Grouped in the listing form by subsystem (Power and boot, Display, Cameras and biometrics, Audio, Connectivity, Physical and history) so a seller tests the device the way a technician would, not by scanning a flat 34-item list.