How to Run Diagnostics on Your iPhone or Android Phone

Wondering if your smartphone is in good health? Whether it’s a used phone you just bought or an old device you’re looking to sell, you can put it through a series of diagnostic tests. Some Android devices have built-in diagnostics, but the App Store and Google Play Store offer third-party testing apps as well.

Apps like Phone Doctor Plus, Phone Diagnostics, Phone Check and Test, Zinny, and iDiagnosis can run a battery of tests to check the touch screen, audio, video, camera, microphone, sensors, and other components of your phone. Here’s how they work.

Run Diagnostics on Samsung Phones

Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones have a built-in diagnostics tool that’s accessible from the keypad. Open the Phone app, tap the Keypad, and then type *#0*#. A diagnostic screen pops up with buttons for a variety of tests.

Tap Red, Green, or Blue to test those pixel colors. Tap Receiver to check the audio, Vibration to try the vibrating feature, and Sensor to test the accelerometer and other sensors. You can also tap Touch and then move your finger around the screen to test the touch screen and tap Low Frequency to test low-frequency sounds.

After your test is done, touch the screen or tap the back button to return to the main screen. Tap the back button from the main menu to return to the Phone app.

Samsung Members for Samsung Phones

Samsung offers its own free app known as Samsung Members(Opens in a new window), which can be downloaded from Google Play. It provides sales and technical support, and a built-in diagnostics tool as well. Open the app and tap the Diagnostic button on the home screen.

Tap the individual icons to run diagnostic tests on the battery, SIM card, sensors, touch screen, flashlight, camera, microphone, speaker, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and more. Alternatively, tap the Test all button to perform all the tests one after the other. If the test is successful, a checkmark appears on its icon. 

Run Diagnostics on Motorola Phones

Motorola phones can use the Device Help(Opens in a new window) app, which comes preinstalled on some devices. Open the app and tap Device diagnosis & hardware performance tests in the Troubleshooting section. Choose Troubleshoot to test the touch-screen display, battery, audio, camera, connectivity, and more.

Select Hardware test to run diagnostics on the display, backlight, touch screen, multi-touch capability, flash, front and rear camera, and the proximity sensor. Run a test by tapping the icon for the feature you want to run. You can tap Full Test at the Hardware screen to perform all available diagnostics.

Phone Doctor Plus for iPhone and Android

Geared for iOS(Opens in a new window) and Android(Opens in a new window), Phone Doctor Plus starts by showing you a list of different tests to run, including those for memory, CPU, speaker, microphone, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, touch screen, camera, charging, and many more. Tap the Play button to run all the tests or swipe to the left to view a list of all available tests you can run individually. The app then displays the results of any tests.

Phone Doctor Plus provides a Status screen that displays your battery charge, available storage, free memory, and network bandwidth. It also researches and displays the trade-in value of your phone. The Android app kicks in an inventory report that makes sure all the phone’s components are original and a battery health test to check the status of your battery.

Phone Diagnostics for iPhone and Android

Available for iPhone(Opens in a new window) and Android(Opens in a new window), Phone Diagnostics offers a range of tests to check your touch screen, camera, speaker, microphone, Wi-Fi, cellular access, and many other components. Just tap the button for the test you wish to run or tap Start to run all the tests one after the other.

The multi-touch test asks you to place three fingers on the screen. The camera test snaps photos using the front and rear cameras, while the video record test shoots a quick video using the rear camera. The motion test asks you to move your phone around, and the GPS test verifies your location on a map.

The app doesn’t generate any reports or results, but each successful test turns its button green, while a failed or interrupted test appears in red. The app can also attempt to steer you to a repair shop should your phone need to be fixed. The basic version is free with ads, but you can pay $1.99 to go ad-free.

Phone Check and Test for Android

Designed for Android, Phone Check and Test(Opens in a new window) lets you trigger a comprehensive series of diagnostics on your device. The app starts with an overview to explain how it works, how to run its various tests, and what each test encompasses. A monitor screen shows you the current usage for memory, storage, battery, Wi-Fi, and cellular.

To run the guided tests, select the features you want to include. The app can check your battery, network connectivity, audio, display, touch screen, GPS, camera, and sensors, among other features. Some of the tests run automatically, while others require your input.

After each test, tap OK if your phone passes or Not OK if something raises a red flag. You can also skip any test and move to the next one. A summary screen then displays the results of each test.

Zinny for Android

Designed for Android devices, Zinny(Opens in a new window) offers a series of diagnostic tests to check your battery, wireless charging, memory, flash, storage, audio, sensors, display, camera, and network connection. You can set up the dashboard to display your favorite tests for easy access. Otherwise, tap Phone Check to run each individual test or all the tests one after the other.

A Phone Vitals screen shows you the stats for specific features, such as the battery, sound, display, and camera. An Internet screen lets you check and view your Wi-Fi speed and cellular connection. And a Toolbox screen offers tests to fix specific problems, such as screen burn-in and water in your speaker.

The basic version of the app is free but saddles you with ads. For $1.49 per month, a Pro version jettisons the ads and also kicks in a few more tests.

iDiagnosis for the iPhone

Designed for the iPhone (and iPad), the free iDiagnosis(Opens in a new window) app will check your device’s touch screen, microphone, headphone, speaker, gyroscope, compass, Wi-Fi connectivity, sensors, volume controls, charger, Face ID, camera, and more.

You run each test individually with some operating on their own and others requiring a response from you. A successful test displays a green checkmark, while one that fails gets a red mark. After the tests have completed, a screen for Status Details shows you the results of each one, indicating whether it passed or failed and the date and time it was run.

Another screen shows different stats on your phone, including the OS version, amount of memory, screen size, resolution, pixel density, storage, and battery level.