Used Device Buying Checklist

The device is signed out of the seller's accountdeal-breaker

Check for an activation lock, a BIOS or firmware password, and a Find My or device-management enrolment. Ask them to sign out in front of you.

The battery is not swollendeal-breaker

A trackpad that no longer clicks flat, a case that will not sit level on a table, or a lifting keyboard. Look at the machine from the side.

The serial number matches the listing and the boxdeal-breaker

Compare the serial in the system information against the sticker and anything the seller has shown you. A mismatch is worth an explanation.

It boots to a working desktop without errors

Watch a full cold boot rather than waking it from sleep. Errors during startup are the ones sellers avoid showing.

The screen has no dead pixels, cracks or backlight bleed

Run the dead pixel test on this site full screen, and look at a black image in a dark room for bleed.

Every key registers

Use the keyboard tester on this site. Sticky or dead keys are common on machines that have had a drink spilled in them.

The trackpad clicks and tracks across its whole surface

Drag slowly into each corner and click in each one. A trackpad that clicks unevenly is often the battery underneath it.

Every port works

Take a USB stick, a charger and a display cable with you and try each socket. Charging ports fail more often than anything else.

The battery holds a reasonable share of its original capacity

Check the capacity figures the operating system reports, or run the battery report interpreter on this site.

The drive reports no reallocated or pending sectors

Read the SMART attributes with any disk utility, or paste the report into the interpreters on this site.

It does not overheat or throttle under load

Run the CPU stress test on this site for a few minutes and listen. A fan at full speed within a minute of idle is a dust or paste problem.

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth both connect

Join a network and pair something. A machine that has never been connected during a viewing is worth being curious about.

Camera, microphone and speakers all work

Use the webcam, microphone and speaker tests on this site. Two minutes covers all three.

The operating system is properly licensed and freshly installed

A machine sold with someone else's account still signed in has not been prepared, and you cannot tell what is on it.

The case, hinges and screen mount are sound

Open and close the lid slowly. A hinge that catches, or a case that flexes at the corner, indicates a drop.