Everyone owns a laptop these days.
Well, ALMOST everyone.
And those of us who have a budget constraint or reduced usage, prefer low budget laptops.
How much of sophisticated technology one can need for composing plain text documents? So, a simple machine can take care of this.
Even with low budget laptops, you can still lower the cost.
Yes, refurbished laptops!
And with refurbished laptops, you can have great specs and features at a little cost.
But, before you head to your nearby shop to buy a refurbished Dell laptop, you must be familiar with a few things so that you get a quality product against your hard-earned money.
Checklist for purchasing refurbished laptops
Check the warranty
Refurbished laptops are those machines which are repaired by the laptop manufacturing company. E.g. Dell refurbished laptops are those machines which are fixed by Dell. This repair is not a major one. Typically, some part of the laptop is repaired and is ready for sale with all accessories and packaging, but at a low price.
So, while you buy a refurbished Dell laptop, do check 1-year warranty so that you can claim for free repairs after the purchase.
Check if it is refurbished or used laptop
Of course, if you purchase a used laptop, that will cost you even less than a refurbished laptop. Often, private stores repair used laptops in good condition, and sell them at the price of refurbished laptops. Don’t fall prey to such chicaneries.
For checking if a laptop is refurbished or not, look for the laptop’s serial number and find out the warranty details of this particular laptop from Dell’s website. If the warranty has expired or is less than one year, then you are buying a second hand Dell laptop.
If the retailer has removed the serial sticker from the back of laptops, do not buy it.
Check the Accessories
We all know that a brand new laptop comes with accessories such as a charger. While purchasing a refurbished Dell laptop, check the Dell website to know which accessories were sent during shipment. You can find these out by giving the serial number of the laptop.
Usually, retailers take accessories and sell them separately.
Examine the Screen
Turn on the laptop before buying it. This is to check for dead screen pixels. You can check this quite easily. Put a wallpaper of solid colours, such as red, white, blue. This will help you identify if the display is alright.
By changing background colours, you can easily find out any dot or spot on the screen.
Keyboard keys check
Next, you might want to check if the refurbished laptop has a working keyboard and mousepad. Type every letter on the keyboard to make sure that all keys work fine. Make sure to check the numeric pad as well with function keys.
Port Check
Sometimes ports such as HDMI are installed on the laptop, but drivers refuse to detect that port’s physical installation. For checking this out, reinstall the drivers or look in the device manager of the laptop to verify the functionality of the HDMI port.
Connectivity Check
In local markets, most laptops come with built-in connectivity options such as Bluetooth. Check and confirm from the manufacturer and retailer about the Bluetooth device availability in the laptop.
Check Battery
You don’t want a laptop that has a weak battery. Of course, there is no point in purchasing a machine, which needs to be plugged in now and then. Check the battery warranty to be sure that it won’t crash or expire the next day of purchase.
