In this guide, you will learn 5 important things to check before buying a refurbished phone.
A lot of people prefer to buy refurbished phones, while some people don’t even know when a refurbished phone is being sold to them.
What is a Refurbished Phone?
When a mobile phone is refurbished, this means that it has been rebuilt or repaired, but in most cases, refurbished phones are just phones with no issues that were returned by the previous user.
For example, there are different refurbished iPhones on the market, and most of these phones were returned because of a fault or because the original buyer changed their mind about it. If the iPhone has a fault, it is repaired and tested before it is now reintroduced into the market as a refurbished phone.
Devices under this category are less expensive and have been checked for any blemishes, tested, cleaned, and repaired if necessary, but as a buyer, here are the five important things to check before you make payment for a refurbished phone.
Top 5 Important Things to Check Before Buying a Refurbished Phone
1. Check if it’s locked
The first thing you need to check is if the refurbished phone you’re trying to purchase is locked to a particular network or if the phone itself has a security lock enabled. You shouldn’t buy a refurbished phone and still end up not using it at all because you have been locked out.
2. Seller score
Another important thing to check is the seller of the product. This is to make sure that you are not buying a fake product from someone who is not trusted. Some online platforms offer information about certain sellers by showing their success rate and seller score for easy choices.
3. Warranty
If you have gone for a reputable seller as we explained above, then there are higher chances that your refurbished phone will come with a warranty.
4. Inspect for flaws
Just because the refurbished phone looks like it is in good condition doesn’t mean you shouldn’t check for some common faults like volume buttons, screen and others. You can also check out this article on how to adjust the volume up or down without the button on an iPhone.
5. Grade
You will definitely want to confirm the grade of your refurbished phone. This is because these devices come in different grades.
You can confirm the grade of the phone from the retailer before you buy it. If you’re buying Grade A, the phone should just be very similar to a new phone, while lower-grade phones will have more scratches or light dents, but the prices will definitely be different.
That’s all. But this doesn’t mean that there aren’t other things you’ll personally want to check. These things can range from the phone’s colour, screen size, camera, etc.