Buy a used netbook - you should pay attention to that

Buying a used netbook is not easy. There is a risk that the device will not work properly or that you may get cigarette smoke from the previous owner when you use it for the first time. We give you tips so that buying a used netbook does not come with any unpleasant surprises.

Vulnerabilities of used netbooks

Used netbooks often have some weaknesses that you will hardly want to live with:

• In the case of private purchases, there is usually no right of return or guarantee.
• Used laptops had previous owners: smokers and pet owners could cause unpleasant smells or allergies in you.
• With netbooks, the WLAN adapter and Bluetooth break down very quickly.
• In addition, the backlight sometimes stops working after a short time or the screen has pixel errors.
• Another weakness is a processor that may overheat quickly. You can often tell this from the fact that the fan is working like crazy, even though you do not perform any complex arithmetic operations.
• Finally, batteries suffer from frequent and incorrect use and drain much too quickly because they no longer have their full capacity.

Tips for buying used netbooks

A used netbook from the dealer comes with warranty claims and is therefore always recommended. Buying a netbook privately is much less risky if you follow the following tips:

• It is best to confirm that the netbook comes from an animal-free non-smoking household, if that is important to you.
• Sight the device instead of buying it unseen. So you can check the functionality and possibly save shipping costs.
• Talk to the seller beforehand that the battery should be fully charged at the meeting and start it up on site without a power supply.
• If the seller has only recently purchased the device, have your sales receipts and guarantee cards included as a guarantee.
• Prepare an SD card with large MPEG videos and see how to enable Bluetooth on your smartphone.
• Examine the image on site to make sure there are no pixel defects.
• That can take three minutes. If the fan stays quiet all the time and there is no cigarette smell, these are good signs.
• Also, type in all the letters in a writing program to ensure that all the buttons work.
• Now play the videos you brought with you at full screen brightness, with WiFi and Bluetooth switched on.
• Also transfer data via Bluetooth and play a YouTube video, for example.
• How to check all vulnerable functions and challenge the battery. The fan is now allowed to work at full speed.
• If the battery is still at least three quarters charged after 10 minutes, it seems to have sufficient capacity.
• Consider in advance whether a tablet or a travel notebook is an alternative for you.
• To be on the safe side, you'd better buy a new netbook using our netbook recommendations.

In further practical tips we will explain how you can successfully buy a used PC or laptop without surprises.