Friday, February 17, 2017

Refurbished laptops and the myths and truth behind them

Refurbished laptops do not have an easy acceptance in the technological market which makes it harder for refurbishers for asset redeployment. The reason behind the non acceptance are some myths like refurbished laptops are second hand devices which even after performing data wipe from laptop is not of much use. Usually that is what people also think about refurbished mobile phones and tend to send their device for mobile phone testing to check the possibility of being duped by the refurbished device seller.
Following are some of the myths that make buyers reluctant to buy refurbished laptops. Also see the truth behind every myth:
  1. Myth: Lower configuration as compared to latest devices:
Truth: a person makes the use of his laptop for mostly accessing the net and his e-mails and at the most using applications like Microsoft office. For such tasks high configurations are a waste. Hence one can do all the basic jobs using a laptop even in lower configuration. And also in this manner one does not need to invest more and opt for refurbished laptops which are capable of meeting more than the normal needs of a person.
  1. Myth: Poor performance due to the inferior quality used in the making
Truth: when a device goes for refurbishing it undergoes fixation of problems and issues and thorough testing before being bought back in to the retail market for sale. It becomes essential for the brand to maintain the consistency of the quality of their product whether fresh or refurbished to maintain the goodwill of the brand. So they cannot play around with the performance of the device.
  1. Myth: refurbished laptops do not come with a guarantee or warranty
Truth: refurbished laptops from big and reputed brands are teamed up with a limited warranty of at least a year. Buy refurbished products only from reliable brands that are known to extend reliable after sales service and warranty. Sometimes it also becomes necessary to buy extended warranty by paying a nominal yearly fee.

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Procedure undergone for refurbishing a used or returned laptop

Are you aware as to what happens when you return a defective laptop or what happens to the laptop you gave away in exchange for a new laptop? The used or defective laptop undergoes laptop recycling and comes back into the market for selling. Here the customers looking to buy second hand laptop which are usually at a discounted rate opt for such refurbished devices.
Following is the procedure that a laptop undergoes to be refurbished. The procedure undergone for mobile phone refurbishing services is somewhat similar. Let us have a step to step view of the procedure for refurbishing a laptop:
  1. The first step towards refurbishing an old or returned laptop is sorting and grading the gadgets on the basis of their physicality and functionality. This is done by the manufacturers or authorized refurbishers. These people are the ones entitled with the role of sanitizing each and every gadget efficiently.
  2. The sorted gadgets are then disassembled and checked for
  • Components that may be facing some sort of damage
  • Optimum functioning of the battery
  • Pixel quality of the screen
  • Whether the power supply connection is in working order or not
  • Loose connections
  • Optimum working of the hard drive and the optical drive
  1. After a complete and thorough check for problems in the laptop, the missing or defective components like the RAM or the graphic card or may be the capacitors or IC or the hard disks are replaced.
  2. The laptop then undergoes a data wipe that erases the complete memory of the laptop.
  3. The cosmetic defects of the gadget also undergo repairs and the device goes in for the final testing after a new OS is installed and is then packed off in a brand new packaging
After the role of the authorized refurbisher of inspecting, cleaning, repairing and restoring the factory settings of the used or returned laptops is completed, the device is considered certifiably in good working condition and is then given back to the manufacturer or the retailer for selling it off at a discounted rate.

Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Data wiping is a must before selling

A mobile device of a person is the key to all his secret information that if falls into wrong hands can be the cause of hazardous situations. So if you are planning to sell off your mobile phone or even exchanging it for a brand new one make sure to data wipe from mobile phones completely. There have been several scams that have come forward where people buy used mobile phones from unsuspecting people by showing off better products and in the excitement of the new device people tend to forget to erase or transfer the important data from their old phone before handing it over to the buyer. So it is an absolute necessity that whether your device is an android or an IOS device, the data on the device is either transferred on the new device or erased off the memory of the old device completely. The same stands true in case of computer recycling.
But before you start wiping off the data off your phone you may want to keep a few things in mind like:
  • Backing up all the data which also includes the contacts
  • Remove the sim card as well as the SD card from their respective slots
  • Logging out of the email and social media apps and erasing off the complete data
  • If you do not plan to use the SD card in another device it is advisable to perform an encryption to wipe out the data in the SD card as well.
  • Preserve the serial number of the phone for your records.
Android:
If you own an android device he simplest way is to perform a factory reset but it is also true that this erases just the data stored in the applications of the phone. To completely erase or remove the complete data from your phone you can begin by encrypting the android device from the settings of the phone and settling down patiently to watch the data being erased from your phone.
IOS
When wiping off the data from an IOS device make sure to turn off all the services in the device. you can start by the Find my iPhone service which can be found in Settings under iCloud.  Make sure to sign out of iCloud completely because if you manually delete all the data without signing out of iCloud you are bound to lose the complete data permanently. After turning off and logging off from services like iMessage and Apple ID start the wipe process.

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Tips to keep in mind before buying a refurbished laptop

Looking for a laptop but don’t want to shell out a huge amount that would burn out a hole in your savings? Try buying a refurbished laptop. Usually you do not find fresh and latest products in the refurbished market, but you will also not face the problem of data wipe from computer due to its refurbished state. Also these refurbished computers are easy asset buy back commodity as they are not as costly as a brand new laptop and hence easily saleable when you plan to sell it off.
But there are a few aspects to be dealt with like the price, performance and the battery of the gadget and some pros and cons involved when one decides to go for refurbished laptops instead of brand new ones of the most advanced technology. Following are a few tips to keep in mind which should be referred to for deciding upon the right gadget that suits your needs:
  • Does it save money:
Opting for a refurbished laptop is definitely a money saver but be sure to check the make and model of the year of manufacture and brand of the gadget you are investing in. It is true you will not find the most advanced gadgets that have freshly entered the technological market as refurbish but make sure it meets the needs of the current technological world.
  • Performance and battery:
The performance and battery life of your refurbished laptop depends upon the year of manufacture of the device. The technology which helps to deliver optimum performance and a longer battery life of a laptop has increased and improved in the last many years. Make sure the year of manufacture of the refurbished laptop is not so old as to not to be able to withstand your more modern and technologically advanced needs. Also `know that laptop battery’s ability to retain power is not for very long and over time and excessive use it tends to get shorter. Before buying a refurbished model check the usage of the laptop which will give you an idea about the capacity and life of the battery.
There are risks involved in buying a refurbished model for a laptop but the above pointers will help you decide for the right one.