What to remember when buying a second hand phone?
Consider a Refurbished Handset
Instead of buying your second hand phone from a private seller, you may want to consider sourcing your phone from a reputable company like the surplus database. Big name phone manufacturers, like Apple or Samsung, will often refurbish their handset before they sell them online, and there are plenty of other manufacturers that offer refurbished handsets as well. There are several advantages to buying a refurbished handset. First of all, it is better for the environment than buying a completely new phone. Then, you will get a phone that looks and feels much better especially. Then you may be able to take full advantage of a warranty offered by many when the handset has been refurbished properly.
Network Locking
There is nothing quite as bad as buying a phone only to find that it won’t work with your choice of networks. Of course, it is possible to get your phone unlocked so that it can be used with the network you are using, but this can be a considerable investment of time and resources. So, you should only buy a phone that is compatible with another network if you are willing to make this investment. Or you can consider switching networks which could be the cost-effective, though inconvenient option.
iPhones will typically arrive unlocked, but they will lock onto the first network with which they are introduced. So, you will want to check this out if you will be buying your phone from a private dealer on eBay or Facebook Marketplace.
Photographs
If you will be buying a new phone from an online source, one of your first tasks will be to carefully examine all the pictures the seller has uploaded for the phone. Pictures can be misleading so you will want to very carefully examine every snapshot and inquire further from the seller if you have any other questions.
You shouldn’t be shy about asking for more pictures as well. You can ask for pictures taken in better lighting or a video that shows some of the functions you are interested in. This is an especially important point if you will be buying your phone from a private online seller and unable to get a feel for the phone before you make the purchase.
Checking the Phone
If you are considering buying a phone from an online dealer or a private online seller, you would do best to make this purchase in an online market like Gumtree or Facebook marketplace. This way you will have the opportunity to buy your phone from a local seller. This makes it much easier to arrange a meeting where you can inspect the phone up close before handing over a great sum of money. You will be able to inspect the phone up close and ensure that everything is in tip-top running conditions.
You will want to take a SIM card of the right size and shape of the SI card you will be using to make sure that this is compatible with the phone in question. If you will be getting a new SIM for the phone afterwards, take the time to look into the SIM deals you are interested in before you go. This way you can purchase the SIM and it will typically be delivered directly to your door. This way you can take the SIM with and make sure that it is the correct fit for the phone you are getting.
You will also want to visually inspect the phone you are buying to ensure that it has no signs of serious damage before you make the purchase. Be especially wary of signs of corrosion around the connections and sockets. Check the camera and the lens to make sure there are no scratches and open up the phone to make sure that the interior is also in perfect condition. You should also take a moment to inspect the memory card connections and the phone jack to make sure they are running as inspected.
Making a Call
Even though texting and messaging are becoming the more common forms of communication in this modern era, it would be a shame to purchase a phone that is unable to make a phone call. This is another good reason to bring that SIM card with you when inspecting the phone you will buy. While you have that SIM card inserted in the phone, take a moment to make a phone call to check how well the microphones and speakers are working. You should also put the phone on a loudspeaker to make sure that you can use this function if needed.
Wi-Fi
Most people these days are using their phones to connect to the internet and there is a good chance that you do too. This means that you will want to make sure that the Wi-Fi function is working well. While you are checking the phone, ask the seller if you can connect the phone to their Wi-Fi or any of the available Wi-Fi providers in the vicinity. Open up the phone and check if it is detecting any of the Wi-Fi networks in the locations. If possible, the seller should be able to enter the password to a Wi-Fi connection and you will be able to check to make sure that this phone can connect without a problem. and that the phone can access the internet with no problems. While you are doing this, you can take advantage of checking to see if airplane mode is working properly as well. This way you can be sure that it is actually connected to the internet and not running off your SIM card data.
